2024-02-01-HPB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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suitable for swing space. The Town has issued an RFP for quotes on renting office space rather than using 173 Bedford Street. Mr. Pressman commented that on one occasion the Town Manager anticipated that the rental information would be available at the end of February. Ms. Hai had asked at the Select Board meeting if housing could be added at the back of the 173 Bedford Street lot. At this time, that does not appear to be feasible. Ms. Heitz put forward the position that the Housing Partnership Board should support using 173 Bedford Street for housing instead of as swing space. Ms. Manz suggested that this topic be discussed at the next HPB meeting when we have information as to whether rental space will be used. 8. Warrant Article 27: Appropriate for Renovation of 173 Bedford Street This will be discussed at the next meeting. 9. Warrant Articles 50 and 51: Amend Zoning Bylaw, GFA Definition and Overlay Districts Mr. Hornig: Articles 50 and 51 specify adjustments to the village overlay zoning based on feedback from staff and that the EOHLC deemed the feasibility study as inadequate. Mr. Hornig said that the EOHLC did not approve 15% affordable. The new feasibility study said that larger developments would need to be 15% affordable and smaller units would require 10% affordability. The other change modifies the circumstances under which a height bonus would be awarded for mixed-use development. The original zoning did not address several edge cases. Mr. Hornig also noted that hearings will be held on Articles 52 and 53. Both are related to landowner petitions to add properties to the MFO district. Adding the properties to the MFO district would permit multi-family housing to be built on those parcels. The Planning Board will be holding a hearing regarding these modifications on Feb. 7. Mr. Hornig encouraged everyone to attend the meeting. Ms. Weiss requested that the HPB vote in support of the 15% / 10% change. Ms. Manz suggested that we have the vote at the March meeting. 10. Lyceum Jan. 30th event- Affordable Housing panel and movie Mr. Pressman noted that Ms. Kluchman on the panel was a chair of the HPB. She made a presentation focusing on the many positive elements in the bond bill. Ms. Tung gave an excellent presentation about the AHT. Tiffany Payne spoke about the difficulties of obtaining housing when someone can’t afford MA rents or purchases. Ms. Heitz said that she thought the breakout sessions were useful and informative. Ms. Manz said that it was very helpful to have meetings such as this one to reach people about affordable housing and why it’s needed. She noted that we need to have more such meetings. Ms. Pressman and Ms. Manz spoke about the video that was showed at the start of the meeting. The video is “Segregated by Design (https://vimeo.com/328684375/description). There were about 50 attendees, many of them housing advocates.