HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-15-AHTBT-min.pdf
Page 1 of 2
Affordable Housing Trust
Meeting Minutes of September 15, 2026, 11:30 am
Hybrid meeting on Zoom and attended in-person in the Select Board Meeting
Room, Town Office Building
Affordable Housing Trust Board Members present: Linda Prosnitz, Vice Chair; Mark Sandeen,
William Erickson, Tiffany Payne (joined at 12:20 pm)
Absent: Elaine Tung
Staff present: Ragi Ramachandran, Administrative Assistant
Ms. Prosnitz chaired the hybrid meeting and called the meeting to order at 11:34 am.
1. Approve Meeting Minutes
Ms. Prosnitz requested a motion to approve the Affordable Housing Trust meeting minutes of
7/23/26 Executive session and 8/20/26 Executive session. Mr. Sandeen moved. Mr. Erickson
seconded. The Trustees voted in favor of the motion 3-0-0, by a roll call vote (Erickson – yes,
Sandeen – yes, Prosnitz – yes). Meeting minutes approved.
2. Chair, Select Board, Board/Committee Liaison and RHSO/staff report
Lexington had two applications in the very competitive State funding round for affordable
housing projects. Both were funded. Awards were given to Causeway Development for
Lexington Woods, the 40 unit all affordable rental development and to LexHAB for 3 modular
ADU’s and rehab of an additional ADU. LexHAB was also awarded 8 project-based vouchers. The
AHT committed $1,000,000 for this project which was crucial for LexHAB to demonstrate local
commitment.
3. Community Preservation Application
Mr. Sandeen walked through his proposed changes to the draft CPC application. The Trustees
reviewed the draft application and shared their updates to various sections of the document.
Bob Pressman suggested including the Trust’s anticipated local contribution for the Militia Drive
development’s Housing Works Infrastructure Program grant, to the CPC application.
Mr. Sandeen and Mr. Erickson agreed to incorporate the comments and circulate the revised
version for the Trustees review.
The Trustees discussed the revisions to be made to the budget charts for FY28 CPC application.
Mr. Sandeen agreed to update the changes to the AHT BB financials spreadsheet.
4. Planning Board Zoning Amendments
Mr. Erickson explained the proposed changes to zoning bylaws and their implications. Mr.
Erickson presented documents detailing the impact of the zoning amendments.
The Trustees discussed concerns about proposed zoning changes related to historic preservation
and their potential impact on affordable housing development. Mr. Erickson explained that the
current proposal would require preservation of historic properties, which are on the cultural
resource survey list. Furthermore, with unclear definitions of what constitutes demolition,
Page 2 of 2
additional costs and restrictions could be created, resulting in decreased housing viability,
particularly for affordable housing.
Mr. Erickson expressed concern that these changes might reduce the number of housing units
produced, particularly through Special Residential District (SRD) developments.
The Trustees discussed writing a letter on behalf of the Trust to the Planning Board to convey
their concerns regarding the proposed zoning amendments, specifically their impact on
affordable housing. Mr. Erickson agreed to draft the letter and circulate it to the Trust for
feedback.
5. Any other business that may properly come before the Trustees which could not be
reasonably anticipated
The Trustees discussed the prohibition of placing local restrictions on ADU’s. This could impact
on the ability to have a local affordability restriction on the ADU’s funded by the Trust.
Discussions concerning this are ongoing.
Adjourn:
Ms. Sandeen moved to adjourn the Affordable Housing Trust Meeting. Mr. Erickson seconded.
The Trustees voted in favor of the motion by a 4-0 roll call vote (Sandeen – yes, Erickson – yes,
Payne – yes, Prosnitz – yes).
The meeting adjourned at 1:45 pm.
List of documents reviewed
1. FY28 CPA Application Continuation Sheet DRAFT
2. AHT BB Financials spreadsheet
3. The Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey document of the Lex Historical
Commission
4. Images of houses – demolition bylaw impact
5. SRD Proposed Zoning Changes DRAFT Concerns document