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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-09-13-HPB.min Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for September 13, 2006 Attendees: Mary Haskell, Harriet Cohen, Tom Harden, Jeri Foutter, Chris Eaton, Winifred McGowan, Art Katz, Norm Cohen, Bob Bicknell, Martha Woods, Florence Baturin, Mary Ann McCall-Taylor, Greg Zurlo, Paul Linton Bob Bicknell chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:11 pm. 1. Approval of June minutes The minutes were approved as written by unanimous voice vote. 2. Committee Reports See Appendix A for the pre-meeting written reports from the committees. Communications Committee – Florence Baturin Changed charge from doing a brochure to being a communications committee. Next meeting is Sept. 25 at 4:00 in the Cary Library Learning Center. An announcement will be sent to the entire Partnership. Please come if you are interested. Zoning – Mary Haskell Good turnouts for the two educational sessions on the inclusionary zoning bylaw. There was sufficient interest that the meetings went longer than scheduled. It is likely that the bylaw will be brought forward at the Spring Town Meeting. Greg Zurlo met with the Temple Isaiah Social Action Committee. There will be a follow- up meeting in late October. There is some interest in affordable housing issues, but no commitment at this time to work for passage of the zoning bylaw. Mr. Bicknell volunteered to chair a committee to organize and plan the effort to have the zoning bylaw passed by Town Meeting. The Partnership will send an e-mail message soliciting volunteers for the committee. LHP Web Site – Harriet Cohen Paul Linton is now doing the maintenance work on the web site. He is making the changes requested by the Partnership members. Ms. Cohen requested assistance with re- writing the web site home page content. She pointed out that the web site can also be reached at www.lexingtonhousingpartnership.org . When the web site hosting contract is up for renewal in November, the main name of the site will be switched to www.lexingtonhousingpartnership.org and it will also be reachable through www.lexhp.org . Report of the Chair Mr. Bicknell and Maryann McCall-Taylor are working on finalizing the criteria for affordable housing units at Met State. Some of the criteria are set by DHCD or by the contract with Avalon Bay, but there is some flexibility. Lexington Housing Partnership Marketing will begin in the next one to two months. The affordable units are distributed throughout the development and announcements of availability will be made as the various sections of Met State are developed. Mr. Bicknell reminded the Partnership that we need to follow up in creating an award. The Communications Committee indicated an interest in working on the award. Mr. Bicknell met with the Board of Selectmen re the use of HOME funds. At this point, the plan is to target the HOME funds for soft second loans and for the Supportive Living, Inc. project for Douglas House. See Appendix B to these meeting minutes. 3. Discussion with Judi Barrett Ms. Barrett was unavailable to attend the meeting, but she did send a lengthy memo with her thoughts. See Appendix C to these meeting minutes. Ms. Barrett had two proposals for the Partnership. Mr. Bicknell will contact Ms. Barrett to ask her if she can prepare a more detailed proposal to help flesh out the Partnership plan and to deliver the results by the end of December. Mr. Bicknell will also invite Ms. Barrett to a meeting to discuss her ideas and get the Partnership input. 4. New Business Art Katz inquired about efforts towards mixed (overlay) zoning, particularly in the Town center. He suggested that the group pursue an effort in this direction. 5. Next meeting The next meeting is September 28, 2006. Sally Zimmerman will attend for a discussion on Neighborhood Preservation Districts. The meeting adjourned at 9:09 pm. Lexington Housing Partnership Appendix A: Reports & Updates for LHP Meeting 9/13/06 Report from Communications Committee Submitted by Florence Baturin nd The Communications Committee met on August 22 in the Community Room of Cary Library. Present were Florence Baturin, Bob Bicknell, Chris Eaton and Jeri Foutter. Following a lengthy discussion about the group’s purposes and goals, there was unanimous agreement to change the name from Brochure Committee, original name, to Communications Committee since it better describes our broad two-prong focus: education and outreach Purposes and Goals of Committee: a. educate new home buyers about services available from LHP, and educate the Town about the very real problem; the lack of affordable housing b. educate the Town to recognize this local problem is everyone’s problem 2) Education will be done through ads, posters and printed brochures 3) Persuade Town that affordable housing is a need that benefits everyone 4) Create a brochure for new people entering or considering entering the Town 5) While discussion centered on outreach methods, there was agreement that a printed brochure would be a resource piece, handed out at Town Hall and RE offices, and would complement our website. Brochure: ?? Explain ways LHP is working on home buyer’s behalf ?? List players in Affordable Housing Partnership 1) LHP 2) LexHAB 3) LHA 4) Met State 5) Town of Lexington st 6) WATCH (has paid staff, run 1 time homebuyer lessons) 7) Other groups ?? Will define who qualifies for affordable housing ?? List programs for developers ?? Brochure will be a stand alone piece with a forum for back up and education Liaisons from each group (as LexHAB) will be asked to provide written information about their groups. In the future, a direct mail campaign for Foundation fund raising will be developed. During meeting, potential names for our website were mentioned