Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-18-HPB-min.pdf Lexington Housing Partnership Board (HPB) Meeting Minutes for June 18, 2025 Attendees: Nanette Byrnes, Harriet Cohen (Clerk), Wendy Manz (Chair), Charles Hornig (Planning Board), Paul Linton, Joyce Murphy, Melanie Thompson, Betsey Weiss (Vice-Chair), John Zhao (COA) Absent: Cindy Arens (Sustainable Lexington), Jill Hai (Select Board liaison), Margaret Heitz, Sarah Morrison (LexHAB) Guest: Ingrid Klimoff, Christina Lin (Lexington Human Rights Committee), Ravneet Grewal, Linda Prosnitz (Affordable Housing Trust), Elaine Tung (Affordable Housing Trust) The Housing Partnership Board (HPB) meeting was chaired by Wendy Manz and minutes were taken by Harriet Cohen. The meeting was held remotely as a Zoom teleconference. 1. Call to Order: Housing Partnership Board Meeting Ms. Manz called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. The roll was called. 2. Report on Select Board meeting on the 4/2/2025 Fougere Report on 6/16/25 The HPB expressed disappointment with the comments from the Appropriations Committee, particularly with respect to preferring large, expensive housing so that the Town could maintain its identity and its services. Mr. Hornig noted that the Appropriations Committee accepted almost all of the estimates of the Fougere Report except for the cost per student which they believed was underestimated. Ms. Kosnoff also noted that the cost per student was likely underestimated. Multiple people at the Select Board meeting called for a breakpoint analysis: the point at which the Town would incur major new costs, e.g., if a new fire station is needed. 3. Report on the Massachusetts Housing Partnership Conference of 6/4 - 6/5/25 Ms. Manz attended the Massachusetts Housing Partnership Conference. Key points: Andrea Campbell, the Attorney General, spoke at some length expressing her support for creating affordable housing and describing what her office is doing to implement that support. The EOHLC provided literature describing all of the work it is doing in housing creation. The EOHLC has a number of housing grant programs that may be accessible to Lexington. Several breakout sessions focused on getting new housing built. These workshops stressed the importance of a clear and detailed RFP for any development on Town-owned land. Ms. Manz also said that the state is building a highly comprehensive database of information related to housing. 4. Invitation to Conversation on Immigrant Rights and Community Safety Ms. Lin said that many questions had come to the Lexington Human Rights Committee about ICE and immigration rights. Next Wednesday evening a sub-group will provide information on this subject at a meeting open to all. Ms. Lin invited the HPB to attend this meeting. Ms. Lin said her committee is seeking to help people in Lexington understand what it means to be housing insecure or house burdened. Ms. Byrnes said that at the Housing Needs Assessment Committee meeting Melinda Walker expressed a similar interest in conveying the difficulties in being housing insecure or house burdened. 5. Discuss points to bring to the July 16th Select Board Housing Summit The Town Manager has called a summit meeting on July 16 of the four major housing bodies (LexHAB, LHA, HPB, Affordable Housing Trust). The Select Board will also be present. Initial indications are that each group will discuss their roadmap for housing, their organization’s roles and responsibilities, and the priority of housing moving forward. The HPB discussed a path for moving forward with a presentation for the summit meeting. Ms. Weiss agreed to form a working group to create a presentation / handout for the summit meeting. 6. Follow-up Reports from Working Groups Creation of housing units for seniors. No report, but Mr. Zhao said that the COA had a planning meeting in which they discussed work for the next six months. Two items relevant to housing were discussed: (1) to see how the Town and COA could support seniors with concerns about the tax challenges of real estate taxes; and (2) to apply for a grant to update the senior citizens needs assessment survey, including housing. The survey was originally taken during the pandemic. ADU: The group met to discuss what zoning changes might look like. Mr. Hornig spoke with staff. They are interested in moving forward with this work, though not this month as they are very busy. Housing Needs Assessment: the final report should be released shortly. The report has been finalized, and the current work is to complete the cover letter. Ms. Byrnes will lead a working group to discuss how to disseminate the information and to provide it for educational purposes. RETF: No work on the RETF. Ms. Manz will be working with Ms. Heitz to identify grants that would provide funds for the Affordable Housing Trust. 7. Liaison Reports Ms. Tung said the AHT is working on goals and strategies. The developers of the Lowell Street project have submitted their project review to the state. This begins the state process. Once the state gets back to them, a 30-day community public process begins during which time there will be an opportunity for public comment. Mr. Hornig said that very little has happened at the Planning Board. Hearings have been completed for nine of the ten village overlay projects. Hearings are ongoing for the eleventh. Hearings are also ongoing for 287 Waltham Street. The Planning Board is still expecting other projects to come forward, but none has yet done so. Mr. Zhao: Over 300 people participated in the Senior Resources Fair. It was a big success. The COA is discussing whether to have an annual Senior Resources Fair. 8. Discuss applications for the open position on the HPB Ms. Grewal, one of the applicants for the open position, attended the meeting. Ms. Grewal introduced herself, spoke about her interest in housing, and offered her support in any capacity, whether on the HPB or otherwise. Ms. Weiss spoke in strong favor of Ms. Grewal. Ms. Manz offered her views on each of the candidates based on their applications. Each of the members then offered their views. The HPB agreed that they would not provide collective feedback; rather, any member who has feedback should send mail to the Select Board. 9. Discuss appointment of HPB member as a full voting member to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Mr. Linton expressed his interest in serving on the CPC. Ms. Weiss moved that Mr. Linton be appointed as the HPB’s representative to the CPC. Ms. Cohen seconded the motion. In favor: Ms. Byrnes, Ms. Cohen, Ms. Manz, Mr. Hornig, Ms. Murphy, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Weiss, Mr. Zhao Against: <none> Abstain: Mr. Linton 10. Review and approve March 7, March 13, March 17, April 30, and May 29 minutes Ms. Cohen will update the March 7 meeting to correctly reflect the vote for adjournment. Ms. Weiss moved approval of the set of minutes; Mr. Linton seconded the motion. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the HPB voted by roll call of 9-0-0 to approve the motion. 11. Set Next Meeting Date The next meeting will be on July 9, 2025 at 7:00 pm on Zoom. 12. HPB Adjournment Ms. Byrnes moved adjournment. Ms. Weiss seconded the motion. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the HPB voted by roll call of 9-0-0 to approve the motion. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 pm.