HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-04-19-AC-ATM-rpt (Article 44) APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE
TOWN OF LEXINGTON
REPORT ON ARTICLE 44 TO THE
2017 ANNUAL TOWN
MEETING
Released April 19, 2017
APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS
John Bartenstein, Chair• Ellen Basch • Carolyn Kosnoff(ex-officio; non-voting)
Alan Levine, Vice Chair/Secretary • Eric Michelson • Richard Neumeier• Sanjay Padaki
Andrei Radulescu-Banu • Lily Manhua Yan • Jian Helen Yang
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Article 44: Amend Zoning Bylaw — Brookhaven (Owner Article)
Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation
None N/A N/A
Brookhaven at Lexington ("Brookhaven") is requesting a zoning change of a parcel of land located
at 960-990 Waltham Street from the current RO One Family Dwelling District to a PD Planned
Development District, and to add it to the adjoining RD Planned Residential District Brookhaven
at Lexington. This rezoning would allow Brookhaven to construct a new building on the 960-990
Waltham Street parcel property as well as to expand its parking and make other improvements.
This Committee does not express any opinion on the non-financial aspects of the requested
zoning change, and has not voted to approve or disapprove this article. However, because an
essential part of the discussions between Brookhaven and the Town for the zoning change
required to allow this expansion has been the negotiation of a financial mitigation package
designed to address the financial impacts of the project on the Town, the Committee has
evaluated that mitigation package and provides this report for informational purposes. The
mitigation package consists of two main components: (1) a revision of Brookhaven's current
arrangement for payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) to account for the expanded number of units
and increased valuation; and (2) a mitigation payment designed to preserve the Town's existing
ratio of affordable housing units.
Background
Brookhaven is a non-profit, age-restricted (62+), life care community providing housing and
health care services to the elderly. The existing facility was constructed in 1987 on 26 acres.
Modifications, special permits, and rezoning in 1994, 1999 and 2004 have resulted in expansion
of the facility to its current size of 240 Independent Living Units, 20 Assisted Care Units, and 49
Skilled Nursing beds, for a total of 309 Units.
Brookhaven currently pays an annual PILOT to Lexington which increases by 3% every year.
This payment was negotiated with the original property sale and rezoning and was based on a
percentage of the residential property tax at the time. As Brookhaven has expanded in the past, it
has agreed to increase its base PILOT by the same percentage as the increase of the number of
units it has added to the property, and to increase the resulting amount by 3% annually.
The newly planned expansion at Brookhaven will add a new building of approximately 119,000
sq. ft. on the property and allow Brookhaven to add 49 Independent Living Units and 30 Assisted
Care Units, while lowering the number of Skilled Nursing beds by 37, for a net increase of 42
units. This amounts to a 13.6%increase in the number of units at Brookhaven.
This planned increase has triggered a review of the current PILOT payments made to the Town.
At issue is not only an update of the existing PILOT agreement to accommodate the expansion in
size and population of the facility, but also the effect that the planned increase in housing units,
which count as "market rate" units for purposes of the denominator in the calculation of
Lexington's ratio of affordable housing under Chapter 40B, will have on the Town's current
11.1% affordable housing ratio.
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A proposed new Memorandum of Agreement between the Town and Brookhaven provides for
the following:
Payments in Lieu of Taxes
• Brookhaven's PILOT payment will increase by 13.6 percent, but the entire increase will
not take effect immediately; 7% of the increase would occur in the fiscal year the
Certificate of Occupancy is issued for the core building, with the remaining 6.6%
increase to occur 12 fiscal years later.
• Beginning in the fiscal year the Certificate of Occupancy is issued for the core building,
and continuing for the subsequent 14 fiscal years, the Brookhaven PILOT will increase
by 2.5%instead of 3% annually.
• After the Affordable Housing Mitigation Payments, discussed below, are complete, the
rate of increase for the Brookhaven PILOT will revert to 3% annually until the parties
agree to a new PILOT payment.
• If in the future Brookhaven is determined to be subject to property taxation, the PILOT
payments will cease and regular property tax payments will be made instead.
Affordable Housing Mitigation Payments
• Brookhaven will make affordable housing payments to the Town with a present value of
$1,536,369, but payable over 15 years (the sum of the mitigation payments, with interest,
is $2,081,631)
• The agreed amount payable for affordable housing is based on the Town's analysis of the
cost today of purchasing land for and constructing 5.5 affordable housing units.
