EXPLANATIONS
FOR  ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
WARRANT ARTICLES
MAY 29TH, 2007
Final Town Meeting Results

Combined Reports of Selectmen and Advisory Committee
with Supplements
 

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ARTICLE 2
This article is inserted in the Warrant for any Town Meeting when there are unsettled labor contracts. Town Meeting must approve the funding for any collective bargaining agreements.

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ARTICLE 3
This article authorizes the Town Treasurer to enter into Compensating Balance Agreements, which are agreements between a depositor and a bank in which the depositor agrees to maintain a specified level of non-interest bearing deposits in return for which the bank agrees to perform certain services for the depositor. In order to incorporate such compensating balance agreements into the local budget process, the Commonwealth passed a law in 1986 mandating that all such arrangements be authorized by Town Meeting on an annual basis.

 

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ARTICLE 4
Section 2.1.4 of the Town's By-Laws requires that each Annual Town Meeting include a warrant article showing the status of all special appropriations. This article is also used for debt rescissions.

 

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ARTICLE 5
This article is inserted in the Warrant for every Town Meeting in case there are any unpaid bills from a prior fiscal year that are deemed to be legal obligations of the Town. Per Massachusetts General Law, unpaid bills from a prior fiscal year can only be paid from current year appropriations with the specific approval of Town Meeting.
 

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ARTICLE 6
This article provides for an increase in the property tax exemptions for certain classes of individuals, including surviving spouses, the elderly, the blind, and disabled veterans. The proposed increases, which require annual reauthorizations, have been approved annually since FY89.
 

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ARTICLE 7
This is the annual appropriations article for FY2008. Included in this omnibus budget article are operating budgets, special appropriations, enterprise funds, revolving funds, and conditions of appropriation. This is the culmination of work that officially began with the presentation of the Town Administrator’s Financial Plan, which occurred on March 7th. The proposed budget is then reviewed by numerous sub-committees of the Advisory Committee, the full Advisory Committee, and the Board of Selectmen. The vote ultimately recommended to Town Meeting is offered by the Advisory Committee.

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ARTICLE 8
We, the petitioner and signatories to this article believe the Town is at minimum levels of staffing and equipment for the Fire Service and any further reduction would result in risks to the public safety of firefighters, residents and property.

 

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ARTICLE 9
This article is being submitted by the Planning and Community Development Department in response to a request by the Building Commissioner. Last fall, plans were submitted, and subsequently withdrawn, for replacing a single family house with a dental office building on Clyde Street, with open air parking under the building to be accessed via Dale Street, a quiet residential street. In an L-0.5 or Local Business zoning district, a medical office, or other office use, and a retail use not over 5,000 s.f., are allowed. The Building Department felt that this modern style building with parking accessed through a quiet residential street would have a major detrimental impact on the surrounding residential neighborhood and be completely out of character.

The Zoning By-Law Committee asked the Planning and Community Development Department to evaluate the other L, or Local Business Districts, in Town to ensure that a precedent would not be set for eliminating valuable commercial cores of the Town. The analysis demonstrated that this area was unique in that it was 100% residential, even though it was zoned for local business. All the other L districts contained retail and commercial uses.

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ARTICLE 10
This zoning amendment was originally part of Article 4 in the Warrant for Fall 2006 Town Meeting and was referred back to the Zoning By-Law Committee for further study and report. During discussions of the creation of a new F or Three Family zone in Coolidge Corner, the issue was raised as to whether or not a non-conforming use or building could be rebuilt if badly damaged by catastrophe or fire. The current Section 8.03, Rebuilding After a Catastrophe, does not allow rebuilding if the cost of restoration is greater than 50% of the replacement value, and thus a building could not be restored without obtaining relief from the Board of Appeals.

The Coolidge Corner District Planning Council members felt that properties made non-conforming by a zoning change would have difficulty obtaining insurance coverage if the building or use could not be replaced as was. Since this section of the By-Law applies to all buildings in the Town, a broader discussion took place in the Zoning By-Law Committee as to the unfairness of not allowing an owner to restore his or her property after a catastrophic event. The Zoning By-Law Committee evaluated other Town’s by-laws related to rebuilding after a catastrophe and recommended that the prohibition against rebuilding be lifted if certain conditions were met and the non-conformities were not made any greater.
 

