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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-09-24-HPB-min :: :: MAP Lexington Housing Partnership Board Meeting Minutes for September 24,2020 Attendees: Harriet Cohen,Jeri Foutter, Mary Haskell, Wendy Manz, Robert Peters, Bob Pressman, Melanie Thompson, Melinda Walker, Betsey Weiss Absent: Rich McDonough, Paul Linton Guest: Charles Hornig The Housing Partnership Board (HPB) meeting was chaired by Jeri Foutter and minutes were taken by Harriet Cohen.The meeting was called to order at 7:09 pm. 1. Call to Order 2. Approve Prior Minutes Ms. Weiss moved approval of the minutes of August 20, 2020. Mr. Peters seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, with one abstention (Ms. Walker). Mr. Peters moved approval of the minutes of September 3, 2020. Ms. Walker seconded the motion.The motion passed unanimously, with one abstention (Ms. Walker). 3. Board Member Updates ■ Planning Board Mr. Peters: have been holding hearings on proposals that will come before town meeting. A hearing for Hartwell Ave will be held next Wednesday. Mr. Peters encouraged HPB members to read the Hartwell Ave proposed zoning changes and to attend the meeting. Ms. Walker said she would contact Matt Daggett regarding his request to the Select Board for legislation to empower the Town with the authority to impose a tax on building houses. Ms. Walker will ask him to contact Ms. Foutter regarding a presentation to the HPB. ■ LexHAB Mr. Pressman: LexHAB is not meeting until next Wednesday.There is no update for this meeting. Ms. Walker:There were 176 applicants in the lottery for the 6 units at Farmview.This is indicative of the need for affordable housing in Lexington. ■ Lexington Housing Authority All residents in LHA properties have stayed safe and well during the pandemic. Ms. Walker is working on compiling racial and ethnicity statistics for the Town of Lexington. ■ Council on Aging No update at this meeting. ■ SPRD Committee There was a meeting last week.Ted Brovitz, the consultant, proposed a draft of the revised SPRD zoning.There was very little on affordable housing and only one out of seven residential development types was workforce infill housing. Ms. Weiss indicated her disappointment with the lack of consideration for affordable housing to Jill Hai. Ms. Manz :: :: MAP Lexington Housing Partnership Board had a more optimistic reading of the proposal. There will be a public meeting on the proposal at a date to be determined. 4. CPC Proposal to Identify Possible 40R Overlay Districts The HPB agreed to ask the Lexington Housing Foundation (LHF)to submit a CPC proposal for a 40R consultant.The LHF will withdraw the application if the MassDevelopment proposal is funded. Ms. Cohen will check with Stuart Saginaw as to whether the proposed use is within CPC guidelines. Mr. Pressman pointed out that the Town is clearly interested in 40R zoning given the MassDevelopment proposal. S. CPC Proposal for Rental Assistance Takeda Pharmaceuticals,with offices in Lexington, donated $250,000.00 to the Town of Lexington to provide emergency financial assistance to individuals and families who may have suffered a loss of income due to the pandemic crisis. This funding is available for residents through the Lexington Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF) administered by the Human Services Department, and can be used for rental assistance. Other cities and towns have used CPA funds to create Emergency Rental Assistance Programs (EARP) for residents. Ms. Walker suggested the partnership may want to make an application to CPC for funds to add to the emergency assistance fund; the application could be submitted as a placeholder($$$TBD). A determination could be made as to whether further emergency rental assistance will be needed in 2021. Ms. Walker said that estimations may be hard to make, but use of the funds to date might be helpful in making predictions. Ms. Foutter will provide additional information at the next meeting. 6. HPB Highlights for Town's Annual Report The HPB reviewed and provided updates to the draft report from Ms. Foutter. 7. MetroWest HOME Meeting Ms. Walker and Ms. Weiss attended a meeting of the MetroWest HOME towns hosted by Newton Planning Dept.The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a report on barriers to affordable housing and how they might be overcome.The presentation was made by one of the report authors (Linda Barrett). In general, the towns shared the same concerns about the barriers to affordable housing. The meeting discussed a variety issues regarding housing. It was noted at the meeting that the idea of giving hometown preference on lottery and waiting lists may be against the US Fair Housing Law because it gives an advantage to people with a connection to the town. :: :: MAP Lexington Housing Partnership Board 8. Land Use, Health and Development's proposal to the MassDevelopment's Technical Assistance Program and HPB's Letter of Support Ms. Foutter provided Mark Sandeen, member of the Select Board,with information regarding the HPB's letter of support for the Town's grant proposal to MassDevelopment for funds to identify 40R Smart Growth Overlay Zones in Lexington.The information will be used to update the Select Board. 9. Vine Street Mr. Pressman:The 2011 report of the committee appointed by the Selectmen identifies a recommendation of 5 to 6 units on the Leary site. It also refers to reaching an accommodation with the neighborhood. LexHAB has$75,000 in CPA funds to develop a plan for the site. LexHAB has identified architects interested in the project. In conjunction with the Town, LexHAB is selecting one of those architects for the project. There has been extensive pushback in the neighborhood regarding the number of units being built.The neighbors have expressed the view that only two units should be built. LexHAB has been charged with providing extensive opportunities for neighborhood input in defining the project. It is important for the HPB to learn when there will be discussions about the Vine Street affordable housing and attend those meetings so that our voices can be heard. Ms. Walker noted the large need for affordable housing in Lexington as demonstrated by the 176 applicants in the lottery for the 6 units at Farmview. 10. New Business Mr. Linton received a message through the website from an individual who wanted to know who to contact for a lottery to an affordable home. Ms. Foutter will refer him to RHSO and Metro West Development. On behalf of the LHF, Ms. Foutter asked several consultants for to estimate their fees for the 40R Smart Growth Overlay Zones project. She was asked questions by the consultants for further information so they could provide estimates. Question: How many possible 40R locations? Answer: Ms. Foutter identified eight possible locations. Question: How many prior proposed developments that might have been 40R if we had taken that initiative at that time. Answer:The HPB identified six possible developments. Question: When will the decision on funding be made? Answer:the decision will be made on Marchl, with funds available on July 1 (if approved). Question: Should the estimate include a draft 40R proposal as a model for submission to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)? Answer:Yes, please provide this estimate separately from the estimate for other services. :: :: MAP Lexington Housing Partnership Board 11. Action Items Ms. Foutter and Ms. Cohen to report on the LHF CPC application at the next meeting. 12. Set Next Meeting Date The next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:00 pm. 13. Adjournment Ms. Weiss moved adjournment and Ms. Walker seconded the motion.The motion was approved unanimously.