• The additional Assisted Care units will be constructed in such a fashion that they will not
be included in the Town's Subsidized Housing Inventory denominator of market-rate
units at the next census
• The affordable housing mitigation payments will be made if the expansion of
Brookhaven proceeds, regardless of Brookhaven's property tax status with the Town.
Analysis
A PILOT is a condition of Brookhaven's current special permit and, together with the housing
mitigation payments, would be a condition of the new special permit. Representatives of the
Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board and Brookhaven have spent many months negotiating a
package that is mutually acceptable should the zoning change be approved. This includes:
• Deferring the commencement of any affordable housing mitigation and increased PILOT
payments until the fiscal year a Certificate of Occupancy is issued for the core building.
• Spreading payments for the Affordable Housing Mitigation over a 15-year period.
• Deferring a portion of the 13.6% increase in the base PILOT, phasing it in at the fiscal
year of the Certificate of Occupancy (7.0%) and 12 fiscal years later(6.6%).
• Lowering the annual increase in the PILOT from 3% to 2.5% immediately and
continuing that lower rate of increase through the fiscal year that Affordable Housing
mitigation payments for the project have been completed. Annual increases of the
PILOT will return to 3% in the 16th fiscal year after the initial 7.0% increase to the base
PILOT is made.
2
The following chart shows the schedule of payments to the town in FY17 - FY39 if the
Certificate of Occupancy for the first independent unit is issued in FY20. The first two
highlighted columns show the PILOT on a per-unit basis if Brookhaven were to maintain the
status quo (no expansion), and after the adjustments described above. The second two
highlighted columns show, on a per-unit basis, the affordable housing mitigation payments, and
the combined amount of the PILOT + affordable housing mitigation payments if the expansion is
approved.
Adjusted
PILOT
Payment
(2.5%
annual
increase;
13.6%
increase Annual
allocated Payment: Adjusted
7%in Yr. 3 Affordable Adjusted PILOT+
and 6.6%in Housing PILOT+ Affordable
Yr. 14;3% Adjusted Mitigation Affordable Housing
PILOT PILOT PILOT Affordable Payment Housing Payment$
Est Status Quo PILOT increase $per unit- Housing $per Payment for per unit-
Est Project Fiscal (3%annual Status Quo begins in with Mitigation unit-with 351 Units with
Year Year increase) $per unit Yr.18) expansion Payment expansion (F+H) expansion
UNITS 309 351
FY 17 497,279 497,279
FY 18 512,197 509,711
FY 19 527,563 522,454
YR 1 FY 20 543,390 1,759 573,001 1,632 111,922 319 684,923 1,951
YR 2 FY 21 559,692 1,811 587,326 1,673 115,280 328 702,606 2,002
YR 3 FY 22 576,483 1,866 602,009 1,715 118,738 338 720,748 2,053
YR 4 FY 23 593,777 1,922 617,060 1,758 122,300 348 739,360 2,106
YR 5 FY 24 611,590 1,979 632,486 1,802 125,969 359 758,455 2,161
YR 6 FY 25 629,938 2,039 648,298 1,847 129,749 370 778,047 2,217
YR 7 FY 26 648,836 2,100 664,506 1,893 133,641 381 798,147 2,274
YR 8 FY 27 668,301 2,163 681,118 1,941 137,650 392 818,768 2,333
YR 9 FY 28 688,350 2,228 698,146 1,989 141,780 404 839,926 2,393
3
Adjusted
PILOT
Payment
(2.5%
annual
increase;
13.6%
increase Annual
allocated Payment: Adjusted
7%in Yr. 3 Affordable Adjusted PILOT+
and 6.6%in Housing PILOT+ Affordable
Yr. 14;3% Adjusted Mitigation Affordable Housing
PILOT PILOT PILOT Affordable Payment Housing Payment$
Est Status Quo PILOT increase $per unit- Housing $per Payment for per unit-
Est Project Fiscal (3%annual Status Quo begins in with Mitigation unit-with 351 Units with
Year Year increase) $per unit Yr.18) expansion Payment expansion (F+H) expansion
YR 10 FY 29 709,001 2,295 715,600 2,039 146,033 416 861,633 2,455
YR 11 FY 30 730,271 2,363 733,490 2,090 150,414 429 883,904 2,518
YR 12 FY 31 752,179 2,434 801,448 2,283 154,926 441 956,374 2,725
YR 13 FY 32 774,744 2,507 821,484 2,340 159,574 455 981,058 2,795
YR 14 FY 33 797,987 2,582 842,021 2,399 164,362 468 1,006,383 2,867
YR 15 FY 34 821,926 2,660 863,072 2,459 169,292 482 1,032,364 2,941
Subtotal-
15 Year
Agreement
for
Housing 10,106,467 10,481,065 2,081,631 12,562,696
YR 16 FY 35 846,584 2,740 888,964 2,533 - - 888,964 2,533
YR 17 FY 36 871,982 2,822 915,633 2,609 - - 915,633 2,609
YR 18 FY37 898,141 2,907 943,102 2,687 - - 943,102 2,687
YR 19 FY38 925,085 2,994 971,395 2,768 - - 971,395 2,768
YR 20 FY39 952,838 3,084 1,000,537 2,851 - - 1,000,537 2,851
Total over
20 Yrs. 14,601,098 15,200,694 17,282,325
Note that the total dollar amount of the PILOT to be paid by Brookhaven increases from the
status quo (if there were no expansion) beginning in FY20, but on a per-unit basis it decreases.
