Department Details
Records Access Officer
Isaiah Thelwell
Rhode Germain
Administrative Assistants to the Planning Board and Conservation Commission
Conservation Agent
Kyle Holden
Planning the Future of Brockton
City-wide Comprehensive Plan
The Department of Planning and Economic Development has kicked off an eighteen month effort to develop a city-wide comprehensive plan with the goal of increasing the pride we have in our community and its assets and creating a framework for our City to thrive as a prosperous, livable, and inclusive community that is poised to capitalize on opportunities for growth and economic development.
The last Comprehensive Plan was published in 1996. Since then, Brockton has undergone significant population and socio/economic changes. The new plan will incorporate those changes and better represent the goals and aspirations of our community.
Campello
The City has initiated multiple projects in the Campello neighborhood that reflect the diverse community of residents, businesses and transit features like the Campello MBTA station. All these make Campello suitable for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) which focuses on the development of commercial and residential spaces as well as pedestrian infrastructure. Another significant undertaking in the area is the Campello Neighborhood Plan, funded through Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s Complete Neighborhoods Initiative. Through the input of key stakeholders the City has drafted the Campello Neighborhood Plan with the hopes of proposing new zoning to support the plan and in creating an Urban Renewal Zone in the area. Campello is also one of four neighborhoods in Brockton where the City is exploring a modern style of zoning called Form Based Code.
Lovett Brook (Good Sam Area) Master Plan
The Lovett Brook area is located at the intersection of Routes 24 and 27 in northwest Brockton. The site is anchored by the Good Samaritan Medical Center and includes the headquarters of Harbor One Bank and the Original Tommy Doyle’s Pub and Grill. Lovett Brook bisects the site, which contains a broad mix of office, retail, residential, and auto-oriented uses. Oak Street and North Pearl Street are lined with active businesses, although one is located directly over the brook. However, the interior of the site on the west side contains a single house, a small strip mall, and the concrete pad and parking lot of a former movie theater (closed in 1999, demolished in 2015).
MassDevelopment sponsored this planning process with a grant from its Site Readiness Program. The consultant team is Innes Associates with Tighe & Bond and RKG Associates; they are assisting the City of Brockton, the Brockton Redevelopment Authority, and MassDevelopment.
The first phase of this project is this land use plan for the underutilized area around the Good Samaritan Medical Center. The focus of this plan is to take advantage of the existing medical center with appropriate uses related to the life sciences sector and add other uses that are complementary to the existing neighborhood and provide amenities to attract employers and employees.
More information about the planning process and a copy of the draft plan can be fount at https://www.lovett-brook-brockton.com/
The second phase is introducing Form-based code, a modern type of zoning in the Lovett Brook area. The City is hosting a series of public meetings and workshops to work with the community. For more information please follow the link below.
Montello
Today, Montello is a blend of residential, commercial and industrial spaces. The City has embarked on initiatives to revitalize the neighborhood while supporting and reflecting its community's needs. With funding from MassHousing’s Choice Grant, the City has just launched the Montello Neighborhood Plan and is currently in the process of drafting an update to the existing zoning and land use. Montello is among four neighborhoods where the City is looking to roll out a modern style of zoning called Form Based Code. The area has also qualified for the Thriving Communities Program (TCP) which helps provide the City with resources that lay the foundation for future transportation related projects until 2025.
TCP (Thriving Communities Program) Brockton – Equitable Engagement Toolkit
The Thriving Communities Program (TCP) funds organizations ("Capacity Builders") to provide technical assistance, planning, and capacity building support to disadvantaged and under-resourced communities, enabling them to advance transportation projects that support community-driven economic development, health, environment, mobility, and access goals. The City of Brockton successfully applied to receive technical assistance and capacity building support for the 2023-2025 Grant Period and was matched with the WSP Capacity Building Team as part of the Complete Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods cohort.
Thatcher Street
Our Lady of Sorrows Convent/261 Thatcher Street Next Steps
Planning Office for Urban Affairs has submitted an application to the Planning Board to create a 175-unit multi-family residential development the Property in a manner that complies with the requirements of the Article XIX of the City of Brockton Zoning Ordinance for the Thatcher Street Smart Growth Overlay District and will create a sustainable, healthy, vibrant and diverse community.
