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Home My WebLink About2019-07-30-CPAC-min COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES July 30, 2019 The meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), held in Estabrook Hall, Cary Memorial Building 1605 Massachusetts Ave, was called to order at 7:22pm,by Co-Chair, Sarah Felton. CPAC members in attendance: Matthew Daggett, Sarah Felton, Leonard Morse- Fortier, Pat Sullivan, Hema Bhatt, Marilyn Fenollosa, Stacey Beuttell, Camille Goodwin and Christian Senna. The CPAC meeting was also attended by Town Staff Carol Kowalski and Molly Belanger, Robert Lent, HSH consultant Jeff Dietrich, Selectman Mark Sandeen and Planning Board member Ginna Johnson. ************GUEST SPEAKER- ROBERT LENT, TOWN ASSESSOR*********** Characterization of Lexington: • Bedroom community • More green than bricks—lots of open space • Roads/Traffic—usually Lexington residents • Few sirens—not too many major crises to respond to Responding to questions for Director of Assessing Question 1: With the need to build a new police station and high school, how soon does new commercial development value get into the Lexington tax base, on average? • Variety of ways to respond—depends on policies that are enacted • Commercial rents drive commercial value—it takes a while to establish new commercial and realize the taxes from the rents • Delay as policy is enacted—3-year cycle once policy takes effect Question 2: What is the difference in assessed value of commercial zoned land in Lexington Center vs. Hartwell Ave? What is the difference between assessed parcel values? • More expensive per square feet in Lexington Center than on Hartwell Ave • Estimated$200-300/sf downtown vs estimated$100-200/sf Hartwell—more capacity on Hartwell • Hartwell—lab/office development is higher value than just office space Meeting Minutes of July 30, 2019 Page 2 • Switch general office zoning to lab/office zoning—would see change in value quickly; would see higher commercial tax rate What are the different classes of commercial space? • Most of Lexington is class B or class C; some class A in Boston,but not in Lexington • Class A, B, C etc. —determined in the quality of the build out, where class A has the best quality • Class is taken into account when assessing—but difference between Class B and Class C is not significant • Class is set by Assessor's office • Assessment is done based on income and expenses rather than quality of space Do you get good information from property owners? • Yes—there is a need to have information that is defensible before the Appellate Tax Board • Can take a year to get a property that has changed over assessed—has to be finished before presented to the Department of Revenue What is the rhythm to the year? • Set tax rate in Dec. • Jan—file abatements; review for next 3 months—until May 1 • Valuation season—Aug 1 or Sep 1 • Request for information on rents—Jan—Feb; must return in 60 days(?); most bigger businesses file on time and regularly; smaller businesses • Sep—prepare for DOR review; compare sales for residential properties; commercial info comparisons—income/expense data • Oct—back and forth; accepted • Nov- Dec; town level decisions, tax rate is set and approved What is the criteria for abatements? • Valuation per square foot- $$/square foot discrepancies Question 3: If smaller retail areas in Lexington were re-zoned for mixed use, or for more intense retail, what would the scale and timing of that increased tax assessment be? • Don't assess to raise taxes—assess real value; question is phrased a little strangely • Marrett/Waltham • Woburn/Lowell • Concord/Waltham Meeting Minutes of July 30, 2019 Page 3 • Lincoln/Marrett • As examples—not sure that changing zoning alone would generate development; need demand; some developers might like it, others won't respond • Review Hartwell proposals and fiscal analysis—may have missed the timing on the change; no retail, no transportation available Is there mixed-use zoning in Lexington? • Many areas; doesn't seem to be a big demand for more; some areas not occupied that could be Question 4: Describe the assessing process -how often does it happens, what is the basis of the assessments a. Residential: what is impact of new construction on a neighborhood's assessment? b. Commercial what is the impact of new construction on a commercial property or district's assessed value? • "Revaluation" - Mass appraisal happens annually—residential and commercial; don't go to each property; do it by type (e.g.,ranches, contemporaries, etc.) • 300-400 home sales per year • Look at 100 to 200 properties a year—abatement issues; usually comes out to be the same tax rate; 5 out of 100 are right, 10 out of 100 get the benefit of the doubt—don't force value on anyone • Every 5 years—DOR wants more information; changes to make based on their recommendations—"recertification" • File abatement forms before paying taxes—Feb I —have 30 days once receiving the tax bill • Impact of new construction on residential neighborhood—is there is none? Question 5: What is the differences between assessed values and appraised or market value? • Assessed value—prior year • Appraised value—third party based on date • Market value—future value Question 6: What factors contribute to the trends in increased assessments - are there other factors besides new construction? • Assessed value due to increased demand for housing in Lexington • Increase in taxes—based on increase in services, facilities • Prop 2.5 —towns can increase the total taxes by 2.5 each year at most—unless there is an override; not related to assessed value; tax rate is adjusted to achieve that goal; fulcrum is the tax rate Meeting Minutes of July 30, 2019 Page 4 • All newly constructed during the past year will also be put in—over $100 million in new growth • Assessed new growth adds to the pot of total change of assessed value Question 7: Is Lexington comparable to our peer group towns in terms of assessed values of houses of similar size, age, location? • Yes—assessed value intuitively similar to peer group towns: Wellesley,Needham, etc. • Overview of assessment process—classification packet on town website • Comparable towns;year-to-year analysis FY19 Question 8: In the last five to ten years, has any new construction in Lexington reduced the value of adjacent properties? • Hard to say—not automatic; may take time to know • Assessed value won't change; market value may change • 186 Bedford Street—proposed mixed use project Monitor permits? • Gross building area- footprint • Living area—GLA • Field measurements or plans? Start with plans and then do field checks • Variance in filed plans vs. actual occupies space was 10-30% How often do people not pull building permits? • Sometimes for smaller projects,but not a good idea as it leads to liability issues • Touch every property in town over 10 years—now moving faster—5 to 6 years • Will do partial assessments for buildings under construction—commercial and residential • Supplemental taxation o Certificate of occupancy—assessor goes out to assess to capture value and taxes o Developer is paying taxes on the property as they progress OTHER BUSINESS**************************** Carol will send email updates on remaining agenda items that the CPAC did not get to. ************************UPCOMING MEETINGS************************ Aug 13, 2019 Meeting Minutes of July 30, 2019 Page 5 • Recreation Director, Melissa Battite and Human Services Director, Melissa Interess will be answering questions. All CPAC members should email their questions to staff. • Plan for an extended meeting (2 hours). • Review Age Friendly presentations. ************************ APPROVAL OF MINUTES************************ The Minutes from the June 25, 2019 CPAC meeting were approved unanimously. ************************* MEETING ADJOURNED************************* ACTION: on a motion duly made by Co-Chair, Sarah Felton and seconded Member, Stacey Beuttell, the Committee voted to adjourn at 9:07pm. All approved.