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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-06-09-HAC-min.pdf ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING NEEDS rrl MEETING DATE June 9 , 1983 C. PRESENT Eleanor Klauminzer - c Sherry Edmonds Elizabeth Flemings Robert Bowyer Bowyer cn William Hayes (ii Arthur Gutierrez 1 The minutes of the May 10th meeting were approved 2 The compilation done by Sherry Edmonds of Inclusionary Housing Programs was distributed and reviewed 3 A discussion followed relative to Arthur Gutierrez ' s suggestion of sharing the value added that may be created by actions of a Town Board of other Town Boards, i e , re-zoning or by Town Meeting variances by the Zoning Board of Appeals Concept To have the Town share in the value added by town actions to create funds available for affordable housing Examples a) Re-zoning b) Appeals to relieve developers from certain restrictions Concept Value is added (or costs are reduced) in each of the above situations Added to be shared Say 25-33% by the Town and the rest by the developer Earmark funds for affordable housing to be administered by non-profit group in the town (such as the Lexington Housing Authority, etc ) Examples Lane - Residential lane re-zoned to commercial Residential land re-zoned to multiple family or P U D Board of Appeals actions that may save a developer thousands of dollars After considerable discussion on the subject, William Hayes concluded that Arthur Gutierrez 's suggestion very likely would not stand up in court under a legal challenge because it resembles too much a tax and because it is a "disguised tax" 4 We discussed the similarity between the proposal for Lexington with that which is currently is use in Newton Mr Hayes thought that Newton would be all right, although he was not sure of a provision in which dollars were set aside to be at the discretion of the Aldeiuien, and was not sure if this promise would stand up in court if contested Bob Bowyer said that communities that obtain financial contributions from developers have their justification in the need to mitigate the impact of the development on the community Bob Bowyer felt that many affordable housing provisions could be done much more effectively by means of the Planning Board policy rather than an inclusionary require- ment on the Zoning By Laws because it offers more flexi- bility by the Planning Board to deal with each particular situation A policy is almost as effective as a by-law because in the last 35 years Town Meeting has not approved any zoning change not recommended by the Planning Board We further discussed how the Planning Board' s policies could be made more enforceable William Hayes was not sure if acceptance of dollars in lieu of units was legal, but he thought it would be worth a try It was decided to meet on July 13th (this meeting has since been postponed) Elizabeth Flemmings suggested reviewing the Newton policy because it seems to be working, and the committee agreed to do so