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ARTICLE 11
A version of this zoning amendment was submitted as Article 4 of the Fall 2006 Town Meeting Warrant and was referred back to the Zoning By-Law Committee for further study and report. This by-law amendment creates a new zoning district that generally permits residential development of three or fewer units on one parcel of land. In many ways, this new zoning district, the F district, is the same as the existing T districts, with the exception of permitting three dwelling units on one parcel of land, rather than only two. This proposed F district is similar to zoning districts in other municipalities, such as the “3F” zone in Allston-Brighton, the “RB” zone in Somerville and the “R3” zone in Arlington. This article also expands a T-5 district in the northwestern part of the Coolidge Corner district slightly, which is currently zoned M-1.0. This was based on an analysis of existing and appropriate uses on those parcels.

This proposed change to the zoning map in Coolidge Corner arose out of the Coolidge Corner planning process conducted to evaluate existing conditions and opportunities and threats facing Coolidge Corner. Threats identified included danger of development inconsistent with the surrounding buildings; excess density; development providing too little green space or encroaching upon the commercial core.

The language has been revised since Fall Town Meeting by the Department of Planning and Community Development, consulting with the Zoning Bylaw Committee. The earlier version proposed a maximum Floor Area Ratio of 0.75. This has been changed to F-1.0 (three family with an allowed FAR of 1.0) to better reflect the existing Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of many existing buildings in these areas, and also to match that of the current M-1.0 zoning. The proposed height maximum for the F zone was changed from 40 feet to 35 feet for single and two family dwellings, so that the height limit would be the same as the currently allowed height in single and two family districts. Similarly, the minimum lot width and side yard setback requirements were changed to reflect the same standards in the T and M districts.

The current proposal is for three areas in Coolidge Corner, currently zoned M-1.0. Other parcels near Coolidge Corner have been proposed for inclusion in this new zoning district as well, but have not been presented to the Zoning Bylaw Committee to date. While some of these additional parcels certainly warrant additional discussion for possible inclusion, such a discussion was not possible prior to the closing of this warrant.

The Zoning By-Law Committee has also discussed the revised zoning amendment and is supportive of its being submitted for the Spring 2007 Town Meeting Warrant.
 

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ARTICLE 12
Harriet Brendze owns the undeveloped lot adjacent to 150 Princeton Road which was created by virtue of a 1955 subdivision approval. In order to create access to the undeveloped lot, known as Lot 7 and shown as Lot 2 on Mr. Porter’s February 23, 2007 “Roadway Upgrading Plan”, the Planning Board approved the extension of the paved portion of Princeton Road including a turnaround on Lot 7 itself. After consultation with Town Counsel and the Town Engineer, it was decided that an easement was necessary to allow municipal vehicles to utilize the turnaround on Lot 7. The Planning Board made its approval of the upgrade subject to the condition that prior to the issuance of a building permit for construction of a dwelling on Lot 7, acceptance by Town Meeting and evidence of recording of an easement to the Town over the turnaround on Lot 7 for municipal vehicles was necessary.

 

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ARTICLE 13
The Town owns a number of properties that it leases. Per the provisions of Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws, the term of the lease can not exceed 10 years. The current lease for 9 Newton Street expires on May 30, 2007. In order to enter into a new lease, Town Meeting must authorize the Selectmen to do so. A Request for Proposal (RFP) has been issued and the Town and the chosen vendor will execute a lease if Town Meeting approves this article.
 

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ARTICLE 14
On January 1, 1912 Chapter 751 of the Acts of 1911 established the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation law. The Act was extended to public employee laborers, workmen and mechanics by Chapter 807 of the Acts of 1913, and included a local option provision. The Town of Brookline accepted Chapter 807 at the subsequent November 4, 1913 Annual Town meeting.

The provisions of Act, which have been incorporated into statute as M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 69, initially mandated coverage to laborers, workmen and mechanics. In addition sec. 69 allows municipalities to provide coverage on a limited basis as well as to bring in other positions by the express action of the municipality. (Police and Fire employees are protected by statutory provisions applicable to them under, M.G.L. c. 41, sec. 111F.)

