2005-11-17-HPB.min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for November 17, 2005 Attendees: Iris Wheaton, Inky MacDougall, Jeri Foutter, Bill Carlson, Bob Bicknell, Mary Haskell, Martha Wood, Betsey Weiss, Harriet Cohen, Ken Kreutziger, Julie Duncan, Winifred McGowan Bob Bicknell chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:45 1. Approval of September minutes The minutes for the September and special November meetings were approved unanimously. 2. Reports from Sub-committees CPA – Betsey Weiss Ms. Weiss briefed the Partnership on CPA activities, which are focused on making presentations and getting endorsements from Lexington residents and town committees and organizations. New members are welcome and needed. Zoning – Mary Haskell On Wednesday, Nov. 16, the Planning Board held a hearing on the Inclusionary Zoning by-law. There was substantial concern at the Planning Board as to how the accessory apartments are counted vis-à-vis the town affordable housing stock. Motion : The LHP recommends that the provision for accessory affordable apartments not be included in the by-law at this time. Rather, the issue should be studied so that the town can determine how those apartments can be included as affordable units in a way that makes sense for both the homeowner and the Town. The motion passed unanimously. Motion : Endorse Section (4) Part (b) of the Inclusionary Zoning Article, with the requirement that the Planning Board retains the authority to depart from the proportionality requirement for units on multiple sites. Section (4) Part (b) may be found in Appendix A. The motion passed unanimously. Exploring Options – Iris Wheaton Mansionization continues unimpeded. The Exploring Options committee is considering a variety of alternatives to preserve the current housing stock. One of these alternatives is to establish “neighborhood conservation districts”. A neighborhood conservation district is a “group of buildings and their settings that are architecturally and/or historically distinctive and worthy of protection based on their contribution to the architectural, cultural, political, economic or social history of the community.” In some implementations of neighborhood conservation districts, major alterations, additions, demolitions and new construction receive a binding regulatory review. This review would seek to slow the process of mansionization.