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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-05-18-HPB.min Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for May 18, 2006 Attendees: Mary Haskell, Harriet Cohen, Tom Harden, Winifred McGowan, Wendy Manz, Florence Baturin, Mary Ann McCall-Taylor, Bob Bicknell, Bill Carlsen, Jeri Foutter, Iris Wheaton, Chris Eaton Bob Bicknell chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:09 pm. 1. Approval of January and March Minutes The minutes for January, 2006 and March 2006 were approved unanimously. 2. Welcome New Board Members Tom Harden, Nick Santosuosso (representing the Council on Aging) and Greg Zurlo (representing the Planning Board) have joined the LHP. 3. Discuss CPA Procedures (Betsey Weiss) The application for applying for CPA funds is complete. For the anticipated Fall Town Meeting, projects will be accepted through August 1. The next deadline is November 1, for voting at the Spring Town Meeting. At the most recent Town Meeting, $100,000 was allocated to the Police Station Dispatch Room for interior renovation, $100,000 capital repairs for the Fire Station, and $60,000 for environmental controls for the vault in the basement of Town Hall. This was all historic preservation. 10% ($230,000) was banked for each of affordable housing and 10% ($230,000) for open space. Most of the remainder was banked as unreserved. An enclosure explaining the CPA surcharge will be included with the next Town tax bill sent out to residents. 4. Discuss Plans for Promoting Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw (Wendy Manz) Ms. Manz suggested that we put together a campaign for the Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw in much the same way as we would put together a campaign for a ballot initiative. The first step would be training volunteers so that they are thoroughly versed in the bylaw. The next step is putting together a plan and timeline, along with gathering some data as to how other towns have successfully used inclusionary zoning. Then launch the campaign in the fall with informational meetings, articles and letters in the Lexington MinuteMan, and so on. 5. Committee Reports (Chris Eaton) 40-R Smart Growth Examples 40-R development is cumbersome and has not been used, to this point, by municipalities. The overlay districts permitted by 40-R have mostly been pursued by developers for site- specific developments. Lexington Housing Partnership Zoning – Report and discussion on Private Adaptive Reuse Overlay District (AROD) Mary Haskell) ( For several months in 2004 the zoning bylaw subcommittee reviewed the issue of whether the Lexington zoning bylaw should be amended to include private adaptive reuse. Phil Herr wrote and revised a number of versions of such regulations but we did not present this in an official way to the Planning Board because accessory apartment amendments were a priority for the 2005 Town Meeting and inclusionary zoning for 2006 TM. The two primary issues to be addressed by AROD's were 1) how a sizeable private non- residential nonconforming building in a residential zone could be "adaptively reused" for housing, including affordable housing, by means of an overlay district; and 2) how a sizeable private non-residential building in a non-residential zone could be "adaptively reused" for housing or a mixed use, including affordable housing, also by means of an overlay district. Lexington already has regulations to permit Town owned buildings, such as schools, to be reused for residences if allowed by TM. The point here would be the re-use of private buildings such as churches, private schools and commercial buildings. Although Bob Bicknell had asked Mary Haskell to explain the foregoing, we decided, based primarily on the opinions of Wendy Manz and Maryann McCall Taylor to table, but not forget, this issue. Mary pointed out that Phil Herr put quite a bit of time into this matter and when brought forth again we need to study his material and Mary's notes from the bylaw committee meetings. Although the regulations are very technical, Glenn Garber believed an AROD could be very useful at certain times. Exploring Options – Winifred McGowan, Iris Wheaton Winifred reported on her conversations with officials from Stow. They have engaged a consultant, Judi Barrett, to help them gain approval from DHCD to count units in their affordable housing inventory that result from their Affordable Housing Deed Restriction program. Bob agreed to contact Bob Wilbur, chair of their housing partnership, to keep in touch about their program. Bob also agreed to speak with Judi Barrett with the possibility of engaging her services to help us define our program. Stow’s program is sponsored by their Community Preservation Committee, using CPA funds. Iris turned over her compilation of Lexington properties that might be eligible for such a program. Iris explained what she has discovered about Neighborhood Conservation Districts, in use by Cambridge since 1983, recently adopted by Brookline (which has produced a definitive report on the concept), in place in Lincoln and Amesbury and proposed by Concord recently. She provided copies of the Concord proposed By-Law. Iris proposed that we present the concept to the Selectmen and request that they create a committee to draw up an appropriate By-Law for Lexington. It was agreed that we needed to learn more about this concept to determine if it would be appropriate for Lexington. It was decided to invite Sally Zimmerman, who knows about the Cambridge history, to speak at our next meeting so we can learn more about neighborhoods banding together to form these districts. Lexington Housing Partnership (Harriet Cohen and Jeri Foutter) Web site The web site was reviewed briefly. There were suggestions to add pictures, minutes and meeting agendas. Our Lexington Housing Partnership logo should be used somewhere. A link from the town site will be coordinated after the site is finished. Paul Linton volunteered to be involved. Bob will discuss this with him and let Harriet and Jeri know what he will do. Harriet has assisted in moving the site to a low cost home that will be paid for with Foundation funds. (Jeri Foutter) Supportive Living, Inc. Local Support In addition to the vote of support from the Lexington Housing Partnership, Douglas House has received numerous expressions of local support from neighbors and town boards. 