Between 1965 and 1974 additional classifications of positions were added by the Town until eventually the only positions excluded from Workers Compensation coverage were Executives and Department Heads, Professional Teaching Staff of the School Dept. and Police and Fire, who are exempt by statute. This warrant seeks to extend coverage to Executives and Department Heads, who were formerly excluded.
 

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ARTICLE 15
The Board of Selectmen has submitted this warrant article to cover some situations in which valet parking is being used but which are not presently covered under the rules and regulations of the Transportation Board. The unregulated situation involves valets taking cars from one private parking lot to another but using surrounding streets to do so. Valet parking can be helpful when an establishment has limited parking spaces but it must be handled with consideration for the safety and welfare of those who live and drive in the area. This special legislation will amend the prior special legislation which lodges authority in transportation matters with the Transportation Board and will grant the Selectmen authority to deal with what appears to be a “loophole” in regulating a particular category of valet parking.
 

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ARTICLE 16
The Federal Government imposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards upon automobile manufacturers years ago to set minimum standards for fuel efficiency in passenger vehicles. Manufacturers have managed to avoid meeting these standards by making more SUVs and light trucks, which have lower fuel efficiency requirements, and selling them as passenger vehicles instead of cars. For example, the 2005 CAFÉ requirement for cars was 27.5 MPG average, while the CAFÉ requirement for SUVs and light trucks was only 20.7 PMG average.

In addition to being less fuel efficient and thereby causing more air pollution, SUVs and light trucks are heavier than cars and therefore take a heavier toll on town roads, wearing down town roads more quickly than cars. This creates an added burden on Brookline’s roads, with SUVs and light trucks causing greater and more rapid deterioration of Brookline’s roads than normal cars.

This article would double the assessment for SUVs and light trucks. This would more fairly apportion the costs of maintenance of town roads, removing present hidden subsidies for vehicles that cause greater pollution and greater wear upon town roads. In restructuring the motor vehicle excise tax in a more equitable way, this article would also generate additional revenue for the Town at a time when additional sources of revenue are being sought.
 

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ARTICLE 17
The purpose of the amendment is to give the Moderator more flexibility in appointing at-large members of the Committee, without interfering with the fundamental proposition that there should be at least one appointee from each precinct.
 

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ARTICLE 18
The general purpose of these recommendations is to ensure that green considerations are included in the overall goals of building projects and formally studied in the feasibility process. The Green Technology Committee felt that including language that stresses environmental and sustainability goals and objectives that would be initially addressed at the programming stage and then evaluated in the feasibility stage would incorporate appropriate green considerations into the process.
 

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ARTICLE 19
What prompted the reinstatement of the Town being responsible for the plowing and sanding of sidewalks in residential districts is the following:

The sidewalks are public property. Shoveling public sidewalks should not be the burden of homeowners. There are cases of homeowners having heart attacks shoveling snow. Homeowners do not have the capabilities nor the equipment to remove ice or hard packed snow. To prevent a slip and fall accident on icy sidewalks, people may have to walk on the street, which is dangerous, to go shopping, deep a doctors appointment, or for any other reasons. Many homeowners cannot afford to pay for ice and snow removal on top of their high taxes. Brookline people deserve the safety and quality of life, to be able to take a walk on sidewalks, especially the elderly, handicapped and children. This should be a top priority for the protection and safety of the Town’s people. As we understand, Brookline is the second highest taxed town in the state. Under proper business leadership, this could have been done, and can be done without any increase in taxes.
 

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ARTICLE 20
This by-law amendment is proposed in order to provide a more comprehensive and contemporary approach to preventing and controlling graffiti (tagging) on private and public property. The definition of graffiti is cross-referenced to state statute; enforcement procedures are set out; and removal requirements are delineated.

 

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ARTICLE 21
Restaurants, including carry-outs and other food service establishments, are an important source of food, since an estimated one third of daily caloric intake comes from food purchased in restaurants. Trans fat is a dangerous and common ingredient of food in restaurants, yet we have no practical way to avoid this harmful substance when served. The Brookline Department of Public Health is directed to reduce our exposure to an avoidable hazard by enforcing a ban on the use of trans fat added to foods or used in food preparation.

