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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-06-29-HPB.min Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for June 29, 2006 Attendees: Florence Baturin Bob Bicknell Winifred McGowan Bill Carlson Jeri Foutter Florence Baturin Tom Hardin Mary Haskell Harriet Cohen Iris Wheaton Ken Kreutziger Inky MacDougall Paul Linton Julie Duncan Betsy Weiss Chris Eaton Greg Zurlow Bob Bicknell chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm. 1. Open Meeting – (Approval of May minutes) The May minutes were approved unanimously. 2. Affordable Housing Deed Restriction program Mr. Bicknell proposed hiring a consultant to develop a program to achieve state approval for a affordable housing deed restriction program. The Partnership supported the notion of a deed restriction program. There was discussion about next steps. Mr. Bicknell and Ms. McGowan will be meeting with a consultant who is working with Stowe on a similar program. They will ask the consultant for a proposal for a study. 3. Discuss plans for inclusionary zoning information meetings Several planning board members will hold an “Inclusionary Zoning 101” on Saturday, July 22 at 9AM and Saturday, August 5 at 1PM. The goal is to create a corps of people knowledgeable about and ready to act as proponents for the Inclusionary Zoning by-law proposal. Partnership members were asked to advise Mr. Bicknell of their availability for the meeting. The Partnership suggested that Town Meeting Members be invited to the information session. 4. Neighborhood conservation districts Ms. Wheaton gave several examples of communities that had already successfully established neighborhood conservation districts. It is likely that two bylaws would be needed to move forward. The first would be a bylaw to establish the ability to set up neighborhood conservation districts. The second bylaw would define the neighborhood. Ms. Wheaton called for some assistance in her efforts. This is not a single person task; it requires additional help. The Partnership requested further information from Sally Zimmerman. 5. Lexington Housing Partnership web site The web site is now available at www.lexhp.org . Ms. Foutter has posted the minutes there. Alex Fuchs, who is building the web site, is unavailable for the summer. Mr. Linton has volunteered to look at the web site and see if he can improve it. 6. HOME Consortium Funds The following responsibilities have been assigned the Housing Partnership by the Board of Selectmen: Lexington Housing Partnership 1. Preparation of the yearly action plan. Eve Tapper, who is the Lexington contact with the consortium, will find out what modifications are required to the FY07 plan. She will also determine the time line required for future submittals. 2. Coordinate and endorse spending recommendations. This includes obtaining Planning Board approval via Greg Zurlo, their designee. 3. Submit recommended funding plan to the Selectmen for their approval. The Selectmen will hold a public hearing at a scheduled meeting to approve the plan. The Partnership will attend and present the recommendations. This will be Tuesday, August 8, 2006 for the FY2007 spending plan. I met with Rachael Dorr of Supportive Living, Inc. to determine their time line for use of the funds from the FY07 allocation. We will receive $56,977 HUD funds from the consortium in FY2007. The Planning Board, Selectmen and the Partnership have all endorsed this project, but the actual approval of the funds requires us to go through the process outlined above. Bob would also like to have someone from the Partnership agree to be the point of contact for the Consortium along with Eve Tapper. 7. Lexington Housing Foundation Report The Lexington Housing Foundation has successfully filed last year’s financial report and has received a Certificate of Solicitation from the Office of the Attorney General valid to 11/5/2006. The next report will be submitted soon after the end of our fiscal year, June 30, 2006. Solicitations to date have resulted in promises of $6,000 from the Hancock Church, Citizens Bank and Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation. The Housing Foundation and the Partnership thank these institutions for their support. The Foundation has discussions planned for early July with another Bank that is considering support. The statement of activities for FY2007 that has been submitted to prospective donors is attached as Appendix A. 8. Met State Marketing Meeting Building permits have been issued. A meeting was held with Lexington, Belmont, Waltham and Avalon Bay representatives to determine the ground rules for allocating the affordable units. Avalon Bay has provided materials used in other developments. Eligibility criteria are being coordinated so that one set will be used for all applicants, regardless of their town affiliation. Affordable units will be divided equally between the three towns. 9. Planning Board meeting Mr. Bicknell reported that a subdivision sketch plan for housing at the Doran Farm site has been submitted to the Planning Board. An affordable unit is being offered, perhaps off-site. This project needs to be followed and Partnership support offered as appropriate. Ms. Wheaton volunteered to follow and report on progress. 10. Educational Brochure and Award Program Ms. Baturin had proposed a positive recognition award for efforts in the area of affordable housing. Lexington Housing Partnership Ms. Baturin and Ms. Foutter are beginning work on an educational brochure. They are defining the target audience and purpose of the brochure. 11. Other Items Several members suggested that, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the Partnership, we select a small number of projects and focus our efforts on them. 12. Next Meeting Plans and Adjourn The next meeting will be in August. Mr. Bicknell has spoken with the consultant about her availability to speak. And the following schedule of meetings has been set. The next two meetings will be on Thursday, August 31,2006 and Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006 in Room G-15 in the Town Office building from 7:00p.m. to 9:00p.m.. The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Lexington Housing Partnership Appendix A: Lexington Housing Foundation Statement of Activities FY 2007 Affordable Housing Action Plan 1. Web Site Design and Maintenance The Housing Partnership and Foundation web site design will be completed and maintenance procedures will be defined to keep the site current and meaningful. Ongoing support will be provided to maintain the site. 2. Affordable Rental Housing During the year the Avalon at Lexington Square rental project will begin to determine those eligible for affordable rental units. Support will be provided to determine eligibility criteria and promotion of the project to town citizens who may be eligible. The Housing Partnership web-site will be modified to show the availability of affordable rental housing in town. 3. First-Time Homebuyer Program Promotional material will be developed to publicize the program. Affordable mortgage financing options will be identified and information for potential homeowners will be defined. The link to the federal ADDI program will be explained and procedures for applying to the program defined and publicized. 4. Smart Growth Options for Lexington Center Feasibility studies will be initiated to determine how affordable housing could be permitted in all areas of Lexington Center. Parking for added uses will be studied and the possibility of including upper stories for housing will be addressed. The use of an overlay district with design rules to meet Smart Growth requirements will be explored. 5. Accessory Apartments Outreach programs will be developed to inform residents of the 2005 bylaw and the possible advantages it provides homeowners and potential renters of affordable housing. 6. Conversion of Non-public Buildings to Residential Use Adaptive reuse guidelines will be developed so that buildings not owned by the Town can be converted to housing. Affordable requirements will be included for such reuse and procedures for application in residential and commercially zoned areas will be included. 7. Adoption of Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw Provisions Education and promotional efforts will be undertaken to gain town acceptance of the Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw developed in 2006. 8. Affordable Housing Deed Restriction Program Develop procedures and investigate feasibility of acquiring deed restrictions from homeowners of small homes to assure permanent affordability when sold.