Good morning friends,

The Boston Globe got it right in yesterday’s editorial backing the state’s surplus land proposal, which would gift Wellesley at least 37 acres of forest, create multifamily housing for 180 middle-income families, seniors and professionals and help fund campus upgrades.

Also: Here’s our letter urging Wellesley to back off from its threat to sue the state.   At the end of today’s newsletter, I’ll share a backstory about the land behind so much local angst.

Plus: A local state rep shares a painful past.

And we have news about pennies.

But first,  a historic vote in Brookline.

Brookline voters say yes to taxes — and change

Amid record turnout, Brookline voters overwhelmingly agreed to raise their taxes by 18% over the next three years, backing the largest property tax override in state history by nearly 20 points.

I’m not sure if municipal leaders in other communities can take this as a sign that they, too, might be able to pass a Proposition 2 ½ override in this economy. I’ve observed many override contests. This one felt different.

That’s because Tuesday’s election also marked an overall shift, with young progressives and pro-housing candidates winning big in Select Board and Town Meeting races.

“With Amanda Zimmerman and Anthony Buono replacing [John] VanScoyoc and Paul Warren, who did not run for reelection, the average age of the Select Board, the town’s executive branch, will drop more than 10 years, from 64 to 50,” notes Brookline.news. 

While voters signaled support for maintaining town and school services — and so did we — many small business owners tell us they feel the business community is a low priority in town. We hope the resources and leadership shifts can spark improvements.

And clearly, Brookline can’t keep seeking overrides every few years.

That’s why all eyes are now on the proposed Chestnut Hill rezoning headed to Town Meeting starting May 28.

That plan represents one of the last major opportunities to unlock meaningful commercial development – and tax revenue — in Brookline and would facilitate City Realty’s 14-story mixed-use project.

It would also add substantial new housing in a town that urgently needs it and that voters this week signaled they support.

Local state rep. breaks silence on child sexual abuse

State Rep. John Lawn is publicly sharing a story he says he’s kept secret for most of his life.

“I’m a survivor of child sexual abuse,” he wrote this week in a Globe op-ed.

“Years of revelations about Catholic priests haunted me privately, but still I stayed publicly silent for decades. I could not even tell my mother when she asked if it had also happened to me, after one of the men who abused me was arrested for abusing others. I wish I could have spoken up sooner — for myself and for others.”

Lawn — whose district includes parts of Newton, Watertown and Waltham — says he’s speaking out in support of legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil child sexual abuse cases.

MBTA Communities at work, just like the good lord intended

Hallelujah!

Developer Greystar broke ground yesterday on a 189-home apartment building at the site of the old Carter building and across from Trader Joe’s in Needham — the largest MBTA Communities Act project to break ground so far in the Charles River Regional Chamber footprint.

Approved last fall through a remarkably quick process, the project underscores the promise of by-right MBTA-C zoning. Passing trains repeatedly interrupted speakers at the groundbreaking, as if to prove the point: it would be hard to design a more transit-oriented development.

189 individuals or families will be able to start calling the place home next year.

The world needs more David Modicas

Speaking of MBTA Communities, if you haven’t watched it yet,  you simply must see the viral video of a fellow speaking at Marblehead Town Meeting, MBTA Communities vote on Monday.

Then read the Marblehead Independent profile of David Modica, the guy in the green hoodie.

Friday grab bag

• We only have about 25 tickets left for our Spring Business Breakfast, one week from today (April 15) at the Needham Sheraton.
  
  
• The Italian flag lines have returned to Adams Street in Nonantum.  (Newton Beacon)
  
  
• The president of the real estate investment trust BXP said “there’s no question” that demand for life sciences lab space in greater Boston is finally back on the upswing. (BBJ)
  
  
• Blank Street Coffee is opening in Wellesley Square this week. It’s right between Wasik’s Cheese Shop and J.P. Licks.  (Swellesly Report)
  
  
• North Hill retirement community’s request to expand its property was approved by Needham Town Meeting this week. The new zoning will allow the North Hill to construct a 44-unit expansion to its facility.
  
  
• Sad to hear Needham’s Tin Rabbit boutique is closing at the end of May.
  
  
• Boston Market, the national fast casual chain that began under the name Boston Chicken in Newtonville in 1985, has closed its last Massachusetts restaurant.  (Boston Globe)
  
  
• Watertown’s Halva Mediterranean Grill, a yummy family-run spot on Mt Auburn St, will be moving to 55 Main Street (former Not Your Average Joes) in Watertown Square. The new location will boast expanded hours and menu options.
  
  
• The New York Times’ interactive graphic showing the journey from the Strait of Hormuz to the gas tank is fascinating.  
  
  
• Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), one of the state’s leading housing advocacy organizations, has named Eric Shupin as its next CEO. Shupin has been the deputy chief of staff in the Healey administration’s housing office. He succeeds Rachel Heller, now at Mass Housing Partnership.
  
  
• Join the 128 Business Council next Thursday (May 14) at 10 a.m.,  for “Playbook 2030: A Shared Agenda for a Thriving Corridor” with Lizzi Weyant (Metropolitan Area Planning Council), Jody Hoffer Gittell (The Heller School at Brandeis), Heidi Frail ( Needham Select Board), Howard Goldman (KabaFusion) and Bryan Koop and Keir Evans (BXP).  I’ll be moderating.

State seeks to make cents of penny shortage

Massachusetts businesses can now round cash transactions to the nearest nickel without running afoul of state price accuracy laws, according to guidance from the Healey administration.

The guidance comes as pennies disappear from circulation following the U.S. Mint's decision to stop producing them last November.

Rounding up or down applies to the total transaction only, not individual item prices. Shelf prices still have to match what rings up at the register.  And retailers must post their rounding policy visibly at every entrance and point of sale, in multiple languages.

However, businesses "must calculate and collect sales tax based on the exact purchase price, even if the final cash total is rounded up or down.”

A bill on Beacon Hill would set uniform statewide rounding rules, but like so many things on Beacon Hill, no one seems to be in much of a rush.

Wellesley’s MassBay fight has a backstory

As Wellesley Town Meeting members prepare to decide Monday whether to take the state to court over the land at MassBay College, Wellesley resident Jay McHale notes this is hardly the first time Town Meeting has debated the future of the property along Oakland Street.

In fact, had Town Meeting voted differently in 1971, Monday’s discussion might not be happening at all.

Back then, Town Meeting rejected an offer to buy not just the 40 acres the state is now proposing to give Wellesley in exchange for allowing up to 180 homes on a college parking lot, but 124 acres along two sides of Oakland Street.

The price? If I’m reading this old legal ad right: $6 million. For 124 acres.

According to The Wellesley Townsman, one supporter urged members to see the Seaton acquisition as “a one-time opportunity” and to think not of “benefits in our time but in our children’s time and our children’s children’s time.”

An opponent countered that while all that open space would be nice, Wellesley had no shortage of it. A town policy of buying all open space, she warned, would mean … wait for it …“you stay out of Wellesley to all others.”

Town Meeting ultimately voted no, 118 to 82, clearing the way for the state to acquire the land that became MassBay Community College. (Wellesley later bought a separate slice that became Centennial Reservation.)

Fifty-five years later, Town Meeting is still debating the future of the same land. Only now, it no longer owns the decision.

That’s what you need to know for today — Coca Cola was invented 140 years ago on this date  — unless you need an explanation of the entire 'Avatar' franchise in 10 interactive infographics

Happy mothers day!

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

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