There is hereby created in the Town of Brookline a Housing Advisory Board, hereinafter called the "Board," to report to and advise the Select Board for the following purposes:
A. 
To study and recommend housing policy for the Town;
B. 
To advise on the coordination of housing policy and programs within the Town;
C. 
To act as trustees for funds received as gifts, grants, aid, reimbursements and payments for housing, including renewal, replacement and new construction;
D. 
To propose plans and programs for relieving congestion; substandard, decadent or blighted areas; unsanitary or unsafe buildings; and for providing safe and sanitary dwellings for families and elderly persons of low or moderate income at rentals which they can afford;
E. 
To promote the preservation and creation of housing which is affordable to low-, moderate- and upper-moderate-income persons and households and families; and
F. 
To administer the Brookline Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
The Housing Advisory Board shall consist of 10 trustees who shall be residents of the Town, seven appointed by the Select Board for two-year staggered terms; and a member each of the Select Board, Planning Board and Brookline Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Vacancies shall be filled for unexpired terms. Of the Select Board appointees, three should be low- or moderate-income tenants who reside in subsidized housing units as defined by the Comprehensive Permit Law (MGL c. 40B, §§ 20 to 23, and Massachusetts regulations thereunder) or who receive state or federally sponsored rent subsidies and who demonstrate a knowledge of tenant issues. At least one of the low- or moderate-income tenants shall be a resident of a Brookline Housing Authority apartment or a recipient of BHA-administered rent subsidies. The other Select Board appointees should have knowledge or experience in one or more of the following areas: government housing programs; housing or real estate finance; affordable housing development, design or urban planning, including sustainability; and real estate law. The Select Board should ensure that all these areas of expertise are represented on the Housing Advisory Board. The Select Board shall endeavor to assure that the Housing Advisory Board members are racially and ethnically diverse and are committed to community engagement.
The funds of the Brookline Affordable Housing Trust Fund, established pursuant to MGL c. 44, § 55C, are to be managed and expended under the supervision of the Housing Advisory Board. The purpose of the Trust is to provide for the creation and preservation of affordable housing in the Town of Brookline for the benefit of low- and moderate-income households and for the funding of community housing, as defined in and in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 44B. The Housing Trust may accept gifts, grants, aid, reimbursements, payments and appropriations for the purposes set forth in this Section 3.13.3, and the Housing Advisory Board may expend the funds in the Housing Trust, with the approval of the Select Board, for such purposes. Without limiting the foregoing, and with the approval of the Select Board, the Board may employ consultants, full- or part-time staff and contract for administrative and support services. All funds received for the Housing Trust shall be deposited with the Treasurer and held in a separate account known as the "Housing Trust account." The Brookline Housing Trust Fund shall be the sole designee and recipient of any and all developer cash contributions made to the Town for affordable housing purposes under Section 4.08, Affordable Housing Requirements, of the Zoning By-law. No expenditures shall be made from the Housing Trust Fund without the prior approval of the Select Board.
In addition to the duties given to the Board in Section 3.13.1, it shall also review and make recommendations to the Planning Board for projects under any so-called "inclusionary zoning" provisions. The Board shall, in appropriate cases, act as the negotiating agency with developers and owners regarding the financial aspects of the development or conversion of property. The Board may hold both real and personal property and, without limiting the foregoing, may hold interests in real and personal property, including mortgages, land leases, easements, restrictions and options. The Board shall have authority to apply for, receive and expend grants, aid, reimbursements, gifts and other funding for housing and conversion projects, including, without limiting the foregoing, preservation of existing housing, expansion of low-, moderate- and upper-moderate-income housing, and conversion of existing housing or nonhousing structures to low-, moderate- and upper-moderate-income housing. The Board shall report each year to the Select Board and the Annual Town Meeting on progress achieved in meeting any Town-wide goals and priorities for housing in Brookline adopted by the Select Board and the Housing Advisory Board.
The Board may use the Housing Trust, or any additional funds that may be available, to provide rent subsidies, mortgage interest payments, mortgage principal payments, condominium principal or interest payments, development subsidies and conversion subsidies. The Board may also use such funding for housing studies and reports, for the employment of experts and for such purposes it deems necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes set forth in Section 3.13.1.