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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-26-HPB.min Lexington Housing Partnership Meeting Minutes for April 26, 2007 (Amended) (The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 24, 2007, 7-9pm in the Ellen Stone room, Cary Hall.) Attendees: Bill Carlsen Ken Kreutzinger, Iris Wheaton, Martha Wood, Betsey Weiss, Winifred McGowan, Art Katz, Bob Bicknell, Mary Haskell, Paul Linton, Aaron Henry, Julie Duncan, Jeri Foutter Bob Bicknell chaired the meeting; Harriet Cohen took the minutes. The meeting was called to order at7:09 pm 1. Open Meeting The Partnership recognized Art Katz for his receipt of the Cane Award. Mary Haskell introduced Tom Montenari, former chair of the Fair Housing and Human Relations Committee, who joined us for the meeting. The minutes of the March meeting were approved unanimously with 3 abstentions. 2. Committee Reports CPA – Betsey Weiss All 12 projects, including all affordable housing projects, were passed at Town Meeting. Projects for the new funding cycle must be submitted to the CPC by November 1, 2007. Moved: the Partnership will prepare a proposal to go before the CPC for funds with which to prepare an update to the Housing Element of the Master Plan. The Partnership will seek to work with the Planning Board on this effort. The motion was passed unanimously. Mr. Kreutzinger will chair a committee to prepare the proposal for the CPC. Communications Committee – Bob Bicknell The Communications Committee prepared a brochure. The Cambridge Savings Bank and the Lexington Chamber of Commerce generously donated the funds for printing 1,500 copies of the brochure and for posters. The brochures were made available at the first two nights of Town Meeting. Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw – Mary Haskell The IZB lost 62% to 38% at Town Meeting. The Interfaith Affordable Housing Group put forward a tremendous amount of effort to get the bylaw passed. The Partnership has no plans to put forward the IZB again in the foreseeable. See Attachment C: Town Meeting Voting Record for Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw. Page 1 of 5 Lexington Housing Partnership Web Site Development – Paul Linton The presentation for the IBZ was posted to the web site, as are the eligibility guidelines for low and moderate income housing. Additional links on the web site point to sources of information for affordable housing in Lexington. Mr. Linton asked for additional items to be added to the site and solicited suggestions on how to improve the web site. Foundation – Jeri Foutter Ms. Foutter provided copies of the report of the Lexington Housing Foundation, Inc. See Attachment A. Cambridge Savings Bank has offered to assist with the efforts proposed by Mr. Henry (see Attachment B, Ongoing Housing Initiatives and related issues) Affordable Housing Summit Plans / Town Planning Dept Efforts – Aaron Henry The efforts proposed by Mr. Henry on behalf of the Planning Department are summarized in Attachment B. Affordable Housing Summit: create a conversation within Lexington about affordable housing; provide a common understanding as to what affordable housing is. 3. Report of the Chair – Bob Bicknell HOME Plans – Still witing for inputs from Supportive Living, Inc. to complete the environmental report which is necessary for HUD to release the funds identified for the Douglass House project. The Deed Restriction project – will be on the agenda for the next meeting. Mr. Bicknell solicited volunteers for working in the effort. The report has been promised for this meeting. Avalon at Lexington Hills – Mr. Bicknell went to the rental office at Avalon Hills. They have a rental unit available for review. The lottery has been completed, so the candidates for the affordable units have been identified. Interfaith Coalition – The Interfaith Coalition will continue to meet. Affordable Housing Poster Campaign – The poster campaign will need some follow-up, to determine where the posters will be distributed. Lexington Housing Foundation – Mr. Bicknell suggested that we seek additional funds for the Foundation. The follow-on proposal to Cambridge Savings Bank needs to be completed and submitted. Hancock Church funds need to be requested. 4. Meeting Close The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 pm Page 2 of 5 Lexington Housing Partnership Appendix A: Report of the Lexington Foundation Page 3 of 5 Lexington Housing Partnership Attachment B: Ongoing Housing Initiatives and related issues TO: Board of Selectmen Planning Board Zoning Board of Appeals Community Preservation Committee Housing Partnership FROM: Aaron Henry, Senior Planner DATE: April 17, 2007 SUBJECT: Ongoing Housing Initiatives and related items With the buzz of Town Meeting passing (for some of us), I wanted to take the moment to update your Board on some of the things the Planning Staff is working on in the housing arena. Cluster Bylaw Revision.  Through a technical assistance grant from the state, the Town has hired a consultant to help us review and suggest revisions to the cluster bylaw. One piece of this work is the formation of a Technical Advisory Committee, to help provide us with quick feedback. While there will be other forums and outreach to the public, the TAC was envisioned as comprising representatives from the Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board, the Conservation Commission and the Housing Partnership Board. We would also like to include Town Meeting Members, representatives of the development community and other interested individuals. We assume the TAC to be either seven or nine members. Affordable Housing Roundtable.  Tentatively scheduled for late May or early June, the Roundtable is intended to be a series of meetings to learn more about the housing piece of the puzzle. While discussion among participants will be a focus, so will a presentation on the basics topics related to production and development of affordable housing. Ultimately the Roundtable(s) should lead to a “housing strategy,” but we first want to develop a better sense of the issue in general. More on this to come! CPC Training.  We are working with the CPC to bring in CHAPA, an affordable housing and community development non-profit, to conduct a seminar on the “Dual Crisis.” The dual crisis is that open space is fast disappearing while housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Given the scarcity of land in Town, this seminar may help us better understand how to make the most out of limited resources. Lexington Realtor Fair Housing Training.  This training for Lexington real estate professionals will cover the details of federal and state Fair Housing laws. The WestMetro HOME Consortium will conduct the training. We are working to ensure that participants be eligible for Continuing Education credits. The exact date is to be determined. For more information, or to voice comments or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 781- 862-0500 x. 246 or by email to ahenry@ci.lexington.ma.us. Thank you! Page 4 of 5 Lexington Housing Partnership Attachment C: Town Meeting Voting Record for Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw Page 5 of 5