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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-03-28-HPB-minLexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for March 28, 2013 Attendees: Chris Kluchman, Carole Marine, Jeri Foutter, Mary Haskell, Florence Baturin, Bob Pressman, Wendy Manz, Tom Harden, Melinda Walker, Harriet Cohen, Wendy Manz, Joe Pato Steve Laferriere, Metro West Collaborative Development The meeting was chaired by Chris Kluchman and the minutes were taken by Harriet Cohen. The meeting was called to order at 7:53 pm. 1. Approval of the Minutes of February 28, 2013 The minutes were discussed and several amendments were made. The minutes were approved with 8 votes in favor and 3 abstentions. Ms. Cohen said she would send out a copy of the minutes as amended. 2. LHP Membership Ms. Kluchman provided the following updates: ■ Ms. Manz has been appointed to the LHP by the Board of Selectmen (BOS). ■ Joe Pato has replaced Norm Cohen as the liaison from the BOS. Mr. Pato spoke of the importance of providing housing to meet a broad set of needs. ■ Michelle Ciccolo has been appointed as the ex officio member from the Planning Board 3. Letter for HOME Funds In her position as head of the Lexington Housing Authority, Melinda Walker wrote to the BOS in support of the HOME funds. Bob Pressman has drafted a letter in support of the HOME funds to be sent by the LHP to the BOS. The LHP reviewed the letter and commented on it. Ms. Kluchman proposed revising some wording. Florence Baturin made a motion to approve Ms. Kluchman sending the letter to the BOS on behalf of the LHP. Carole Marine seconded the motion. The motion was carried unanimously. 4. Housing Production Plan Mr. LaFerriere reported that there has not been significant progress on the HPP. Mr. Pressman said Aaron Henry had been busy on other projects but is now returning to work on the HPP. Ms. Kluchman will invite Mr. Henry to the next meeting to brief the LHP on the HPP. Betsy Weiss has provided a list of available parcels in Lexington. Ms. Weiss and Mr. Pressman met with Mr. Henry to review the list. There are only a few parcels which would be suitable for affordable housing. Mr. Henry said may be a few town sites which would be candidates for affordable housing. Ms. Kluchman asked for volunteers for a subcommittee to follow up on the - possible land parcels for affordable housing. Ms. Walker, Mr. Pressman and Ms. Manz volunteered. Jennifer Lexington Housing Partnership van Campen and Steve Laferriere from Metro West Collaborative Development would like to join the subcommittee when possible. 5. Affordable Housing Proposing for Fairview Street LexHAB has proposed4 units of affordable housing on Fairview Street. The units would be architecturally designed and would be highly energy efficient. LexHAB has worked hard to honor the requests of the neighbors and have as little impact as possible on the neighborhood. This development is being done as a "Friendly 4013". It would be beneficial to this effort for the LHP to support the project. Mr. Laferriere will draft a letter in support. He will send it to Ms. Weiss and Ms. Kluchman for review. They will send it to the LHP as a whole. The letters will be provided for review at the next LHP meeting. 6. Support for Affordable Housing by LexHAB Mr. Pressman will draft a letter in support of the affordable housing on the Busa farm land. The letter will be available for review at the next LHP meeting. The BOS discussion of the Busa land is targeted for May. LexHAB has taken the house down on the Leary land. They have not yet had any plans developed for the property, though they would like to go to the BOS in June to discuss their plans for Leary. 7. Housing on Marrett Road The Town has voted to purchase the Scottish Rite land on Marrett Road. The Commander's House is not being sold. It will be retained by the Masons. It is likely the property will be taken under a general historical restriction. The historical restriction does not prevent change to the land. The land can be used for appropriate community uses. This does not preclude the use of the property for affordable housing, particularly for senior housing, in the future. Ms. Manz will undertake some research as to the legal implications of the taking of the land under a general historical restriction. Mr. LaFerriere offered to serve as a resource. 8. CPC Update Related to Housing Proposals CPC updates have been covered in the previous discussions. 9. LHP and mission /goals This discussion was postponed until next meeting. 10. Adjournment Ms. Weiss moved to adjourn. Ms. Manz seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The next meeting will be on April 25, 2013, at 7:30 pm.