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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-07-28-HPB.min Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for July 28, 2005 Attendees: Florence Baturin Bob Bicknell Harriet Cohen Martha Wood Betsy Weiss Inky MacDougall Florence Baturin Norm Cohen Maryann McCall-Taylor Tom Hardin Mary Haskell Arthur Katz Bob Bicknell chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:40 pm. 1. Open Meeting – (Approval of May minutes) The May minutes were approved unanimously. 2. Discussion of extension of board member terms of office The Board of Selectmen must approve the extension of the terms of office of four members of the Lexington Housing Partnership. The only person among the four members who is in attendance is Betsey Weiss; Ms. Weiss agreed to the extension of her term. Mr. Bicknell will contact the other members to determine if they are interested in extending their terms. Jeri Foutter, Winifred McGowan, Pat Nelson Anne Frymer and Paul Sodano have resigned from the Lexington Housing Partnership. Ms. Frymer was representing the League of Women Voters and the League will be asked to provide a replacement. 3. Lexington Housing Foundation The Town has an opportunity to apply for a SmartGrowth technical assistance grant for assistance in the Center zoning changes. Should the Town move forward with this, the Foundation could supply some seed money, which would be required to obtain the grant. Ms. McCall-Taylor will work with the planning department staff to determine if the town wants to move forward with obtaining the grant. Ms. McCall-Taylor will provide information at the next meeting as to the Town’s intentions re. applying for a grant. The Foundation will then determine whether to contribute towards the seed money required for the grant. 4. Reports from sub-committees CPA : Ms Weiss passed out the endorsement forms and asked for endorsements and donations to be sent to the CPA for Lexington (treasurer, Harriet Cohen). Ms. Weiss noted that the web site is in process, as is a PowerPoint presentation. CPA for Lexington will be presenting at the Appropriations Committee meeting on Thursday, August 4. Mr. Bicknell moved that the Lexington Housing Partnership endorse the CPA for Lexington effort, allowing the Partnership name to be used in public endorsements of the CPA effort. The motion was passed unanimously. Lexington Housing Partnership Zoning : Mary Haskell reported that the sub-committee has continued to meet with good attendance. Mr. Herr’s participation has been funded by the Lexington Housing Foundation. Ms. Haskell handed out a draft of the latest version of the proposed inclusionary zoning modifications. A copy of the proposed zoning modifications may be found in Appendix A. On August 10, the Planning Board will be meeting to set its agenda for the next year. The proposed zoning changes will be presented to the Planning Board at that meeting for a brief discussion and for its consideration later in the year. The Planning Board is not required to consider the zoning changes in order for them to be presented at Town Meeting, but its approval would be a useful endorsement to Town Meeting. Exploring Options : Mr. Bicknell reported that the next meeting is scheduled for August 8. The sub-committee is continuing to assess options for affordable housing. Web Site Development: Ms. Cohen reported that a student from MinuteMan High School will be developing a web site when he returns to school in the fall. The web site needs content which will be developed over the next few months. Arthur Katz agreed to work on language to present the accessory apartment zoning article to the public via the web site. 5. Report from the Chair Attended “Affordable Housing in the Suburbs” at Brande is, June 14, 2005 with Dick Canale. Workshops on educating citizens about affordable housing and funding sources for affordable housing development. An interesting set of remarks by Marc Draisen, Executive Director, Metropolitan Area Planning Council who commented on 40R and how it needs to be strengthened to include continuing payments to communities for school children and to allow communities more local control of projects through Special Permits. Lexington Center Collaborative – participated in a sub panel with Mary Haskell, Dick Canale and Wendy Mann on Land Use. The Charrette held at the High School was quite successful and a report is being prepared which will serve as a planning tool for future efforts. Of direct interest to the Housing Partnership is permitting residential use in the center. Zoning to permit this is the subject of the plan to request funds to support a consultant to develop practical approaches for Lexington. Smart Growth (40R) discussions with DHCD . With the support of Jay Kaufman and his office a meeting was held with Sarah Young, deputy director DHCD, and her staff to