2021-05-28-VISION2025-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Introduction of new members and proposed plan for orientation. Margaret asked new members to introduce themselves. Our new members, current members and quests introduced themselves. Margaret commented that she would like to hold a new member orientation at our June meeting. Margaret asked Katharine to send around a form asking everyone to provide their name, address, phone number and email. Townwide Survey Planning Update Mark provided an update on behalf of the working group.The group continues to review the existing questions and developing new ones. Mark added that we received the CEL Grant,which will be used to send out fliers to every household in Lexington. Mark also reviewed the timeline with the committee. Rina asked if the survey will be available just online. Mark responded that hard copies will also be available. Observations on Future Housing trends in Lexington Andrew spoke about how he looks at the immediate future based on historical trends. As a committee, we are concerned with what is going to happen in the future and how the housing market affects that. Andrew noted that the 2008 market crash didn't have a significant impact on the housing market in Lexington due to various reasons. In recent years, the number of homes on the market for under$700k has significantly decreased. Andrew continued that as a result of the pandemic, it has been very competitive to by homes. Andrew commented that the MBTA is now requiring denser, multifamily housing by stops for additional funding (40A).This trend doesn't look like it will change unless some market force or zoning change intervenes. Samita agreed with Andrew's presentation and commented that the lack of inventory has always been an issue, and mainly the reason for the high demand for homes and the current low interest rates also contribute to the buyer frenzy. Samita added that high construction costs have also been a contributing factor to high housing prices. Dan asked Andrew if what is happening in Lexington is happening in nearby communities. Andrew said yes, across the country.Joe mentioned how in a previous meeting, Fernando brought up preservation of character.Joe believes we failed in at least two dimensions of preserving character.Joe commented that Town employees used to be able to live in Town, as well as there used to be more diversity in the housing stock.Joe continued that we should be studying how the effects of people moving back into cities and back to work will impact housing.Joe also added that there has been a lot of Town Meeting petitions that would lead to funding coming in from real estate transactions that can fund some of these housing initiatives. Progress on Development of a New Committee Logo Peter Lee commented that he and Andrew are at the preliminary stages and haven't had a chance to meet yet. Peter commented that they were not really sure about the purpose or scope of the logo, whether it's branding or bringing awareness to our name change. Peter and Andrew want to know when we are looking to have this completed. Bhumip suggested that we advertise that we are looking for a new logo to high school students. Fernando asked if this new logo will be on the survey. Mark responded that it would be great to have one done before the survey is sent out. Mark suggested working with Sean Dugan to advertise and open it up that we are looking for a new logo. Dan suggested that before we look to create a new logo,we need to be clear about what we are trying to convey. Rina commented that the PTA did that recently for their logo; students were able to creatively put something together after they 2