lexpartnersforhousing.org lexpartnershipforhousing.org partnershipforlexhousing.org - this was preferred name by unanimous agreement The next meeting of the Communications Committee will be on Monday, September 25, 4 to 5:30 pm in the Learning Center, next to the Children’s Room in Cary Library. All members of the Partnership are invited to join the Communications Committee. Lexington Housing Partnership Report from Zoning Bylaw Subcommittee There were two Inclusionary 101 seminars held in August hosted by Jeri Foutter in the downstairs meeting room of her employer, Cambridge Savings Bank. It turned out to be an excellent place to meet because the tables were set up in a horseshoe, which I am convinced, promoted robust dialogue. The seminars, as originally planned and organized by Wendy Manz, were to have been two-hour sessions to educate us to the current version of the inclusionary by law as proposed by the Planning Board (re-worked from what we gave them, our “Phil Herr” version). As it turned out there was so much focus and interest that both meetings lasted about three and a half hours. Greg Zurlo, the Planning Board’s liaison to our Lexington Housing Partnership, has come on board in a major way. He came to both meetings with the slides that had been prepared by Tom Hardin when he was on the Planning Board. Greg presented some written proposals for organizing support around the issue and since these meetings has been working to bring one of the social action groups at Temple Isaiah (via Don Detweiler) into coalition with us. As a practical matter, we learned that although the Planning Board members can work to promote the inclusionary zoning bylaw proposal, it is not appropriate for them to take the leadership in organizing support. This means that we need to form a committee that includes us and representatives of other groups: (help—what other groups were mentioned? Hancock? LWV? ) (Note: Wendy Manz reports that as of 9/7/06 the Selectmen have not decided whether there will be a Special Town Meeting this fall but the Planning Board will probably vote to bring the Inclusionary Bylaw article before Town Meeting in the spring and not the fall.) At the end of meeting two, a consensus developed that ideally this fall will be used to educate people in general to the need for affordable housing and that the months of January and February and March, leading up to Town Meeting, will be used for education specifically on inclusionary zoning, with the focus being on reaching Town Meeting members. Thanks to our following members who attended at least one of the meetings: Art Katz, Bill Carlson, Ken Kreutziger, Julie Duncan, Florence Baturin, Jeri Foutter, Betsy Weiss, Winifred McGowan, Martha Wood, Paul Linton, Bob Bicknell. (Inky McDougall and Harriet Cohen tried their best but couldn’t). Given that these were hot summer Saturdays, it was an excellent turnout. Thanks also to all the planning board members who came: Wendy Manz, Greg Zurlo, Richard Canale and Charles Hornig. Respectfully submitted, Mary Haskell, Chair, zoning by laws subcommittee of LHP Lexington Housing Partnership Report from the Website Committee Harriet Cohen, Paul Linton and Jeri Foutter participated in a couple of conference calls about the further development of the website. Paul has kindly volunteered to modify the website as needed, via a copy of Dream Weaver provided by Bob. In addition, Harriet has lent her website expertise, with regards to possible ways to improve the site’s functionality. Thank you Harriet and Paul for all your help. We have decided that this would be a good time to pass the responsibility for the website from the Minuteman student to the Partnership. Over the next few weeks, Paul will work on modifications suggested by several Partnership members. Jeri will be contacting and requesting additional information from key members of the Partnership for posting to the website. We will keep you posted throughout the modification process. Per Candy McLaughlin – Town of Lexington Management Analyst, the Town of Lexington is working to consolidate web activities in a new central web site. Respectfully submitted, Jeri Foutter Report of the Chair, September 13, 2006 th Neighborhood Conservation Districts – At our next meeting on September 28, Sally Zimmerman will attend and we will discuss this topic. New Affordable Housing Initiatives – A discussion was held with Judi Barrett of Community Opportunities Group, Inc. explaining our interest in opening up the discussion of alternatives that would work in Lexington to produce more affordable housing. She has agreed to present her th ideas and a proposal for further work at the meeting on September 13. Lexington Housing Foundation – We have successfully filed this year’s financial report and have received a Certificate of Solicitation from the Office of the Attorney General valid to 11/5/2007. So far this year we have received $3,000 from the Cambridge Savings Bank Foundation, $2,000 from Hancock United Church of Christ, $1,000 from Citizens Bank and $500 from Boston Private Bank and Trust Co. Met State Progress – Eligibility criteria are still being coordinated so that one set will be used for all applicants, regardless of their town affiliation. Awards Program – This program still needs to be defined. Those interested in working on this should let the chair know. Lexington Housing Partnership HOME Funds – The Selectmen held a public hearing Tuesday, August 8, 2006 to hear the FY2007 spending plan recommended by the Partnership. A motion was passed: “That the Board of Selectmen approve the FY07 Lexington HOME Program Funding Plan presented by the Lexington Housing Partnership in their letter of August 3, 2006, including the allocation of $54,721 to the Supportive Living, Inc. project for Douglas House conditional on