determine how the Avalon Bay at Lexington Square project could be qualified under 40R. They determined that because the project was not developed “as of right” it could not qualify and they would not support an effort to provide legislative relief as an exception. HUD funds – Lexington has been officially included in the Westmetro Consortium and will be eligible for funds in July 2006. We can use the error made in not including us in 2005 to help us qualify for state funds should we apply this year. Lexington Housing Partnership 6. New Business HOME funds: Ms. McCall-Taylor said that uses for the HOME funds we anticipate in July 2006 will be needed. She pointed out that a building on Merriam Street is being developed for adults with brain damage. It is likely that that project would qualify for the HOME funds and is one candidate for those funds. 7. Next Meeting Plans and Adjourn The next meeting will be on September 15, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm at Estabrook Hall in Cary Hall. The meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m. Lexington Housing Partnership Appendix A: Proposed Inclusionary Zoning Requirement (Draft) Philip B. Herr & Associates 447 CENTRE STREET, NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02458 TELEPHONE 617-969-1805 FACSIMILE 617-332-9499 EMAIL ppherr@msn.com A BROAD INCLUSIONARY ZONING REQUIREMENT Lexington Housing Partnership April 14, 2004; revised October 20, 2004; June 28, 2005; July 21, 2005. New housing completely made up of market rate units exacerbates Lexington’s concern about housing costs, if for no other reason than raising the total number of housing units in the Town without commensurate increase in the number of units affordable to any but the wealthy. An inclusionary zoning requirement can assure that all new housing developments above some threshold size will reflect in their own units the diversity of affordability levels sought for the Town as a whole, so that such developments would no longer deepen the Town’s housing concerns. TPA. HE OSSIBLE PPROACH Under existing Lexington zoning, all residential developments of three or more dwelling units are allowed only on special permit. Accordingly, the approach might be to require that all residential developments of three or more dwelling units must provide for inclusion of some share of affordable units, perhaps fifteen percent, if that is consistent with what the Town is seeking overall. LI IKELY MPACTS The number of housing units authorized on special permits has recently averaged about 15 per year. Except in years when extraordinary development such as that at Metropolitan State Hospital occurs, a similar rate seems to be likely. At the rate of 20 units per year a 10% affordability requirement would yield only about 20 affordable units per decade. Even if the requirement were to be for 15% affordability to reflect a higher affordability intention of the Town the measure still would produce fewer than 30 units in all except those years when an unusually large development occurs, such as Met State. Currently, gaining affordable units (except where State-mandated) occurs only through negotiation, where affordability “competes” with other public interests being pursued. Often that has produced no affordability, and when it has, doing so has weakened the Town’s ability to negotiate for other community benefits. The adoption of a rule such as this one could both substantially help in achieving the housing balance that the Town seeks and also quite possibly enhance its ability to negotiate for other benefits at the same time. DP RAFT ROVISIONS Following is a draft of zoning provisions for inclusion of units meeting Lexington’s definition of units that serve its needs, mostly but not exclusively units that would “count” as “affordable” under Chapter Lexington Housing Partnership 40B. The draft uses a 15% inclusion rate to reflect that some of the “included” units would not meet usual State definitions of affordability. This draft has a number of provisions which are uncommon, having been tailored to Lexington’s special circumstances and concerns. First, this draft provides for a wide range of affordability levels, while recognizing that affordability is more expensive to achieve the deeper below market that it goes. The policy intent is to enable the provisions to serve the whole range of income levels that cannot afford homes at the Lexington market 1 cost, an intention spelled out in the Housing Element of the Lexington Comprehensive Plan. Units affordable at 80% of the area median income (AMI) would be the “standard” as shown in the draft. Providing a unit affordable at 50% of AMI, since it costs the developer significantly more in foregone income than a “standard” unit, is “credited” as providing the same benefit as would 1.3 units at 80%. A unit affordable at 160% of AMI would still be below market rate in