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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-03-05-CPC-min Community Preservation Committee Thursday, March 5, 2009 Legion Room 4:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst.; and Dick Wolk. Dick Kanter of the CEC was also present. Absent: Sandy Shaw The meeting was called to order at 4:04 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of affordable housing on the Leary property, and options regarding bonding of the purchase with Rob Addelson, Town Finance Manager. 1.Affordable Housing and the Leary Property - MaryAnn McCall-Taylor, Town Planner, and Karen Mullins, Director of Community Development, were present for the discussion. Ms. Weiss introduced the discussion of affordable housing on the Leary land by asking Ms. McCall-Taylor to share her thoughts with the Committee. Ms. McCall-Taylor said she had met with Mr. Fred Russell, the engineer who had completed the survey work for the appraisal, and said that they had discussed the possibility of one to two lots. With 150’ of frontage, they felt it would be easiest to use the LIP zoning approach, or a friendly 40B. This way, the Town could waive the dimensional requirements, and potentially fit in two duplex units on the Vine Street frontage. Ms. Manz asked Ms. McCall-Taylor why the access to the conservation land was incorporated in the balanced housing development rather than using easements, to which Ms. McCall-Taylor replied that the Conservation Commission did not want to use easements. She said her discussion with Mr. Russell involved three possible scenarios for siting two duplex buildings. There would have to be a small access road on which the units would have frontage, and the access road, could either (1) bisect the units, (2) be sited to the east of them, or (3) be sited to the west of them. She noted that the Engineering Department felt the sight lines were best if the road was placed as close to the curve on Vine Street as possible. In addition to serving the housing units, the road would also access 3-4 parking spaces at its end in a small cul-de- sac. This would meet the need for public parking, which at present does not exist for the Vine Brook Conservation area. Ms. Fenollosa brought up the issue of the historic nature of the Leary house, which dates back to1840, and questioned whether a renovation of the structure might make sense. Ms. McCall-Taylor responded to this possibility, saying that it was unlikely that LexHAB would do such work, and noted that historic rehab is 1 usually quite costly. She said to bring the building up to current code, deal with issues such as lead paint, etc, would increase the costs significantly. If the Town desired to renovate the structure, however, she added it could be done. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the process that had been followed during the negotiation phase of the acquisition. Ms. Weiss stated her objection to the fact that the CPC had not been consulted during the negotiations, and that there had been no discussion of affordable housing with the Committee until Ms. Mullins’ update the previous week. Ms. Weiss expressed her belief that there had to be a window of opportunity for discussions on affordable housing and recreation during the negotiation phase. Ms. Manz seconded this thought and supported an acquisition committee with representation of various interests in addition to conservation. Ms. Weiss added that when the Conservation Commission first approached LexHAB, the CPC should have been involved. Mr. Adler said he felt the number of units on the Leary land was critical to a vote on funding by the CPC, and felt that such details should be established before the purchase came to Town Meeting. He felt it would be unwise to let the purchase go forward without a commitment to affordable housing. Mr. Wolk brought the Committee up to date on the negations for the Leary property and the efforts of the Land Acquisition Committee. He said the Leary property was land of high conservation interest, and that early in the process he had gotten the message that the site might be suitable for affordable housing. He had gone back to the Land Acquisition Committee and they had decided to include one unit of affordable housing on Vine Street. After meeting with the Selectmen in Executive Session, the Land Acquisition Committee had been encouraged to consider two units. Regarding how to divide the CPC allocations between the conservation and affordable housing “pots”, Mr. Wolk suggested that the affordable housing component be the 1-2 lots on Vine Street, presently appraised at $720,000 per lot. He added that some additional monies would be taken from the conservation “pot” since the infrastructure needed for the road would also serve the conservation parking area. There was a discussion as to whether it was appropriate for the Land Acquisition Committee to have only approached LexHAB, rather than the other housing groups in Town. Ms. Weiss expressed her concern that the Town does not have professional affordable housing staff, and that decisions regarding units on the Leary land fell outside the purview solely of LexHAB. A lengthy discussion ensued as to how the CPC should divide up the funding appropriations for the property, given the tight time constraints imposed by the upcoming Town Meeting. Ms. McCall-Taylor stated that an ANR or Property Rights plan would give a basis for the acreage and value of the two lots on Vine Street. She felt this could be prepared by Town Meeting. Mr. Wolk said he would th have a more definitive proposal by the upcoming Public Hearing on March 26. 2 Mr. Wolk and Ms. Mullins also noted that there will be additional costs, such as a 21E investigation (for hazardous wastes) and attorney fees. 2.LexHAB Purchase of Three Properties, Ross Road – Ms. Weiss reported that she had spoken with Mr. Hays, Chariman of LexHAB, and that the property at 11 Ross Road was looking less attractive for purchase. Apparently the pipes in the building have burst, and this occurance, in addition to its existing title difficulties may mean LexHAB will withdraw it from its CPC proposal. Ms. Weiss reported that LexHAB is already considering another property in the same price range, and questioned whether the Committee should accept an alternate property this late in the review process. The Committee discussed this problem, and questioned whether Town Counsel had to review the matter, but generally felt a new property could be substituted as long as it was in the same general price range. The Committee agreed that they should know the cost of the new property, and that th the revised project should be presented at the upcoming March 26 hearing. 3.Discussion of Bonding, Mr. Rob Addelson, Finance Director – The Committee had invited Mr. Addelson to come speak about the various options regarding bonding, in light of the upcoming Leary acquisition. Mr. Addelson presented a spreadsheet showing various options, including 5, 10, 15 and 20 year bonding scenarios. His spreadsheet also included the present balances in the various “buckets” and in the undesignated reserve. The Committee discussed the pros and cons of bonding the 2M+ Leary purchase. There is clearly enough money in the existing Conservation “bucket”, unbudgeted reserve and undesignated fund balance to pay for the acquisition, but given the high costs of certain upcoming projects, the Committee questioned whether it would be prudent to take the acquisition cost out of these funds. Mr. Addelson stated that the benefit to bonding is that it preserves the Committee’s flexibility to recommend funding for subsequent projects. Mr. Cohen suggested that the Busa property might be one such project. 4.Updates – (1) Ms. Weiss informed the Committee that there will be a summit th meeting on the Stone Building. The date for the meeting is March 19, with the time yet to be determined. (2) She also asked Ms.Manz if she would write letters of thanks to the local representatives who signed on to sponsor the “Act to Sustain Community Preservation”. (3) It was decided to hold a brief CPC meeting for the th LexHAB proposal on March 12 at 7:00 pm, immediately before the TMMA meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3