HUD’s approval to release the funds after an Environmental Assessment is completed.” The letter is attached. Iris Wheaton has agreed to be the point of contact for the HOME Consortium along with Eve Tapper. WATCH - Ken Kreutziger organized a meeting with Waltham’s WATCH (Waltham Alliance to Create Housing) attended by Ken, Bob Bicknell, Chris Eaton and Julie Duncan to learn about their programs and how they might work with Lexington. We met with the director, Alex Marthews and Steve La Fleur. They operate as a CDC (Community Development Corporation) and helped the Belmont Housing Trust to construct 4 housing units in Belmont, 3 of which are affordable. They also planned to discuss their capabilities with LexHAB. Besides their CDC work WATCH serves as a consultant for community organizing efforts and provides tenant assistance and homebuyer education services. SOFT SECOND LOAN PROGRAM - We have received a letter from Cambridge Saving Bank saying they will support Lexington’s participation in the Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s soft Second Loan Program. They will make available $500,000 towards the program in Lexington and look forward to working with the Town of Lexington on this program. Lexington Housing Partnership Appendix B: Letter to Selectmen re: Use of HOME Funds August 3, 2006 Office of Selectmen Town of Lexington 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington, MA 02420 Board of Selectmen, In order to assist in determining the use of HOME Funds coming to Lexington through the WestMetro Consortium, the Housing Partnership has agreed to accomplish the following tasks: 1. Preparation of the yearly action plan. (Eve Tapper, Planner in the Planning Department and who is the Lexington contact with the consortium, has submitted the preliminary FY07 plan. The final plan will be submitted once Selectmen approval of the allocation is finalized.) 2. Coordinate and endorse spending recommendations. (Coordination has been th accomplished with the Planning Board and the August 8 meeting is to complete coordination with the Board of Selectmen.) 3. Submit a recommended funding plan to the Selectmen for their approval. (See Attachment 1 to this letter.) The Selectmen will hold a public hearing at a scheduled meeting to approve the plan. The Partnership will attend and present the recommendations. This will be Tuesday, August 8, 2006 for the FY2007 spending plan. Background: The Lexington Housing Partnership voted to apply this year’s HOME funds in support of the project known as Douglas House being developed by Supportive Living, Inc. (SLI) on the site of the historic printing press building in the town center. 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. 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 Lexington Housing Partnership Depot Parking Area of reserved handicap parking spaces to be adjacent to the building. SLI.'s proposal fits well with Lexington's new Connectivity Program. 6. The Board of Selectmen expressed support on May 8, 2006. Suggested Motion: “That the Board of Selectmen approve the FY07 Lexington HOME Program Funding Plan presented by the Lexington Housing Partnership in their letter of August 3, 2006, including the allocation of $54,721 to the Supportive Living, Inc. project for Douglas House conditional on HUD’s approval to release the funds after an Environmental Assessment is completed.” Once the pending Environmental Assessment is completed a letter will be requested to officially allocate the funds. Thank you very much, Robert Bicknell, Chair Lexington Housing Partnership Board cc. Wendy Manz, Planning Board; Maryann McCall-Taylor, Eve Tapper Attachment: FY07 Lexington HOME Program Funding Plan Lexington Housing Partnership Attachment 1. FY07 Lexington HOME Program Funding Plan . Lexington HOME Program Affordable Housing Allocation to Supportive $54,721 Development Pool Living, Inc. for the Douglas House Project HOME Local Administration Administration of Lexington’s $4,256 @7% HOME Program HOME Consortium Administration of HOME $1,824 Administration @ 3% Consortium CHDO Set-Aside $0 CHDO Operating Expenses $0 TOTAL $60,801 Lexington Housing Partnership Appendix C: Memo from Judi Barrett, Community Opportunities Group COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES GROUP, INC. 129 Kingston Street Third Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02111 (617) 542-3300 MEMORANDUM To: Bob Bicknell From: Judi Barrett Date: September 13, 2006 Subject: Lexington Housing Initiatives v For Review ? Please Comment ? Please Reply ? Copy For Your Files Having read Lexington’s Affordable Housing Plan and the Comprehensive Plan Housing Element, I’d like to offer some suggestions for you to consider. Since Lexington now exceeds the Chapter 40B 10% statutory minimum (11.3%), I imagine that it will be challenging to launch new affordable housing initiatives. I don’t know your town well, but my experience in other communities is that reaching 10% tends to breed two beliefs: many local officials and residents think their town has done its part, and they assume that housing needs have been adequately addressed. There is widespread public perception that housing need is synonymous with the 10% statutory threshold. To some extent this perception is understandable, for the state and many housing advocacy organizations have placed considerable emphasis on “getting to 10%.” As a result, it is difficult for people to understand that 10% is a legal threshold, not a measure of housing need and surely not an indicator of adequate housing opportunities. The risk of confusing terms like “need” and “choice” with 10% seems particularly high in communities that have met the minimum because of large-scale rental development. Lexington’s vision statement, written six years ago, describes the town