Lexington, but since foregone developer returns would be less than for a unit at 80% of AMI, such a unit would be credited as if being 0.6 units at 80% of AMI. All of those figures are first approximations, and are likely to change with more study. The choice of 15% inclusion and 80% of AMI as the “standard” is less likely to change, though it could. Second, the inclusionary requirement applies to all developments containing three or more units, a lower threshold than is common. All developments of 3 or more units require a special permit under Lexington zoning in any event. Crediting units affordable at limits as high as 160% of AMI makes the requirement of 15% affordability not unreasonable even for a 3 unit development: the requirement can be met with a single unit priced far nearer the market than would be one at 80% of AMI. Third, the “give-back” in return for providing affordability is the same as it has been for many years under Lexington zoning. Under Section 135-49.D(1), housing affordability is given recognition as providing “significant public benefit,” which in turn is a consideration in evaluating development against the impact measures which establish the maximum permitted development incentive for cluster or special residential development. The change made by these provisions is to assure that in fact affordability will be included in that which is considered in those cases seeking benefits under that zoning section. Following are spreadsheet analyses and illustrations showing how this approach might look, followed by the draft text of a zoning amendment for its implementation. 1 The Lexington We Want: Comprehensive Plan, First Four Elements, “Housing,” Lexington Planning Board, March 2002, page 51. Lexington Housing Partnership INCLUSIONARY PRICING ANALYSIS (Four-person households) July 20, 2005 INCOME & MARKET DATA Federal fiscal year200520052005200520052005 Area median income (AMI)$82,600$82,600$82,600$82,600$82,600$82,600 Ceiling percentage of AMI50%80%100%120%140%160% Threshold % of AMI45%70%90%110%130%150% Maximum eligible income$37,170$57,820$74,340$90,860$107,380$123,900 Lexington median market price Single-family$572,500$572,500$572,500$572,500$572,500$572,500 Condominium$401,500$401,500$401,500$401,500$401,500$401,500 RENTAL ANALYSIS Rent maximum % of income30%30%30%30%30%30% Maximum annual rent$11,151$17,346$22,302$27,258$32,214$37,170 Maximum monthly rent$929$1,446$1,859$2,272$2,685$3,098 SALES ANALYSIS Interest rate:5.70%5.70%5.70%5.70%5.70%5.70% Loan term (years):303030303030 Down payment:5.00%5.00%5.00%5.00%5.00%5.00% Real estate taxes:1.13%1.13%1.13%1.13%1.13%1.13% Insurance:0.75%0.75%0.75%0.75%0.75%0.75% Condo fee:1.80%1.80%1.80%1.80%1.80%1.80% Limit on basic costs (prin, int, taxes, insur, condo fee) Percentage33%33%33%33%33%33% Amount$12,266$19,081$24,532$29,984$35,435$40,887 Maximum dwelling price Single-family$143,300$222,900$286,500$350,200$413,900$477,600 Condominium$118,400$184,100$236,800$289,400$342,000$394,600 % of market median Single-family25%39%50%61%72%83% Condominium29%46%59%72%85%98% Lex House\INCLUDE!Analysis.xls Lexington Housing Partnership INCLUSIONARY INCOME LEVEL COMPARISONS July 21, 2005 Federal fiscal year2005 Area median income (AMI)$82,600 Threshold % of AMI50%80%100%120%140%160% Maximum eligible income$37,170$57,820$74,340$90,860$107,380$123,900 Maximum monthly rent$929$1,446$1,859$2,272$2,685$3,098 Maximum dwelling price Single-family$143,300$222,900$286,500$350,200$413,900$477,600 Condominium$118,400$184,100$236,800$289,400$342,000$394,600 Benefit unit equivalents1.301.000.900.800.700.60 PROJECT COMPLIANCE with providing the equivalent of 15% of project units at 80% of AMI Project Total benefit unitsProposed below-market housing units by % of area median income unitsOK?50%80%100%120%140%160% RequiredProvided 30.450.60Yes1 40.600.60Yes1 50.750.80Yes1 60.900.90Yes1 71.051.30Yes1 81.201.60Yes11 91.351.60Yes11 101.501.60Yes11 203.003.00Yes3 203.003.20Yes21 203.003.20Yes22 Lex House\INCLUDE!Equals.xls Lexington Housing Partnership INCLUSIONARY ZONING ARTICLE Article ____. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Lexington Zoning Bylaw by adding Section 135- 46.I to read as follows, or act otherwise in relation thereto. "I Inclusion of units that provide significant housing benefit. "(1) General objective. This section is intended to assure that those residential developments which are authorized through special permits for three or more dwelling units will include or otherwise support at least a share of housing units that address housing affordability or other identified housing needs of the Town. "(2) Applicability. Any residential development for three or more housing units for which a special permit is sought must assure provision of a number of “Benefit Units” equal to at least 15% of the housing units in the development, provision of which shall be a condition of