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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-03-19-AHTBT-min.pdf Page 1 of 3 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting Minutes of March 19, 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; William Erickson, Mark Sandeen, Tiffany Payne, Linda Prosnitz (joined the meeting during item 2) Ms. Tung chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 10:05 am. 1. Approve Meeting Minutes Ms. Tung requested a motion to approve the meeting minutes of 2/19/26 Affordable Housing Trust meeting. Mr. Sandeen moved. Mr. Erickson seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 4-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Sandeen – yes, Payne – yes, Tung – yes). Meeting minutes approved. 2. Affordable Housing Trust Strategic Plan Presentation Shelly Goehring, Senior Program Manager for Community Assistance, Massachusetts Housing Partnership Ms. Goehring presented a suggested framework for the Affordable Housing Trust to address creating a strategic plan. MHP had created this framework from working with other Massachusetts Affordable Housing Trusts to adopt a strategic plan. Ms. Goehring emphasized drafting a mission statement and establishing 2-3 measurable goals along with strategies to achieve them. She discussed the importance of making goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART), and provided examples of potential goals and strategies, such as increasing homeownership and creating affordable housing units. Ms. Goehring presentation had Wellfleet as an example of a town that successfully implemented housing strategies over several years. She outlined key steps including reviewing Trust bylaws, conducting a housing needs assessment, and identifying the Trust's niche role in the community. Ms. Goehring emphasized the importance of engaging with stakeholders and potentially consulting with affordable housing developers to better understand the development process. Ms. Goehring noted that housing work requires long-term commitment. She discussed how goals for Affordable Housing Trusts had been set in different communities. Ms. Goehring explained that setting a goal such as number of total affordable housing units varies based on factors like community size and existing housing infrastructure. She provided examples from Wellfleet, Sudbury, Amherst, and Concord to illustrate how goals range from 50 to 200 units over 5 years, with communities aiming to reach 10% of affordable housing units at or below 80% AMI. Ms. Goehring emphasized that these goals should be ambitious but achievable, allowing for modification as needed, and recommended including some community engagement with key stakeholders like the Community Preservation Committee, Select Board, and other housing entities in town. Ms. Goehring discussed Trust guidelines and strategic planning, recommending that the Trust create a consolidated document outlining mission, goals, funding criteria, and application processes to improve transparency and facilitate new trustee onboarding. Page 2 of 3 The Trustees expressed appreciation for the presentation. They acknowledged the idea of consolidating the Trust’s existing guidelines into a single accessible location. Ms. Goehring offered to share the slide deck and examples of other towns’ strategic plans/goals and guidelines from other communities for the Trust’s reference. She stated that while the Trust should focus on specific needs rather than implementing the full housing production plan, they should work collaboratively with Town officials to address housing goals. Ms. Goehring explained that communities over 10% on the subsidized housing inventory don't need to follow State requirements for housing production plans. She discussed various models for supporting affordable homeownership, including buy-down programs in Sudbury and Norfolk. Betsey Weiss from the Housing Partnership Board shared that Lexington currently has 723 deed - restricted units but needs 502 more to achieve a true 10%. She stated that affordable housing overlay districts may be necessary to reach this goal, and that one short-term strategy would be to have an Affordable Housing Overlay Committee to help identify parcels for affordable housing. 3. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report Mr. Erickson reported that LexHAB’s next meeting was on March 26, 2026. Ms. Prosnitz shared the update from the Housing Partnership Board meeting. The four working groups were preparing presentations with short-term and long-term strategies to present to the Select Board on April 27, 2026. Ms. Payne reported on Lexington Housing Authority’s initiatives, and progress on their RAD conversion strategy, involving the transition of 17 public housing units to project-based vouchers, and discussed upcoming resident engagement sessions. Ms. Tung reported that on March 16, 2026, she and Ms. Payne presented the Trust’s pilot rental assistance program to the Select Board. The Select Board expressed support for the pilot rental assistance program. Mr. Sandeen stated that the Select Board has sent a letter of support for Causeway Development's EOHLC funding application for State financing of the Lowell Street project. 4. Pilot Rental Assistance Program Alisa Gardner-Todreas, Chief Operating Officer, Metro West Collaborative Development Ms. Gardner and the Trustees discussed the next steps for the pilot rental assistance program. They agreed to start with drafting and signing the contract. There was discussion on the internal process that will be followed with respect to who’s expected to do what, where and when, and the implementation process for the program. The group discussed splitting the $100,000 payment into two installments tied to fund expenditure levels rather than fixed dates. They addressed the need for an online application process and discussed outreach strategies, including placing information on the Town website and using various channels to reach eligible residents. Mr. Sandeen asked what kind of impact assessments, data or reports Metro West will be able to present at the end of the Pilot program to help with the Town’s decision on whether to continue the program forward. Ms. Gardner explained that relevant information would be captured through the application process and a post-program survey. The Trust expressed interest in measuring the program's effectiveness in helping residents address housing needs rather than creating long-term dependence. Mr. Erickson noted that initial data requirements were outlined in the RFP Exhibit A. Mr. Sandeen mentioned Select Board concerns about administrative overhead costs. The Select Board was hoping to reduce these percentages in a longer-term program implementation. Page 3 of 3 The group agreed to gather and incorporate financial planning resources into the program materials, for the recipients. Ms. Gardner will include this in the contract. Ms. Gardner will provide a draft contract by the end of the week. Town staff in addition to the Trustees will review the contract. The Trustees will provide feedback on the contract and discuss implementation details at the next meeting, in April. Ms. Prosnitz was designated to be the point of contact between Metro West and Affordable Housing Trust for ongoing communication about the program's progress. 5. 2026 Town Meeting Warrant Article 25 Ms. Tung presented the revised slides received from Matt Daggett in connection with Article 25. The Trustees reviewed the changes Mr. Daggett had made to the motion. There was discussion on Surcharge Revenue Modeling slide. The Trustees expressed concerns about potential impacts on housing prices and the effectiveness of the measure. Ms. Sandeen moved that the Affordable Housing Trust recommend approval of Article 25 to Town Meeting. Ms. Prosnitz seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by roll call vote (Erickson – yes, Payne – yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes). 6. Any other business that may properly come before the Trustees which could not be reasonably anticipated Mr. Sandeen stated that the Select Board has received the letter from EOHLC that Lexington’s application for local initiative program designation for four ownership units out of thirty at 93 Bedford Street has been approved. 7. Executive Session Ms. Tung requested a motion 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. Mr. Erickson moved. Ms. Prosnitz seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0, by a roll call vote (Payne – yes, Erickson – yes, Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes, Tung – yes). The Trust exited the open session at 12:15 pm. List of documents reviewed 1. MHP Presentation, Affordable Housing Trust Funds - Getting Started 2. Town Meeting Warrant Article 25 Presentation