1. Residents of Oakland Street are currently participating with SLI as members of a Neighborhood Design Advisory Group for Douglas House. 2. The Merriam Hill Association has also expressed support and will be involved in further design review. 3. The Planning Board indicated its support for the Project at its meeting of July 6, 2005 and in a letter dated February 12, 2006. 4. The Historic Districts Commission noted the appropriateness of the reuse of this building for housing at meetings with the Commission in Fall of 2005 and February 2006. We hope to receive formal approval of the exterior elements of the design at the June meeting. 5. The Planning Department is working with SLI and the Engineering Department to design ramp access to the Depot Square side of the building and the relocation in the Depot Parking Area of reserved handicap parking spaces to be adjacent to the building. SL Inc.'s proposal fits well with Lexington's new Connectivity Program. 6. The Board of Selectmen expressed support on May 8, 2006. Funding Supportive Living, Inc. has received the following commitments, which are all of the necessary permanent financing commitments other than those applied for from the Massachusetts housing programs for tax credits and other funding sources using the OneStop Application process 1. HUD 811 Housing with Supportive Services for Persons with Disabilities - $1,070,000. 2. Federal Home Loan Bank Direct Subsidy (grant) through Brookline Bank * $300,000. 3. Mortgage loan for acquisition from Brookline Bank - $600,000 4. SL Inc. has raised $600,000 so far in its Capital Campaign and is looking to raise $800,000 more. 5. They have applied for a Challenge Grant from the Kresge Foundation and are awaiting that response. Lexington Housing Partnership SLI submitted a OneStop application to DHCD in Fall 2005 and was not selected for funding primarily due to readiness issues concerning HUD funding (as noted above, SLI received a commitment from HUD in January 2006). They reapplied in the February 2006 round based on encouragement from DHCD. DHCD will announce its decision sometime near the end of May or in early June. In addition, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) has provided a strong letter of interest in purchasing both the Low Income Housing Tax Credits, should DHCD make a tax credit award to the project, and the Historic Renovation Tax Credits. An independent firm, Michel Associates, has also offered to purchase the tax credits. Historic Approvals related to tax credits The Press building has been determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register (which is a key finding for qualifying for historic tax credits). The next step is approval of the actual plans for rehabilitation which will be submitted this month. These approvals come from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the National Park Service. **It was noted during the LHP Meeting, that a National Register listing may make Douglas House eligible for CPA funds.** * There will be 9 subsidized units, 2 rental voucher units and 4 unsubsidized units in the Lexington Douglas House. Additional information Rachael Dorr of SLI mentioned that brain injuries are coming to the forefront of news with the increase of injuries, not related to automobile or sports accidents, as the public tends to associate with this type of injury. Many people are placed in this debilitating condition due to multiple sclerosis, strokes and more recently, due to casualties from the war in Iraq. She referenced a statement by a physician at Walter Reed Hospital that 60% of returning Iraq casualties received brain injuries. In addition, many residents come to SL Inc. from living with their aging parent. * Building these small scale residential homes, allows for a more suitable situation that would be found in a nursing home, state psychiatric hospital, etc. and fits well with the state's new Community Based Housing program. ***The LHP has provided copies of their minutes indicating support for using HOME based HUD funds and will provide a formal letter of support if desired.*** First Time Homebuyer Program – Jeri Foutter Bob referred a Watertown realtor to Jeri about a Lexington Condo that the realtor felt would be a good First Time Home buyer property. Jeri connected her with two CSB Mortgage Originators, and there is a potential partnership to host a First Time Homebuyer Seminar. Cambridge Savings Bank has a program and would be willing to sponsor a seminar or workshop on affordable housing to cover First Time Homebuyer Programs and other affordable housing topics. Florence commented that she had been co-chair of such a day-long conference and that the work involved is considerable. Lexington belongs to a consortium of towns that participate in the state and federal ADDI (American Dream Lexington Housing Partnership Downpayment Initiative), but this program is not generally understood and a workshop that explained eligibility criteria for this and other programs should prove useful. Affordable Qualification Criteria – Bill Carlson This is an ongoing effort to provide explanations of what the DHCD criteria is for accessory apartments and “deed restricted for sale units” that can count in our housing inventory. Of interest are qualifying income and asset criteria 6. Foundation Report – Jeri Foutter Jeri has received an invoice from Phil Herr for his Inclusionary Zoning services in the The Foundation Board authorized payment. amount of $5,000. After this payment, the balance in the Foundation's checking account will be $1,019.19. A meeting will be held soon to discuss ongoing fund raising efforts for the Foundation. 7. New Business - st Bob plans to attend a Met State marketing plan meeting on Wed. May 31. at 9am. Florence suggested that we create an award that can be given to projects that contribute to our Affordable Housing goals in town. This would be an award from the Housing Partnership and would be presented in such a way as to promote our interests in Affordable Housing for the town. It was agreed to pursue this great idea. Meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm. 7. Next meeting The next meeting is 7:00P.M. Thursday, June 29, 2006. The meeting will be held in G- 15 of the Town Office Building.