Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-07-15-AHTBT-minAffordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of July 15, 2025 1:30 pm Hybrid meeting on Zoom and attended in-person in the Parker Room, Town Office Building Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Elaine Tung, Chair; William Erickson, Mark Sandeen, Linda Prosnitz, Tiffany Payne (joined at 1:41 pm) Staff present: Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Elizabeth Rust, RHSO Director; Ragi Ramachandran, Administrative Assistant Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 1:35 pm. 1. Approve Meeting Minutes The meeting minutes approval was postponed to next meeting. 2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report Ms. Prosnitz shared the liaison report from Housing Partnership Board's meeting. She stated that the recent discussions have largely been on Housing Summit. Ms. Tung stated that, as discussed at the last AHT meeting, a memo was sent to the Planning Board from the Trust with its suggested revision to Special Residential Development payment -in - lieu charges. The Trust recommended simplifying the process for revisions to the payment -in - lieu and using the term "annually" instead of "regularly" to describe the frequency of rate adjustments. The Trust discussed suggested additional modifications received from Planning Board staff. Ms. Prosnitz stated that Ms. Rust, Ms. Prosnitz and Ms. Payne will try to meet before next AHT meeting to discuss the tenant assistance program. Ms. Rust reported that the Housing Needs Assessment is posted to the Town website. Ms. Kowalski shared the update on the Commercial Linkage fee Nexus Study being conducted by the consultant Karl Seidman, noting that the nexus study is underway and expected to be complete by March 2026. Ms. Tung raised a concern that the nexus study and vote by the Select Board is required by statute to be completed by early January 2026. Ms. Payne shared that the Massachusetts Affordable Homeownership Alliance event was at bpm that evening in Boston and encouraged the Trustees to attend. It's a homeownership fair with homeownership resources for current homeowners and soon to be homeowners, and renters. 3. Lowell Street Parcel 68-44 Update Ms. Kowalski shared that pursuant to a request by the Town, EOHLC extended to July 25, 2025. Mr. Erickson asked questions about local contributions for Lowell Street as it relates to the project eligibility letter application. Ms. Rust clarified that the local contribution is not required for the project eligibility letter stage but will be important for the future, as outlined in the State's Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for LIHTC funds. Mr. Erickson raised a concern that Causeway's project schedule which is a public record, is out of schedule. Page 1 of 3 Mr. Erickson requested a motion that the Affordable Housing Trust ask Causeway Development to update the schedule with their current information. The motion was not seconded. There were discussions on the project schedule. Mr. Sandeen asked if it would suffice to make it an agenda item to receive periodic updates from the developers on the project status. The Trustees agreed. Bob Pressman asked who would receive the public comment on the Project eligibility Letter. Ms. Kowalski responded that the Select Board's office receive the comments and will consolidate public comments and send them to EOHLC. 4. FY26 Goals The trustees reviewed the draft AHT goals for FY2026. There were discussions on Lowell Street project development and financing, MBTA multifamily buydowns, and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The Trustees analyzed whether or not to include the construction of ADUs as a separate goal. Ms. Kowalski recommended that the Housing Trust leave the matter of deed restricted affordability of ADUs to other housing entities with experience in subsidy arrangements. The group discussed funding options for affordable ADUs, focusing on CPA funds and SHI eligibility. They agreed to keep the funding goal broad, allowing for either grants or loans, rather than specifying a single approach. They decided to support, rather than advocate for, zoning changes to comply with State law regarding ADU requirements. For home ownership affordable units, the Trustees considered supporting partnerships with local and regional developers and noted that it was part of their broader mission rather than a specific goal. The Trustees discussed and refined wording for several goals. They contemplated prioritizing the goals and strategies to accomplish the goals. The consensus was for the Lowell Street development and multifamily buy -downs to be priority initiatives in their goals. Ms. Tung incorporated the comments received in the meeting to the draft goals document. Melinda Walker commented on setting priorities and the order in which the goals were written. Ms. Walker felt the highest priority should be for extremely low or very low-income residents. She questioned how decisions would be made about spending available funds. Mr. Sandeen moved that the Affordable Housing Trust accept the goals and strategies as drafted in today's meeting. Ms. Prosnitz seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson — yes, Payne — yes, Prosnitz — yes, Sandeen — yes, Tung — yes). The group agreed to present the goals to stakeholders as a consensus recommendation while keeping the goals subject to potential changes based on feedback and thoughts that come out of the Housing Summit. Mr. Erickson expressed concerns about distributing the goals to the Select Board before the housing summit, but the majority agreed that they should be shared with the Select Board and other housing partners. Ms. Tung agreed to send out the approved goals and strategies document to housing partners, Town Manager and Select Board, indicating that they are the Trust's recommended goals pending Select Board approval. 5. Any other business that may properly come before the Trustees which could not be reasonably anticipated The Housing Summit is scheduled for July 16 2025 and all Trustees will attend this meeting. 6. Adjourn Page 2 of 3 Ms. Tung requested a motion to adjourn the Affordable Housing Trust Meeting. Ms. Prosnitz moved. Mr. Erickson seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by roll call vote (Payne — yes, Sandeen-yes, Prosnitz- yes, Erickson- yes, Tung- yes) The meeting adjourned at 3:49 pm. List of documents reviewed: AHT Draft Goals and Strategies FY2026 Page 3 of 3