Brookline's Colonel Floyd Home Rule Petition Signed Into Law

BROOKLINE, MA — On Friday, the state passed a local home rule petition filed by Rep. Tommy Vitolo that will allow the Brookline Housing Authority to redevelop sustainably.

The Colonel Floyd Home Rule Petition, H.4083, specifically exempts the BHA from the filed sub-bid system during the redevelopment of the Colonel Floyd Apartments, allowing for the selection of subcontractors with the skills needed to design and build to net zero energy and passive house building standards.

"We must act with intentionality both to ensure that everyone in society has access to basic needs and services, and to dramatically reduce our carbon pollution,” said Vitolo in a statement. “This change in the law was necessary to redevelop and expand the Colonel Floyd apartments sustainably, and I am grateful for the partnership of BHA Executive Director Alperin and for my colleagues in the legislature who worked hard to ensure this bill's timely passage.”

The Colonel Floyd Apartments, located at 32 Marion Street, consists of 60 units of walk-up senior public housing. In spring 2022, the BHA will begin to redevelop these units into 115 units of modern affordable housing with on-site services.

"I am thrilled that H.4083 has been signed into law, allowing the Brookline Housing Authority to not only build high quality 100% affordable housing for our residents, but housing that is also great for the environment,” said Michael Alperin, Executive Director of the BHA, in a statement. “This would not have been possible without Representative Vitolo, who shepherded the bill through the complex Beacon Hill legislative maze, delivering a major win for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.”

The home rule petition was originally filed by Brookline Town Meeting Members Kathleen Scanlon and Michael Jacobs and passed Town Meeting in May of 2021 with overwhelming support. The bill was then filed by Representative Vitolo in the legislature where it advanced through the Joint Committee on Housing and the House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling with the support of Chair James Arciero and Chair Kevin Honan.