in 2020 as a place that values municipal services, historic built assets and open space, and “strives to maintain a range of affordability.” It goes on to note that “these qualities are always difficult to balance.” Since the vision statement was intended to be read in the voice of a speaker in 2020, a good launching point for any discussion about housing affordability would be to ask residents to re-imagine 2020 and describe, in retrospect, what the town actually did to achieve balance. At a more fundamental level, it would be worth asking them to define “balance” not only by describing its component parts (affordability, open space, historic preservation and so forth) but also by constructing some indicators of balance. If balance in affordable housing means achieving or slightly exceeding the 10% statutory minimum, what about the other 90% of the town? This type of dialogue could be very useful for three purposes: helping people think about housing as a vehicle for creating a kind of community, exploring local government’s responsibility for achieving that end, and reaching agreement about trade-offs the town might be willing to accept in order to promote housing diversity. The Lexington Housing Plan includes several proposals that would seem to be workable if the Town is committed to them. I have not studied the zoning bylaw in depth, but I looked at some of the provisions alluded to in the Housing Plan. It seems that Lexington has both enabled and disabled housing diversity – enabled it with text that allows a particular use, and disabled it by imposing quite prescriptive requirements. In addition to engaging the public in a reassessment of strategies outlined in the Housing Plan (and other strategies as well), you may wish to consult with local developers. In my experience, a consultation process with the development community – including developers, attorneys, engineers and property owners – yields information about the local market, regulatory barriers and potential solutions that we simply do not hear unless we ask the people who work in production. The Housing Plan’s description of known or potential regulatory barriers ought to be tested with developers. When we met several weeks ago, you expressed interest in using CPA revenue to acquire deed restrictions on existing homes in order to establish perpetual affordability. The state’s Lexington Housing Partnership willingness to entertain this model remains unclear. As you may know, DHCD recently adopted new regulations for the Local Initiative Program (LIP) and some of the earlier provisions have been eliminated. If the town wants to use CPA funds to create units eligible for the Subsidized Housing Inventory, I recommend that you consider some benign (relatively low impact) ways to create additional units within existing housing stock or through conversion of nonresidential buildings. For example, a CPA program that helps to subsidize some affordability in a multifamily conversion project would promote reuse of established structures and simultaneously address the state’s interest in increasing supply – a feature that will most likely make the affordable units eligible for the Subsidized Housing Inventory, assuming you use the state’s deed restriction and meet other LIP requirements. A program that pairs affordable housing with historic preservation would seem highly consistent with the Housing Plan and the Comprehensive Plan. If your committee wants to establish a deed restriction program that involves purchase price buydowns for existing homes, i.e., without unit creation, I would not discourage you from pursuing it. In communities with little land and very high-value built assets, protecting the affordability of small, older homes may be the only strategy that works. However, a program design that accounts for all of the key LIP regulatory requirements will have to be developed, and I think you should submit a draft program design to the state before you try to implement it. Lexington’s recent track record with affordable unit creation, e.g., the Metropolitan State Hospital project, may hold your town in good stead to obtain approval of a housing deed restriction program or at the very least, a pilot program. It will be helpful to me to know whether your committee is mainly interested in policy planning, building on what has already been done for the Affordable Housing Plan, or implementation. By policy planning, I mean activities such as a reassessment of the vision statement and consensus-building around directions the town should take as a “post-10%” community. For example, if you are interested in holding a community conversation meeting and a focus group with developers (as discussed above), we could certainly assist you with that kind of process. For preparation, facilitation of two meetings and a follow-up report with specific “next-step” recommendations, I think you should assume a budget of $6,500 for professional services and reimbursement for direct costs, which is usually tied to a not-to-exceed amount. In contrast, if the committee prefers to work on some concrete implementation measures, such as designing an affordable housing deed restriction program, I can tell you from recent experience that the fee would be $6,500-$7,500, depending on the number of meetings required to draft, revise and finish a program design, including detailed guidelines and procedures, for submission to the state. I also would be interested in working with you on proposed zoning amendments to address issues identified in the Housing Plan, but I believe the Planning Department is already working on some of them; if so, we should defer to the planning director. I look forward to seeing you tonight. If you need to reach me during the day, please don’t hesitate to call me on my cell phone, 781-956-8863.