HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Options Committee AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS COMMITTEE
Progress Report to Special Town Meeting , Sept 25, 1989
THE COMMITTEE. The Affordable Housing Options Committee was
appointed by the Board of Selectmen on June 5, 1989, in accordance with
a decision of the 1989 Annual Town Meeting Its core membership is made
up of one representative from each of eight concerned town boards and
one from each precinct under the co-chairmanships of Selectman John
Eddison and Planning Board Member Eleanor Klauminzer It has received
strong professional support from Planning Director Robert Bowyer The
precinct representatives are all current or former Town Meeting members
who offered their services and who represent a diversity of backgrounds
and points of view Committee members have been appointed for one year
with the expectation that the Committee will make its report to the 1990
Annual Town Meeting following an interim report to a Special Town
Meeting in the fall of 1989
THE CHARGE The Options Committee was charged with assisting
concerned town boards in
a) bringing together existing studies, reports and data relevant to
decision making on affordable housing in Lexington;
b) integrating housing goals with other town objectives and
policies ;
c) expanding the range of options for financing the affordable
units ,
d) assembling an inventory of, potential sites for affordable
housing; and
e) fostering townwide discussion and understanding of affordable
housing guidelines and possibilities
ORGANIZATION AND PROGRESS The Options Committee met three times
during the latter half of June Its initial meetings were devoted to
orienting its diverse membership to the job to be done and to providing
them with a common background on the available literature and the recent
history of affordable housing in Lexington It soon became apparent
that the Committee could function more effectively if it were to divide
into two task forces which would address separate aspects of its charge
This was done A Goals and Policies Task Force, headed by Eleanor
Klauminzer, was formed to evaluate the need for affordable housing and
to examine the relationship of the town' s housing goals with other town
policies and objectives ; and a Techniques and Strategies Task Force, led
by William Spencer, was named to identify and evaluate techniques and
instruments for creating low cost housing These task forces met almost
weekly throughout the summer while coming together periodically to share
their findings and confer with consultants In a parallel activity,
Director Bowyer and the Planning Department have undertaken to prepare
for the Committee an annotated inventory of town owned land