2003-06-25-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF NNE 25, 2003 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Chairman Harden with members Chase, Davies, Galaitsis and planning staff Garber, McCall- Taylor and Machek present. Also present: Mimi Aarens, Kellie Barnett, Florence Baturin, Bob Bicknell, Bill Carlson, Barbara Ciampi, Jacqueline Davison, Kenn Elmore, Phil Herr, Deb Jackson, Pauline Jennett, Ken Kreutziger, Winifred McGowan, Tom Montanari, Michael Schroeder, Dan Smith, Graydon Wheaton, and Iris Wheaton. AFFORDABLE HOUSING Mr. Harden opened the meeting with a brief statement and then asked all present to introduce themselves. Town of Bedford Activities - Ms. McCall - Taylor reported to the group that she was unable to get Gene Clerkin from Bedford to come and speak with the group. He had spoken recently to the Fair Housing and Human Relations Committee and said there was little to add over what members could report. He feels that without a dedicated funding source such as the Community Preservation Act (CPA) little could be done. Mr. Elmore added that Bedford has a centralized approach with three organizations working together. He said that it is different than Lexington as it is a small town with an open town meeting, which allows them to politic for attendance as needed when housing issues are presented. Ms. Ciampi cautioned against comparing apples and oranges, as the situation in Bedford is very different from Lexington. Mr. Herr said that the relevance of Bedford is that it is a town that has made some progress. He said that what towns are trying to do is difficult but there are some towns that are making progress, each in its own way. The discussion continued with some speculation on various things Lexington might do to increase housing opportunities including an inclusionary bylaw, linkage payments and joining a HOME consortium. What do we hope to gain? Mr. Elmore said that this will take an extraordinary effort on the part of many people and it needs the force of will. He said that he knows some people who feel that they will lose something if affordable housing is produced and wondered what those present would answer about the importance of affordable housing. Ms. Aarens said that it is the right thing to do. She feels that people do not understand what affordable housing is, what it looks like and whom it is for. Teachers and civil service workers are among those who need moderately priced housing. Such housing would allow people to change homes as they age but still stay in town. She feels it is important to create a platform to educate the community. Ms. Davison suggested a community dialogue as part of the program, and that might include a presentation at the Council on Aging. Mr. Smith suggested that it be a topic of discussion at a high school debate. He wondered what sort of model of community we were teaching our children. He feels that socio - economic diversity of the community is a core value of the town. Ms. Chase echoed his comments and said she wants to see the children of plumbers sitting next to the children of academics in the schools. Mr. Smith said there is a widening income gap and asked if one could say it is a good thing? If it is not good on the national level, we need to look at how it is playing out in our own town. Mr. Elmore said he feels people think residence in Lexington carries a cachet and that people see their investment as threatened. People who have bought in don't want to see the things that come with more people. He hears the argument that some towns are doing nothing, so why not Lexington? Ms. Baturin said the values of houses near LexHAB units have not gone down. Ms. Jennett said that the town is becoming less diverse demographically with younger adult age groups missing from town. Mr. Smith said that "l, 1,