Note also that beginning in FY35, after the Affordable Housing Mitigation Payments have been
completed, the PILOT payment will continue to be slightly higher in total dollar amount but
lower on a per-unit basis than it would have been if no expansion had occurred.
4
Although the current valuation of the Brookhaven facility is not available from the Assessors'
Department, the Committee estimates that Brookhaven's existing PILOT represents roughly one-
half to two-thirds of the residential property tax it would pay if it were deemed to be taxable.
This is a very rough, back-of-the-envelope calculation based on taxes paid by Avalon at
Lexington — and adjusting for the somewhat smaller size of Brookhaven. Once the expansion
units are constructed, that ratio may be somewhat closer to one-half.
The property tax status of Brookhaven is determined by the Town's Board of Assessors. At its
September 12, 2016 meeting, the Board of Assessors determined that Brookhaven "has provided
sufficient evidence to meet its burden of proof establishing entitlement to an exemption from the
local property taxes pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 59 Section 5 Clause Third" as a "charitable
organization" and voted 2-0 in favor of continuing the charitable tax exemption which
Brookhaven has had since its inception.
It should be noted that an organization's status as a non-profit corporation or a 501(c)(3) entity
under the federal tax laws does not per se entitle that organization to exemption from local
property taxes see Mass. Dept. of Revenue, Taxpayer's Guide to Local Property Tax
Exemptions, Religious and Charitable Organizations (2016), p.3 ("Non-profit status is not
sufficient, nor is tax exempt status for state or federal tax purposes. The organization must be
organized for charitable purposes and must actually operate as a public charity. To qualify for
exemption, an organization's dominant purposes and activities must benefit the public at large,
not just a limited group of people"). Continuing care retirement facilities in other communities
have been determined to be taxable, even though organized and operated as non-profits, and
there is no assurance that Brookhaven will continue to be treated as tax-exempt in the future.
The Board of Assessors is the only body within the Town authorized to determine the charitable
status of a property owner, and Town Meeting is not empowered to change that determination.
In the event the Board of Assessors determines in the future that Brookhaven is not entitled to a
charitable exemption, and that determination is not successfully appealed, the MOA provides
that the PILOT payment will be replaced by actual taxes based on the assessed valuation of the
Brookhaven facility. Brookhaven will continue to be responsible for the affordable housing
mitigation payment even if determined subject to taxation.
As Brookhaven is a continuing care retirement community with a minimum age of 62 and an
average age of 86, its expansion will have no direct impact on the Lexington Public Schools.
Indeed, a study recently done by OHI Engineering found that there would be relatively little
impact to any of Lexington's public services. However, as Brookhaven is satisfying the Town's
request to help maintain the Town's affordable housing ratio by contributing to the Town's
construction of 5.5 external affordable units, rather than providing affordable units within its
own complex, the external units can be assumed to have the same impact as any other new
residential construction.
If Brookhaven does not go forward with this project and sells the property, a developer would be
able to put to put four single family homes on the property by right. With special permitting, it is
possible that a subdivision with a substantially larger number of units, perhaps as many as 10-14,
could be approved for the site. A residential development would likely have a greater impact on
Lexington schools and town services. The Town's negotiating committee took this issue into
account during the negotiations and felt that a conventional residential subdivision alternative
would be a less desirable outcome.
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