There is a clear association of trans fat with the risk of heart disease. Dietary trans fat increases heart disease by elevating LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and lowering HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Because of its negative effect on “good cholesterol,” trans fat appears to be even worse than saturated fat. The USDA recommends that dietary intake of trans fat be “as low as possible” and the American Heart Association recommends that dietary intake of trans fat be kept below 1% of food intake. FDA mandates listing of trans fat content on the labels of packaged foods.

Approximately 80% of dietary trans fat is found in oils used for frying and baking and is present in many processed foods. A much smaller amount is naturally occuring in small amounts in dairy and in beef and lamb.

Artificial trans fat is produced when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil in a process called hydrogenation. Common sources of trans fat include foods fried in partially hydrogenated oils, margarine and vegetable shortening, french fries, fried chicken, taco shells and donuts, baked goods such as hamburger buns, pizza dough, crackers, cookies, and pies and pre-mixed ingredients such as pancake and hot chocolate mix. Hydrogated fats are used to prepare food because they stand up to high heat well and have a longer shelf life. Packages containing oils and fats with trans fat in them are often labeled “partiallyhydrogenated oil” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.”

Trans fat can be replaced with currently available heart healthy alternatives. Substitution of healthier alternatives is required in New York City and in Denmark, and a number of other places are considering bans of trans fat. There are many acceptable alternatives to trans fat, as reported in a New England Journal of Medicine article, “Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease” (2006) 354: 15 (Mozaffarian et al).

The New England Journal article reports that levels of trans fat as low as a mere 2% of calories per day are linked to a 23 % increase in heart disease. The average person consumes 3.6% a day. Trans fat is also thought to have other serious adverse health effects.

This warrant provides a one-year period and a one and a half year period before the ban is enforced. During this period, the Brookline Department of Public Health will work to educate restauranteurs and to help them find acceptable substitutes, so that zero artificial trans fat can be achieved by the time the ban goes into effect.
 

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ARTICLE 22
Scientific Studies document a positive correlation between Thimerosol and increased risk for Autism and Alzheimer's Disease. Health initiatives should "Do No Harm" to human health.

Studies that compare exposures between mercury in food and mercury in vaccines reveal with repeated vaccinations, accumulation of mercury in the brain of infants will occur and indicated that the persistence of inorganic Hg in the brain was associated with a significant increase in the number of microglia in the brain, "an active neuroinflammatory process" which is consistent with what has been demonstrated in brains of autistic patients.

( http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/7712/7712.html "Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing Thimerosal" published in Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 113, Number 8, August 2005).

Another study indicates, "Microglia make up the innate immune system of the central nervous system and are key cellular mediators of neuroinflammatory processes. Their role in central nervous system diseases, including infections, .(participates) in both acute and chronic neuroinflammatory responses.( which include) their involvement in Alzheimer's disease where microglial cell activation is thought to be critically important in the neurodegenerative process."

.( http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/pdf/1742-2094-1-14.pdf

Microglia and neuroinflammation: a pathological perspective Journal of Neuroinflammation).


Vaccination is big business, the success of which depends on sales. The research and administration of vaccines employs tens of thousands of people in drug companies, private research laboratories and foundations, universities, State health departments and hospitals. Like all other businesses it is geared to profit. On a regular basis advertisements appear in the daily papers and in popular magazines urging the populace to line-up for their life-saving "jabs". Nowhere in these glossy advertisements is there a hint that they are inserted by the pharmaceutical companies producing the vaccines. The same applies to television programs which exhorting the benefits of mass immunization programs neglect to say that they are produced by the pharmaceutical giants and presented from carefully memorized scripts by T.V. personalities of the day.

Brookline health care initiatives should do no harm. Town administered Flu Shots contain 25 ug of Thimerosal (ethyl-mercury), yet the FDA, in violation of their own policy, has never demonstrated through safety studies, that Thimerosal is safe for human consumption, safety of the preservative, Thimerosal and other toxins present in Influenza vaccines to document the safety of using this preservative in the amounts used for human
health. Thousands of children develop autism every year, and thousands of older adults develop Alzheimer's Disease. Thus, previous conclusions regarding the safety of thimerosal are likely to be invalid. Given that the presence of toxins in vaccines have been shown to cause harm, use of toxins must discontinued in the Town of Brookline's immunization program.
 

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ARTICLE 23
Any reports from Town Officers and Committees are included under this article in the Combined Reports. Town Meeting action is not required on any of the reports.