The Development a diversity of unit types, spread across five buildings in a campus like setting around the existing Our Lady of Sorrows convent building which serves as the Development's identity and centerpiece. The Development will also include 185 parking spaces, landscaped open spaces for residents of the Development and, as noted below, accommodations for an internal bus stop.
The following documents have been sent to BETA for an independent third party review and to the members of the Technical Review Committee.
- 40R Application and Introduction
- Attachment 1 – Floor area and Unit Mix
Attachment 2 – Draft Affordable Housing Restrictions - Attachment 3 – Traffic Impact Analysis
- Attachment 4 – Lighting Information
- Attachment 5 Stormwater Analysis and Drainage Report
- Attachment 5 – Appendix A Soil Data
- Attachment 5 – Appendix B Drainage Area Maps
- Attachment 5 – Appendix C GSI Sizing Calculations
- Attachment 5 – Appendix D HydroCAD
- Attachment 5 – Appendix E TSS and Recharge
- Attachment 6 – Stormwater Management Maintenance Plan
Thatcher Street Smart Growth Overlay District
The City is working with the Sisters of Jesus Crucified and the Archdiocese of Boston Planning Office for Urban Affairs on a proposed MGL Chapter 40R Smart Growth Overlay District at the Our Lady of Sorrows Convent on Thatcher Street.
MGL 40R is a zoning designation that would allows denser residential or mixed-use development near transit stations, in areas of concentrated development such as existing city and town centers, and in other highly suitable locations. An application is currently under review by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) before being submitted to the Brockton City Council for consideration.
Former Christo's Site
State Senator Mike Brady and members of our Beacon Hill delegation filed legislation (S. 2352) to allow the Commonwealth to dispose of the 6.8 acre site. The Commonwealth determined that it was more cost effective to rehabilitate on-campus facilities than to build a new off –campus building to support Massasoit’s Allied Heath program which left the fate of the old Christo’s restaurant and Massasoit Conference center as a point of speculation. To start a community conversation about the future of the site, the City of Brockton’s Department of Planning and Economic Development engaged with the local chapter of the Urban Land Institute (https://boston.uli.org/) for a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP). A TAP is a one day exercise that brings real estate and land use planning professionals together to help the City understand the key issues related to a particular real estate/development question and brainstorm some potential solutions.
The TAP panelists toured the site and the surrounding neighborhood, interviewed local stakeholders and institutions, and presented their findings and recommendations to the local stakeholders over the course of a single day. The full report will be completed in January of 2020. The link below is a copy of the ULI TAP presentation.
Brockton TAP Powerpoint Presentation
While the TAP had identified two development scenarios, they are by no means the only opportunities the community should be considering. The Department of Planning and Economic Development will be hosting a community meeting in Spring of 2020 to receive additional community input in order to develop a vision for how the site could be redeveloped. We are working closely with the Commonwealth, Massasoit Community College, and the residential/ commercial neighbors to develop a strategy that works to benefit all Brockton stakeholders.
Fifth Ward Councilor Jeffrey Thompson hosted the first of several virtual community meetings on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 to continue the ongoing discussion on the redevelopment of the former Christo’s and Conference Center site.
In particular area residents and the public at large are being asked to react to five development scenarios are based on feedback from previous meetings in the ward and what we learned from the Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel. We looked at different levels of development density as well as economically feasible end uses for the site. The illustrations are intended to stimulate a conversation that will guide us in rezoning the area so our vision can be implemented.
The city will be taking comments, questions and suggestions through the end of September via email at [email protected]. Be sure to put Christo’s in the subject line. In October, department staff will deliver a memo to Councilor Thompson and City Council summarizing the discussion and outlining next steps for consideration.
Click here for a copy of the September 15, 2020 presentation.
Click here to view the September 15, 2020 meeting video.
And click here for a list of Frequently Asked Questions
Other Planning Efforts
The Department has identified 11 areas outside of downtown that should have their own District Master Plans.
These include the Campello and Montello districts as well as Belmont and Pleasant Street Corridors and the east side commercial districts along Centre, Court and Quincy. Each of these districts has an important role to play in improving the lives and economic opportunities of our residents. As staff and funds become available, the Department will begin a community led planning effort.
