Leary Property Community Housing Task Force 2011-05-25-LEARY-rpt (FINAL)

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LEARY PROPERTY COMMUNITY HOUSING TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT MAY 25, 2011 OVERVIEW In 2009, Community Preservation Act funds enabled the Town to purchase the Leary property, 14.2 acres of meadowland with a nineteenth century farm house fronting on Vine Street. Thirteen and a half acres are now preserved as conservation land. Approximately two-thirds of an acre at 116 Vine Street has been reserved by the Town for affordable housing. The Leary Property Community Housing Task Force (the Task Force) was charged with recommending to the Selectmen a plan for developing community housing on the property, which included determining whether the existing structure could be saved. In doing this the Task Force sought to balance the Town's need to increase its number of affordable housing units with other important goals, including respect for historical heritage,viewscape preservation, environmental sustainability, and neighborhood integration. A primary objective of the Task Force is to provide high quality affordable housing units on the limited portion of the Leary Land reserved by the Town for this purpose. The local demand for such housing greatly exceeds the supply, particularly for two-and three-bedroom units. Additionally the state requirement that each community have ten percent of its housing stock affordable (according to the statutory definition) means that the production of affordable units must continue to keep pace with the production of market rate units. Because Lexington is largely"built out" there are limited opportunities to site new affordable homes. The reservation of a portion of the Leary Land for affordable housing presents one such opportunity. The cost apportioned to the reserved portion ($600,000) is a factor in determining the preferred number of units.As more units are created,the cost to the Town of each unit goes down. Considering these factors, as well as some countervailing factors to be discussed below, the Task Force recommends that five to six housing units be created on this site in one structure consisting of several attached elements, such as a farmhouse, ell and barn. In meeting the primary goal of creating affordable housing units, the project should serve Lexington residents, including neighbors of the project, and add value to the Town as a whole. This requires real attention to the constructive input raised by abutters and neighbors. Primarily this pertains to the farmhouse,the proposed number of units,traffic, and neighborhood character. 2