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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-30-CPC-min Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Tuesday, December 30, 2010 3:30 am Room 207 Town Office Building Present: Board Members: Wendy Manz,Chair; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice-Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Jeanne Krieger, Leo McSweeney, Sandy Shaw, Betsey Weiss and Dick Wolk. Administrative Assistant : Nathalie Rice Also in attendance was David Kanter of the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) and Mary Haskell. The meeting was called to order at 3:05 pm. The purpose of the Meeting was to discuss various FY 2012 projects and to discuss the Busa Farm project, approved in FY 2011. 1.Minutes – The minutes from the meeting of December 21, 2010 were not ready for approval. 2.Discussion of Projects – There was discussion of three projects that are pending before the CPC. a.) LexHAB Request for Set-aside Funds – The CPC reviewed and edited a set of draft Guidelines developed for this project. Members voted unanimously to strike #6 from the draft Guidelines, and Ms. Fenollosa introduced a new guideline that stated, “These LexHAB funds will not be expended for the demolition of any house listed or pending to be listed on the Cultural Resources Inventory”. This additional guideline was approved (5-4). While some members still felt there were issues of equity associated with the project, Ms. Weiss pointed out that only LexHAB can increase the Town’s Subsidized Housing Inventory, which she felt made the project particularly worthwhile. b.) Battle Green Master Plan Implementation – It was noted that no further cost information had been received from the applicant on this project. Mr. Kanter commented that the CEC had voted in support of the two Battle Green projects. Ms. Manz added that the CPC would consider the application for $50,000 as a placeholder until further cost information was received by the Committee. 1 c.)Muzzey Condominium Association Replacement of Windows – Ms. Manz updated the Committee on her conversation with the Community Preservation Coalition regarding this project. She informed the Committee that CPA funds may be loaned to project applicants. She said it appeared that loans to individual unit owners could be repaid upon sale of the units. Ms. Manz stated that Town Manager Carl Valente would be getting an estimate from Town Counsel on legal fees to structure such loans. 3.Discussion of Busa Farm Planning Process – Ms. Shaw and Ms. Weiss raised strong concerns about the deliberations of the Busa Land Use Planning Committee (BLUPC). Ms. Shaw presented an opinion paper to the CPC, and urged the Committee to establish a formal position on the direction of planning efforts for the land. She reminded the CPC that they had voted for recreation, community housing and open space uses for the property, but that the Planning Committee had not considered recreation or housing uses as seriously as she felt necessary. Ms. Shaw also submitted a letter dated March 12, 2010 from the Youth Sports Advisory Council to the Board of Selectmen, in which the Council encouraged the Selectmen to make the Busa property a multi-use site. Ms. Weiss also had concerns about the ultimate recommendations of the BLUPC, noting that the CPC vote included affordable housing as an intended use, but that only 1-2 units of housing were now being considered for the site. She also submitted an opinion paper, noting her concern that if open space restrictions were put on the property, any future community housing would be entirely ruled out. Both Ms. Weiss and Ms. Shaw were very concerned that the BLUPC appeared to be planning to make only one recommendation for the Busa land, despite the Selectmen’s wish to have more than one alternative to consider. The CPC considered the concerns of Ms. Weiss and Ms. Shaw, and after some discussion generally agreed that the CPC’s role in recommending purchase of the Busa land had been completed. Ms. Manz noted that she understood how important the issue was to Ms. Weiss and Ms. Shaw, but that the vote of the CPC to recommend purchase of the land for one use or multiple uses was on record, and she felt it was not appropriate for the Committee to lobby the Selectmen for a particular outcome. She said members could certainly do so as individuals, however. As a result, the CPC did not vote to support submitting a statement to the Board of Selectmen regarding the preliminary plans for the Busa property. th 4.) Needs Assessment Report – The Committee agreed on January 27 at 7:30 pm for the public information hearing on the Needs Assessment Report. Ms. Manz felt the forum would be productive to “acquaint people with our roadmap”. 2 The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 pm. Four documents were presented at the CPC meeting: A draft set of Guidelines for the LexHAB Set-Aside Funds Project, dated December 22, 2010. Two position papers by Ms. Shaw and Ms. Weiss, both of which were untitled and undated, And a letter from the Youth Sports Advisory Council to the Board of Selectmen, dated March 12, 2010. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3