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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-08-19-AHTBT-min Page 1 of 2 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of August 19, 2024 12:30 pm Hybrid meeting on Zoom and attended in-person in Parker room, Town office building Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Elaine Tung, Chair; Mark Sandeen, William Erickson, Tiffany Payne Absent: Linda Prosnitz Staff present: Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Liz Rust, RHSO Director; Ragi Ramachandran, Administrative Assistant Other attendees: Sarah Morrison, Executive Director of LexHAB; Margaret Heitz Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 12:31 pm. 1. Approve Meeting Minutes Ms. Tung requested a motion to approve the minutes of 6/24/24 meeting. Mr. Sandeen moved. Mr. Erickson seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 3-0-1, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Tung – yes, Sandeen – yes). Ms. Payne abstained. Meeting minutes approved. 2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO /staff report Ms. Tung updated that the formal legislative session of the State Legislature ended on July 31. The Legislature will now meet in informal legislative session as a 2 or 3 person group twice a week until the end of the calendar year. Ms. Tung was informed by Representative Ciccolo that the two development surcharge home rule petitions are on the informal legislative list. Ms. Tung will write a letter to the Speaker of the House requesting that the development surcharge home rule petitions and LexHAB’s legislation to becoming a 501(c)(3) be prioritized. The Trustees reviewed the document from LexHAB listing the number of applications for various bedroom sizes as requested by applicants from LexHAB’s most recent lottery. There was discussion on what was most needed in the community, on how the applications are categorized and deciphered regarding who qualifies for housing and who does not. Ms. Morrison from LexHAB shared that 1-bedroom and 3-bedroom units were most in demand based on the current LexHAB waitlist numbers. Ms. Rust stated a recent situation where a 3-bedroom ownership unit came up for resale, and there were 25 qualified applications for one unit even with a very short window of marketing. Ms. Tung reported that Ms. Prosnitz was contacted by SGL Development regarding the proposed development on Militia Drive. They are contemplating 323 rental units with 502 parking spaces. Mr. Sandeen reported on the recent MBTA community proposals received and potential proposals. Ms. Morrison stated that a majority of LexHAB’s 1-bedroom units are occupied by seniors, and felt there is a growing need for “accessible” 1-bedroom units. Page 2 of 2 Ms. Rust explained that accessibility requirements are usually a 5% mandate on the rental side, but not on the ownership side due to the small size of the developments. She also mentioned that developers often allocate more than the 5% to affordable units, which may not need ADA features. Ms. Morrison suggested considering more universal design features to make units accessible to a variety of needs. Ms. Rust reported about the Planning Board's recent approval of 89 Bedford Street development without local preference. She encouraged the Trustees to review their opinion with Planning Board on local preference, if they had any. 3. FY 2026 Funding The Trustees had a discussion on FY26 funding and the upcoming CPC application in terms of funding for community housing. The Trustees reviewed the five-year budget projection plan they had proposed in their FY25 funding request. They brainstormed on the updates required to the various line items in the chart. The Trustees received input from Ms. Morrison on LexHAB’s funding needs. Ms. Tung will work with Ms. Morrison, and Caileen Foley from Lexington Housing Authority on the updates to the five-year plan chart for future review by the Trustees. 4. Any other business that may properly come before the Trustees that could not be reasonably anticipated Ms. Morrison invited everyone to attend the Oct. 18 LexHAB fundraiser at the Depot. 5. Adjourn Ms. Tung requested a motion to adjourn the Affordable Housing Trust meeting. Mr. Sandeen moved. Ms. Payne seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Sandeen – yes, Payne – yes, Tung – yes). The meeting adjourned at 2:01 pm. List of documents reviewed: 1. LexHAB – number of applications by bedroom Sizes, Requested by applicants 2. CPC FY2025 AHT 5 years Budget Projection