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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-12-11-FHC-min.pdf (.;� Ul KtLttVtu '41:4144"trtir4 rSELECTMEN OEC 1 2 1980 FAIR HOUSING COIvDfITTEE Minutes of the meeting of December 11, 1980 6140,4,004,dA.. Present: Al Zabin, Ron Chi, Bob Pressman; also Nancy Banks, and Bea Phear Absent: Natalie Miller, Jonathan Doran, William Sullivan, and Leona Martin The Meeting was called to order at 8:15 p m. The minutes of the meeting of December 4, 1980 were read and approved. Bea distributed substitute pages for the December 1 draft Bair Housing Plan that reflected changes made the previous week. The committee discussed these changes and made several correction, deciding to add some specificity to the Action Plans to give more focus to the Plan: a) Action 4, udder Institutional Barriers (p 21) was added. "The Lexington Housing Authority should establish the'goal for minority occupancy that the population should reflect the Greater Boston SMSA demographic breakdown as revealed in the 1980 census, by treating race as a positive factor as units become available. " b) Add to Action 1, under Expanding low and moderate housing (p 20) "in particular, the Fair Housing Committee urges that the Adams School be used for housing, in light of the fact that the Citizens Advisory Committee on Housing Policy Report of December 1973 suggested the Adams School as an appropriate facility for the development of subsidized housing 4 c) Add to Action 2 (p 20) "in particular the Town should adopt zoning amendments that make it easier to convert single family dwellings into two family dwellings and easier to create accessory apartments " d) Change Action 3 (p20) to "Adopt rezoning policies and practices to permit greater density allowances . . . subsidized housing " It was also decided to write a brief summary of )the Plan that would include the Goals and Objectives and Action Plans, and would precede the report as it now is written. The figures on p. 14 will be updated to reflect changes made on p. 5. The number of LHA units that have been approved (p 6) will be checked. Bob asked if the Town could have an enforceable agreement with private developers that would require them to use affirmative action in tenant selection in exchange for a rezoning permit Al thought that, yes, at a minimum the Town could require advertizing. He pointed out that the statement of objectives in the new Zoning Act is very broad, and he felt it would be within the power of the Town to make requirements This woul Biot imply that private developers and agents haven't been scrupulously following the open housing law, but that the Town wishes to go further in order to have a greater proportion of minority families in the community. Ron expressed concern about requiring quotas. saying it would run into trouble like the Boston schools Al said that the Town Counsel should be told this goal and asked how it can best be done @YJ 2/2 December 11, 1980 Ron asked if Conservation Land was buildable. Al replied that generally the land is not good to build on (wetlands, etc) but some of it is prime land. Ron asked about tenant selection policies for elderly units on the LHA. It is unclear if they give residential preference. Nancy stated that in the past they have established pools, rather than lists, and if an opening appears, they then base the selection on a consideration of need and ability to care for themselves. It now appears that the Federal and State guidelines will require selection from a list in numerical order. It was decided that committee members will prepare drafts of a Town Open Housing Policy for Town Meeting, that could either be attached to the Fair Housing Plan or treated as a separate document. These drafts will be discussed at the next committee meeting. The Committee scheduled its next meeting for Wednesday, December 17, 1980. The meeting was adjourned at 9 50 p m. Respecfully submitted, }tom Beatrice Phear DRAFT December 12, 1980 SUMMARY The Fair Housing Committee was established in September, 1979 in order to draft a Fair Housing Plan for the Town of Lexington. The Committee explored the Town's local housing market, the housing occupancy patterns, the zoning by-laws, and the occupancy patterns and availability of subsidized housing. The committee also met with local planners, developers, and realestate agents, and conducted a survey of Lexington's minority residents. It was found that the greatest barriers to having a greater proportion of minority families and elderly in the community stem from the lack of availability of low and moderate priced housing and the lack of articulated affirmative action goals and plans; therefore, the committee recommends the following goals, objectives, and action plans.