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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-03-05-AHTBT-min.pdf Page 1 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of March 5, 2026, 10:00 am Hybrid meeting on Zoom and attended in-person in the Select Board Meeting Room, Town Office Building Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Elaine Tung, Chair; Linda Prosnitz, William Erickson, Mark Sandeen, Tiffany Payne Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 10:02 am. 1. Approve Meeting Minutes Ms. Tung requested a motion to approve the meeting minutes of 10/09/25, 02/04/26 Open session, and 02/04/26 Executive session. Mr. Erickson moved. Ms. Payne seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by a roll call vote (Payne – yes, Erickson – yes, Prosnitz -yes, Sandeen – yes, Tung – yes). Meeting minutes approved. 2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report Ms. Payne stated that the Lexington Housing Authority will meet the following week and she will share the updates after the meeting. Ms. Prosnitz reported that the Housing Partnership Board met and the four subgroups are preparing presentations for the Select Board. Ms. Prosnitz stated that the Housing Partnership was looking at strategies on how to get to the real 10% affordable units and that they were exploring options to have all affordable overlay in certain districts. Ms. Prosnitz said that the Housing Partnership Board came to same conclusion as the Affordable Housing Trust that the Town-owned parcels are too small for any real development. Ms. Tung added that the Housing Partnership Board is also discussing retaining smaller units in Town, promoting housing in the Center, and that it is working on a website. Mr. Erickson updated that LexHAB is planning to have their annual fundraiser on March 27, 2026. Ms. Tung shared Ms. Kowalski’s staff update: At the Planning Board’s March 11, 2026, they will be discussing the project at 419 Marrett Road with a proposal for 9 condominiums. Ms. Tung added that the Planning Board will also discuss 475 Bedford Street for which hearing had been continued. Ms. Kowalski also reminded the Trust about the MHP Strengthening Boards series for the Trustees to attend. Ms. Tung updated that the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) would be appearing before the Select Board on March 16, 2026, to discuss the pilot Rental Assistance Program. Mr. Sandeen shared that the Select Board is expecting to consider approval of a draft letter of support from the Select Board for state financing of the Lowell and North Street project to be presented at the Select Board meeting on March 16, 2026. 3. 2026 Town Meeting Warrant Article 25 Matt Daggett, Proponent Mr. Daggett gave a brief overview of Article 25 and explained that the specific purpose of Article 25 was to reauthorize Article 6 of 2020 Town Meeting, see king special legislation to enact a surcharge on lots where a single- or two-family house has been demolished and redeveloped. Page 2 of 4 The surcharge would be calculated based on square footage at a rate determined by the Select Board and collected fees would be deposited in the Affordable Housing Trust fund. Ms. Payne wanted to know the details of the number of teardowns/rebuilds that occur in a year. Mr. Daggett responded that it is between 80 to 100 per year. Ms. Tung asked Mr. Daggett to share details on the number of single family and two-family teardowns to get a better idea of the scale of proposed revenue. Mr. Daggett stated that there were very few two-family teardowns compared to single family teardowns and shared potential revenue numbers based on different rates of surcharge. Mr. Daggett also stated that his models were based on the rate of teardown and the size of the replacement from 2020. Ms. Prosnitz wanted clarification on the language of the Article and the basis for arriving at the rate of surcharge. Ms. Prosnitz also wanted to know if any other community has conducted a Nexus Study related to this proposed Article and questioned the timing of the proposed Nexus Study. Mr. Daggett clarified that a Nexus Study for a similar proposal has not been done in Massachusetts but there were a few in other states. Ms. Prosnitz sought clarifications on how the surcharge could be added to property taxes and how abatement would work. Mr. Daggett provided a detailed explanation based on different use cases. Mr. Sandeen shared that Town staff had questions about the implementation details and stated that the Building Commissioner preferred the fee to be due with the building permit application as opposed to prior to issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy. Town staff also preferred a one- time payment as opposed to the 20% payment over a period of five years along with the property tax. Mr. Daggett added that the Town has the flexibility to determine the timing of the payment and he was working with Finance staff to determine the best payment option. Ms. Tung wondered if the purpose of the Article was to fund the AHT or to prevent teardowns. Mr. Daggett explained that the main purpose is to generate revenue and not to preclude redevelopment. Ms. Tung wanted to make sure that the cost of the Nexus Study was paid before any funds were given to the AHT. Jay Luker expressed his concern that the surcharge could significantly increase the total cost of construction. Mr. Dagget explained that the numbers presented are arbitrary and the surcharge rate would be based on what the Select Board decides to implement, and a Nexus Study would help make an informed decision. Mr. Luker wanted to know how many abatement situations were included in the model calculations and Mr. Daggett responded that he did not add any abatements in his calculations. Tom Shiple commented that this Article would lead to loss of modest housing in the community and that if the goal was to generate funding for community housing, the surcharge should be charged not only to teardowns but also to new constructions. 