the special permit authorizing the development. “Benefit Units” are housing units that will provide significant public benefit as itemized at § 135-49.D(1)(b)[7 through 9], and as further specified below. "(3) Design and phasing. Benefit Units provided on site must be dispersed throughout the development and must be sited in no less desirable locations than the other units and have exteriors that are comparable in design and materials to the exteriors of other units in the development, and satisfy the following conditions. "(a) The bedroom mix of Benefit Units shall be comparable to the bedroom mix of the other units in the development, unless the site approval agency indicates that to be inappropriate owing to occupancy requirements; "(b) The materials used and the quality of construction for Benefit Units, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, shall be equal to that of the other units in the development; provided that amenities such as so-called designer or high end appliances and fixtures need not be provided for Benefit Units. "(4) Alternative provisions. Where considerations that are particular to the site or to the specific benefit proposed for the Benefit Units make on-site inclusion of those units inappropriate, as determined by the Special Permit Granting Authority (SPGA), those units may alternatively be located elsewhere within the Town, provided that the SPGA makes a finding that the housing benefit for the Town of Lexington is at least equal to that which would otherwise accrue. "(5) Affordability and Benefit Units. A full benefit unit under § 135-49.D(1)(b)[7] through [9] requires the equivalent of providing a housing unit affordable to a household having income at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI), adjusted for household size as annually determined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, assuming one more person in the household than the number of bedrooms, while spending not more than the following percentages of that income on housing: Lexington Housing Partnership "(a) Rent payment including utilities and parking shall not exceed 30 percent of household income. "(b) Housing payments for units for sale shall not exceed 33 percent of household income, including mortgage principal and interest (assuming a 5% down payment), private mortgage insurance, property taxes, condominium and/or homeowner’s association fees, insurance, and parking. "(6) Provision of affordability assurance at income levels different than 80% of AMI shall be considered to provide partial Benefit Units, as follows: Eligible % of area median income Partial Benefit Units ≤50% 1.3 >50% ≤80% 1.0 >80% ≤100% 0.9 >100% ≤120% 0.8 >120% ≤140% 0.7 >140% ≤160% 0.6 In order to provide a window of market affordability between the maximum eligible income and the minimum income necessary to afford the costs, the sales or rental price shall be reduced below that at the maximum eligible income by not less than 10% of AMI unless provided otherwise in the special permit approval. The number of Benefit Units shall not be rounded either up or down in the calculation of compliance with the inclusionary requirement of § 135- 46. I(2). "(7) Selection of affordability levels. The mix of whole and partial benefit units proposed by the applicant to meet the inclusionary requirement of § 135-46. I(2) is subject to approval by the SPGA, consistent with the following: th "(a) The mix shall result in 1/7 of the total number of housing units in the development (rounded down) being made affordable to households at an income no higher than 80% of the area median (e.g a 6 unit development need include no such units as part of meeting its Benefit Unit requirement, while a 15 unit development needs to include two such units). The SPGA in acting on the special permit may authorize a departure from that proportion because of programmatic or other special considerations of the specific case. "(b) The SPGA may not oblige use of a mix that would result in more benefit units than proposed by the applicant as long as the mix meets the requirements of § 135-46. I(2) and of (7)(a) immediately above. Lexington Housing Partnership "(8) Assurance of continuing affordability. Applicants shall submit to the SPGA a use restriction or regulatory agreement for the designated Benefit Units. That agreement shall establish a restriction on affordability and/or occupancy for the maximum period allowed by law. To that end, the applicant shall provide the following to the SPGA. "(a) A site approval letter from a site approval agency: either the subsidizing agency, or another agency authorized by DHCD under Housing Appeals Committee regulations (CMR 31.01 (2)), or the agency identified in Lexington Zoning § 135-49.D(1)(b)[7 through 9]; and "(b) A complete draft regulatory agreement among the site approval agency, the developer, and the Selectmen.” Include-U3R