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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-07-SPRD-min RECEIVED 022 01 Jaurm, 1238 Ilaiiri TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA Special Permit Residential Development (SPRD) Ad-hoc Committee Meeting Minutes of April 7, 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, Heather Hartshorn. 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 and David Trietsch. 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 8:02 am. 1.13iscussion and Voting on OSRD article for ATM Ms. Hai asked Mr. Hornig for any updates regarding the status of OSRD from the time the committee last met. Mr. Hornig said that the Planning Board incorporated many of the changes suggested at the public hearing. Mr. Hornig said that the committee should look out for communications related to OSRD, as OSRD, apart from Open Space, also includes inclusionary housing and a permitting regimen which are pertinent to the goals of the committee. Mr. Cooper said that he fully supports OSRD but wanted to talk about the concerns raised during the last meeting about the usability of OSRD due to the inclusionary housing component. Mr. Cooper asked the committee if inclusionary housing should be removed from OSRD and be dealt with in SPRD. Mr. Hornig said that inclusionary housing is politically necessary to some extent and reminded the committee about the Town Meeting members saying that, even at present, the inclusionary housing component is not sufficient and should be raised to 30 or 35%and that it is challenging to strike a balance. Mr. Perry said that the committee should support Mr. Hornig's article and said that even though it may not be used a lot, it is good to have it available. Mr. Perry added that if the inclusionary component is increased, OSRD will never be used. Ms. Manz wanted the committee to endorse Mr. Hornig's view. Ms. Hai moved that the SPRD committee officially submit a letter of support to the Town Meeting encouraging the passage of Article 35,which is the Open Space Residential Development bylaw amendment. Mr. Perry seconded the motion.The SPRD Committee voted in favor of the motion 8-0-0 Roll Call Vote: MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Ms. Hai brought to the attention of the committee a suggestion by a member of Town Meeting and a member of the Planning Board to propose an amendment to Article 35, which would change the bylaw to require that it be done by special permit rather than a site plan review. Ms. Hai asked for Mr. Hornig's comments regarding the suggestion. Mr. Hornig said that the committee should take a position on the amendment and explain the basis of why the committee felt that Site Plan Review was the right way to manage certain developments and share the reasons the committee felt why Special Permits are not appropriate for these developments. Mr. Horning encouraged the committee to listen to the debate on the amendments and the related discussion to make informed decisions. Mr. Perry said that it is very important to retain it as Site Plan Review as it was important to the committee from the very beginning and said that the alternate approach will be not beneficial for developers. Ms. Weiss agreed with Mr. Perry. Ms. Manz felt that this may be the opportunity in Town Meeting for the committee to make an argument for Site Plan Review. Ms. Hai moved that the SPRD committee create a statement of opposition to Town Meeting regarding the amendment to Article 35 to change Site Plan Review to Special Permit Review. Mr. Cooper seconded the motion.The SPRD Committee voted in favor of the motion 8-0-0 Roll Call Vote: MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. Discussion and Voting on Report to ATM Ms. Hai shared an update of the Committee's Progress Report to Town Meeting and explained that the workforce and moderate income housing was defined as for those earning 80% - 120% and possibly up to 200%AMI and said the current AMI chart will be added as an addendum to the document. The committee discussed how the definition should be worded to facilitate better understanding and decided to exclude the numbers for now. Ms. Hai went over the contents of the report and mentioned the suggestion by Ms. Kowalski to state that one of the goals of the committee was to include fully accessible universal design components, which was incorporated in the report. Ms. Hai said that the other point to be considered is to allow changes to be made in order for it to be commercially feasible so that the bylaw can be put to regular use. Ms. Hai said that the report explains the considerations of the committee to eliminate Balanced Housing and Public Benefit Development, but preserve Site Sensitive Developments and have voted to include an Affordable Housing Component. Ms. Hai said that the committee believes that this complements the current approach for OSRD and reinforces the by-right option. Ms. Hai moved that the SPRD committee approve the report subject to non-substantive minor edits and submit to Town Meeting. Mr. Perry seconded the motion.The SPRD Committee voted in favor of the motion 8-0-0 Roll Call Vote: MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 3. Further discussion of Open Issues/Questions Ms. Murphy wondered if it is possible to have a design board or presentation that would depict what the developments will look like. Ms. Hai said that until there is a product, it is hard to draw a picture of it, but reminded about the pictures the Citizen Cluster Housing working Group had drawn for OSRD which would be similar to what the committee can come up with. Mr. Perry added that generally the landscape architect is the first person who comes with a proposed layout for any development. Ms. Kowalski shared a website called missing middle housing.com, which will be a very good visual resource for the committee. Mr. Cooper said that the committee should be prepared to discuss the impacts of these developments on property values. Ms. Murphy said that based on her research, there was no evidence to suggest any decline in property value. Mr.Trietsch suggested that CHAPA had done some research on this and he can check with them to see the reports. Mr. Hornig said that the committee can also consult with the Town Assessor to see if new developments are a consideration that goes into the valuation of properties. Adjourn Ms. Hai moved that the SPRD committee adjourn the meeting of April 7,2022. Mr. Perry seconded the motion.The SPRD Committee voted in favor of the motion 8-0-0 Roll Call Vote: MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting was adjourned at 8.51 am.