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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-01-22-AHTBT-min.pdf Page 1 of 3 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of January 22, 2026, 10 am Meeting held on Zoom Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Elaine Tung, Chair; Mark Sandeen, Tiffany Payne, Linda Prosnitz, William Erickson Staff present: Elizabeth Rust, RHSO Director attended the meeting. Ms. Tung chaired the Zoom meeting and called the meeting to order at 10:04 am 1. Approve Meeting Minutes Ms. Tung requested a motion to approve the minutes of 12/17/25 AHT meeting. Ms. Prosnitz moved. Mr. Erickson seconded. The Trustees voted in favor unanimously. 2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report Mr. Erickson stated that LexHAB’s primary focus is on the EOHLC application and that they have identified three specific sites. Mr. Erickson added that LexHAB has contracted with a civil survey company and are working with builders on arriving at construction and site development estimates for multiple options. Ms. Prosnitz stated that Housing Partnership Board was scheduled to meet later the same day and hence did not have any updates to share. Ms. Payne stated that the Lexington Housing Authority met on December 18th and approved a solar net metering agreement with Renewable Energy Massachusetts LLC and the Town of Lexington. Ms. Payne added that the Executive Director reported the progress that has been made on repositioning Countryside Village and elaborated on that for the benefit of the other Trust members. Ms. Tung shared the update regarding Lexington Woods’ application before Board of Appeals meeting the same evening and added that the Zoning Board of Appeals will be discussing their decision. Ms. Tung stated that on 1/8/26 the Board of Appeals voted unanimously to approve the comprehensive permit. Ms. Tung added that the Planning Board had a Public Hearing the previous day to review an application from 475 Bedford Street for a multi-family ownership development proposal and that the Planning Board will hold a hearing for the application from 131 Hartwell Avenue in February. 3. Rental Assistance Program Ms. Tung stated that Ms. Kowalski had sent a copy of the RFQ as approved by Ms. Prosnitz and Ms. Payne the previous day to all the Trustees and Ms. Tung asked them to look at it. The RFQ had already been published with responses due on February 3 which the Trustees will be reviewing at their February 4 AHT meeting. 4. Non-Residential Nexus Study The Select Board discussed the non-residential development surcharge fee at its meeting on January 5. The Select Board requested the Affordable Housing Trust to weigh in on whether the Trust would be willing to fund the costs of the next Nexus Study in connection with the non- residential development surcharge fee which will occur in the next four to six years. Ms. Tung asked for the Trustees’ thoughts on using the initial funds coming from commercial linkage fees to pay for the Nexus study. Mr. Sandeen recommended that the Affordable Housing Trust should pay for the Nexus Study Report, even if there were no funds coming from the linkage fees, as it Page 2 of 3 is extremely valuable for Affordable Housing Trust strategic planning. Mr. Sandeen mentioned that annual Town Meeting will consider a home rule petition warrant article for a residential development linkage and that an additional Nexus Study may be required if that warrant article and home rule petition are approved. There was also discussion among the Trustees about whether there would be enough AHT funds in 5 years for the next Nexus Study and if CPA funds can be used to fund the study if no funds have come in through the commercial development surcharge. Ms. Tung moved that it would be appropriate for the Affordable Housing Trust to fund with available and eligible AHT funds the non-residential development Nexus Study in approximately 5 years. Mr. Erickson seconded. The Trustees voted in favor unanimously. 5. MAPC MAHT MAGIC Presentation Ms. Tung informed the Trustees that she had been asked by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to do a presentation on the Trust’s HWIP One-Stop for Growth Grant and shared the presentation she had prepared with the Trustees and asked for their input. Bob Pressman asked if Militia Drive had received a building permit and started construction and if there would be any issues as far as grants were concerned. Ms. Tung responded that Militia Drive has not yet applied for a building permit and if the project did not proceed, the Trust would not be able to use the grant. 6. 2026 Town Meeting CPC Warrant Article Presentation Ms. Tung shared a draft CPC Warrant Article presentation for FY 2027 CPA funds that is to be presented at the 2026 Town Meeting and the Trustees felt that the presentation was concise and compelling. Bob Pressman wanted to know if the Trust has identified a property that will prove to be a good buy down opportunity that can be accomplished. Ms. Tung responded that the Trust has identified some viable buy down opportunities. 7. AHT Grant Program Requirements Ms. Tung shared a list of guidelines for AHT grant funding that the AHT had previously requested from prior grant requests. The Trustees and Ms. Rust discussed the guidelines and a more complete list was generated. 8. Strategic Plan Ms. Tung shared that she had applied on behalf of the Trust for an Massachusetts Housing Partnership technical assistance program to help develop the Trust’s strategic plan. MHP received 22 applications and the Trust was not awarded the grant. MHP, however, offered to host a joint session with another municipality who had applied for similar assistance to discuss a possible framework and suggestions for moving forward. The Trustees agreed that the joint session will give good insights and ideas. 9. Other items that could not have been anticipated The Trustees discussed and decided to continue to meet twice a month. Executive Session Page 3 of 3 Ms. Tung moved to go into Executive session under Exemption 6 to consider the purchase or lease of real property regarding the MBTA Multi-Family Development Buy-downs. Ms. Tung stated that the Trust will not reconvene in the open session after the Executive session. Mr. Erickson seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Payne-yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes). The Affordable Housing Trust exited the open session at 11.54 am List of documents reviewed 1. Presentation for MAHT MAGIC Meeting, titled Community One Stop for Growth Grants for Affordable Unit Buydowns. 2. 2026 Town Meeting CPC Warrant Article Presentation 3. AHT Grant Funding Application- list of required documents