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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-04-03 AC-min04/03/2017 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) April 3, 2017 Place and Time: Ellen Stone Room, Cary Memorial Building, 6:30 p.m. Members Present: John Bartenstein, Chair; Alan Levine, Vice -Chair & Secretary; Ellen Basch; Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Andrei Radulescu-Banu; Sanjay Padaki; Lily Manhua Yan; Jian Helen Yang; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Member(s) Absent: None Other Attendees: Matt Daggett, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 2 and past member of the Residential Policy Committee The meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m. 1. Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to approve the March 15, 2017, and the March 16, 2017, minutes. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 (Mr. Padaki arrived shortly thereafter.) 2. Financially Related Warrant Articles for 2017 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Article 19: Appropriate for Advice and Analysis Getting to Net Zero: Ms. Basch asked to change her vote on this article from an abstention to a vote in support. Mr. Michelson asked that his vote against this article be changed to a vote in support. The changes result in this Committee supporting the article 7-2. Article 16 (d) Appropriate for Public Facilities Capital Projects: Facility and Site Improvements: This article includes three components: Building Flooring Program; School Paving Program; and School Traffic Safety improvements. It was reported that the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) plans to present an amendment to the article that would require a separate vote on each component to prevent commingling of the funds. It was agreed that this Committee would vote on such an amendment if and when it comes to the floor. Article 18 Appropriate for Visitors Center (Citizen Article) : The motion under this article will request $100,000 in funding through design development. It was noted that the CEC wants to limit the appropriation to just the $21,000 required for schematic design. Ms. Yang reported having gone to the Visitors' Center and having had a conversation with Ms. McKenna. She was able to see and hear about the shortcomings of the building and supports the current motion. Mr. Neumeier also expressed support for the current request. It was noted that the funds needed to go beyond schematic design would not be released without Board of Selectmen approval. The Committee now supports the full $100,000 request by a vote of 9-0. Article 40 Amend Zoning Bylaw Special Permits Residential Developments and Article 42 Amend Zoning Bylaw Two -Family Homes: Mr. Daggett reviewed the content of these articles and his understanding of why they are being proposed. He made the following observations: • The Lexington housing market is now saturated with large, high-end single-family housing, resulting in prolonged sale time for a developer. • Developers now prefer to build high-density housing, which provides a better return on investment, but which requires a special permit. • Lexington's zoning bylaws currently allow a special permit to increase density beyond that allowed "by right" in three circumstances: 1 04/03/2017 AC Minutes ➢ By including a public benefit, such as some affordable housing; ➢ By building a Balanced Housing Development (BHD) with multiple units; as long as the total gross floor area (GFA) of all units meets the GFA restrictions currently allowed, there are no restrictions on the number of units that can be built on a lot or an assembled cluster of lots; ➢ By creating a site -sensitive development that incorporates environmental considerations. Article 40 proposes a sliding scale for BHD's that would reduce the allowed GFA on the site as the number of units is increased but allow a "density bonus" to compensate. The result is that as building mass decreases, the number of residents on the site can be expected to increase because there would be more units. Mr. Daggett presented a financial analysis of the proposed bylaw change taking into account the effect of increasing density on both tax revenue and the demand on Town services, including the schools. The analysis indicated that a BHD for a development containing up to 18 housing units on a lot that would otherwise support 6 units "by right," might result in a net financial loss to the Town of up to $300,000 per year depending on the additional number of units allowed. (Mr. Daggett subsequently acknowledged that the analysis is flawed because it was based on a misinterpretation of data from the Enrollment Working Group's 2014 report.) Mr. Daggett noted that the Planning Board continues to develop details on the proposed bylaw changes in Articles 40 and 42, including requirements for affordable housing and/or open space. It isn't clear whether the proposed bylaws would impact property values in the area of a BHD or a two-family house. He questioned whether it is advisable to move forward on these articles given the time constraints and the current lack of clarity on the details of the proposals. Members of this Committee generally agreed that there would not be time to analyze and prepare a written report on these articles, particularly where the motions and the Planning Board reports are not yet available. 3. Next Meetings The next meeting is on April 5. This Committee will not meet on April 10 because of Passover. This Committee has not yet taken a position on Article 44 Amend Zoning Bylaw Brookhaven (Owner Article), which is expected to be brought to Town Meeting on April 12. 4. Adjourn The Committee adjourned at 7:25 p.m. The documents used at the meeting are listed below. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Approved: May 15, 2017 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair • Preliminary Draft for Discussion: Table identifying BHD financial impacts as identified by Mr. Daggett 2