4. LexHAB Grant Appliction LexHAB, Applicant Mr. Erickson recused himself from the discussion. Tara Mizrahi and Russ Tanner, LexHAB Board members, and Sarah Morrison, Executive Director, attended on behalf of LexHAB. The Trustees continued their discussion from their last meeting with LexHAB and clarified the questions they had on LexHAB’s grant application. Mr. Sandeen asked if LexHAB had received any updates from EOHLC. Ms. Mizrahi shared that the representatives from EOHLC visited all the locations specified in the grant application and that LexHAB will be submitting their application to EOHLC before the March 19, 2026, deadline. LexHAB is hoping for an early award and shared the timeline of events. Mr. Sandeen sought clarification on why Sedge Road was removed from the application. Mr. Tanner responded that Page 3 of 4 6 Sedge Road was swapped with 300 Woburn Street due to the presence of wetlands on the Sedge Road property and that the wetlands could not be flagged in time for the application with EOHLC. Ms. Payne wanted to know LexHAB’s plans in the event they did not get the award or if the award was delayed. Ms. Mizrahi stated that, in that event, LexHAB would come back to the AHT for consideration. Ms. Payne expressed her concern about not including the washer and dryer in the units and asked if it could be included as part of the development costs. Ms. Mizrahi stated that LexHAB’s policy across its entire policy is not to include washers and dryers in any of its units. Ms. Payne shared the concern about the disruptions to the current tenants at 300 Woburn Street due to construction. Ms. Mizrahi stated that since the ADU is modular, there will be minimum inconvenience to the current tenants during the ADU construction. Ms. Mizrahi offered to share the engagement plans with current tenants so that everyone will stay informed. Ms. Prosnitz wanted clarification on who will be paying property taxes, especially with the change in LexHAB’s status to 501(c)(3). Ms. Morrison stated that as part of the agreement with the Town, LexHAB does not pay any real estate taxes. Ms. Prosnitz sought clarification on whether the rehabilitation of Douglas Road was included in the Pro Forma. Ms. Tung shared the Sources and Uses funds of the LexHAB grant application and asked if the 7% construction contingency, if unused would be returned to the Trust. Ms. Mizrahi stated that typically if there are any savings, the developer/owner keeps half, and the other half goes to the funding agencies. Ms. Tung also asked if there will be an owner’s project manager and if the total development cost would be around $528,000. Mr. Tanner confirmed that it was correct. Ms. Prosnitz asked for a comprehensive financial statement to get a better understanding of the portfolio. Mr. Tanner stated that when looking at the whole portfolio as an operating pro forma, which would exclude some unpredictable revenue sources, it would barely break even. Ms. Prosnitz also asked for clarification on how the vouchers will be used on LexHAB’s properties. Ms. Mizrahi explained the process in detail. The Trustees felt that the AHT should support this grant application and it was a good opportunity to leverage funds from the State. The Trustees agreed that this is a creative approach to creating more affordable houses with accessory dwelling units and using state housing vouchers to lower income affordability. Ms. Tung moved that the AHT approve a conditional commitment to LexHAB for $1,000,000 for the construction and renovation of three Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) at 300 Woburn Street, 2-3 Spencer Road, 77 Wood Street, as well as the renovation of the existing single family home at 77 Woods Street consistent with the Project Proposal presented by LexHAB to the Trust. The conditions include the following: 1) funding awards from EOHLC consistent with project proposal as submitted in LexHAB’s application at a level sufficient to proceed with th e project; 2) The AHT’s satisfactory review and approval of final construction costs, overall development budget and funding sources for the project, r ent commitments or other explanations satisfactory to the AHT for all identified funding sources for the project ; 3) submission of final building and site plans, and specifications for construction at each of the above proposed locations; 4) submission of a fair housing marketing plan and tenant selection plan for the new units; 5) updated development schedule; 6) updated listing of the maximum income levels not to exceed 60% AMI and rent policy for each of the new units ; 7) contractor information to be submitted to the AHT; 8) all units to meet requirements to be added to the Town’s Subsidized Housing Inventory; 9) satisfactory, draw schedule and administration plan to be mutually agreed upon; and 10) LexHAB to consider prioritizing MBE/WBE contractors where appropriate; 11) LexHAB to evaluate its policy regarding washers and dryers for these four units; and 12) LexHAB to provide an engagement plan with tenants to be moving in or existing tenants that currently live or will be affected at the units. Ms. Tung stated that the Trust is in support of LexHAB’s application for capital and operating subsidies prioritizing those Page 4 of 4 tenants who have extremely low income and very low income. Mr. Sandeen seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by roll call vote (Payne – yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes). The above motion was amended to include the following. Ms. Tung made a motion that the Affordable Housing Trust authorizes the Chair to write the commitment letter to be provided to EOHLC for LexHAB. Ms. Prosnitz seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by roll call vote (Payne – yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes). Ms. Tung requested a motion to authorize the AHT Chair to update the Project Eligibility Support Letter for the Lexington Woods project to reflect the Trust’s support for Causeway Development’s application to EOHLC, and the ZBA approval of Comprehensive Permit for the project. Mr. Sandeen moved. Ms. Payne seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by roll call vote (Payne – yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes). 5. Executive Session Ms. Tung moved to go into Executive session under Exemption 6 to consider the purchase or lease of real property regarding MBTA Multi -Family Development Buy-downs. The Affordable Housing Trust Chair stated that, in her opinion, an open session would have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town and Affordable Housing Trust. Ms. Tung stated that the Trust will not reconvene in the open session after the Executive session. Ms. Prosnitz and Ms. Payne seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by a roll call vote (Payne-yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes). The Trust exited the open session at 11:58 am. List of documents reviewed 1. LexHAB grant application