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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-03-24-SPRD-min RECEIVED 022 01 Jain, 1236 Il iri TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA Special Permit Residential Development (SPRD) Ad-hoc Committee Meeting Minutes of March 24, 2022 Special Permit Residential Development (SPRD) Ad-hoc Committee Members present for the Public Meeting:Jill Hai, Chair; Scott Cooper,Joyce Murphy, Charles Hornig, Richard Perry, Wendy Manz, Betsey Weiss. Lexington Staff present for the Public Meeting: Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Kiruthika Ramakrishnan, Administrative Assistant. Other attendees: Barbara Katzenberg and Tom Shiple,from Citizen Cluster Housing Working Group, David Trietsch and Todd Cataldo. Ms. Hai conducted a roll call to ensure all the members of the SPRD ad-hoc committee and members of staff present could hear and be heard. Ms. Hai chaired the meeting and called the meeting to order at 8:05 am. The meeting was recorded by LexMedia for future on-demand viewing. 1. Update from Charles Hornig on behalf of Planning Board re OSRD article for Annual Town Meeting Mr. Hornig said that a few small changes were made by the Planning Board on OSRD and a final version was voted. Mr. Horning shared a comparison of the original version that went into the Public Hearing and the final version that was voted. Mr. Horning said they received a lot of suggestions from the Lexington Citizen Cluster Housing Working Group, Mr. Matt Daggett,Town Counsel and the Historic Commission. Mr. Hornig shared the new definitions and purpose statements, which were clear and concise. Mr. Hornig said that the minimum size of the tract of land was increased to 70,000 square feet and explained the implication of this change and answered the questions of the committee members. Ms. Kowalski said that the committee can benefit from the analysis and feedback from developers regarding the article and its practical usage. Mr. Hornig said that with regards to dimensional standards, the parameters for height were clearly explained to avoid confusion. Mr. Hornig also said that as per the OSRD Article, there is a cap on the number of market rate dwelling units, which can be exceeded by special permit;the cap is five times the number on the proof plan.The size of the building was decreased and the exemptions for historic buildings were explained to be easily understandable. Mr. Hornig said that the Cluster Housing Working Group suggested to use different names for the 35%open land and the 15% common open space,for better understanding. Mr. Hornig said that the Cluster Housing Working Group also suggested changing the incentive for preserving historic buildings to be based on site coverage rather than gross floor area. Mr. Hornig said that in the inclusionary housing instead of using 25% of market rate housing, it was switched to 20%of total housing, which makes it simple to understand; and as per Mr. Daggett's suggestions, increased the number of inclusionary housing required in very large developments and the standards for inclusionary housing was also toughened up.The committee had a lot of questions regarding the article and Mr. Hornig provided clarifications. Mr. Perry asked the chair for the vote to be postponed to the next meeting as he wanted some time to read and get a better understanding of the article. 2. Discussion of Citizen Cluster Housing Working Group Evaluations Mr. Shiple mentioned the comment by Mr. Cataldo and other members of the committee as to the usage of OSRD and also the competition OSRD has with SPRD and added that with the rules for public benefit development option, an OSRD can be created under the disguise of public benefit development, though OSRD comes with more restrictions, it also comes with a by- right provision. Mr. Cooper wanted to know if inclusionary housing should be a necessary component of OSRD and wanted to know if SPRD should be the only option for inclusionary housing. Mr. Hornig said that the main reason for adding inclusionary housing as a component was to have the support of the Town Meeting for the development. Mr. Cooper asked Mr. Cataldo if there was any threshold for inclusionary housing that would make it economically viable since he thought this was not a viable option from the economic stand point. Mr. Cataldo said that open space was not an issue, and the question has to be considered on an individual basis based on the parcel of land and agreed with Mr. Hornig's view that the volatility of the market during the past one year has made it difficult to arrive at exact parameters. 3. Discussion of Report to Annual Town Meeting Ms. Hai reminded the committee about the committee's decision to send an update to Town Meeting, detailing the progress, considerations and the expectations of the committee instead of a detailed full report. Ms. Manz said that now the emphasis will be on the value statement and anticipates community input which will lead to a comprehensive report in the fall. Ms. Hai shared the latest version of the Interim Report to Town Meeting. Mr.Trietsch explained the focus of the report and based on the community input, the plan was to refine the report to reflect the recommendations for the Town Meeting in the Fall.The members suggested that the community outreach must be topic based, supported by visuals and work towards conversation and collaboration. Ms. Hai asked the committee if they liked the basic content and the direction of the report and wanted the committee's suggestion in wording the report. Mr. Cooper wanted to make sure that the report stresses the fact that it is an alternative to conventional subdivisions and also brings out the necessity for more work force housing. Ms. Weiss wanted to make sure it addresses the need for smaller housing. 4. Approval of Minutes of Meetings held on 01.12.2022, 01.25.2022, 02.23.2022 and 03.10.2022. The SPRD committee reviewed the draft minutes of meetings held on 01.12.2022, 01.25.2022, 02.23.2022 and 03.10.2022.Ms. Hai moved that the committee approve the minutes of meetings held on 01.12.2022,01.25.2022,02.23.2022 and 03.10.2022,as presented. Mr. Cooper seconded the motion.The SPRD Committee voted in favor of the motion 7-0-0 Roll Call Vote: MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Adjourn Ms. Hai moved that the SPRD committee adjourn the meeting of March 24,2022. Mr. Perry seconded the motion.The SPRD Committee voted in favor of the motion 7-0-0 Roll Call Vote: MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting was adjourned at 9:23 am.