HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-20-CPC-minMinutes of the Community Preservation Committee
Friday, April 20, 2012
2:00 pm
Selectmen's Meeting Room
Town Office Building
Present:
Board Members: Wendy Manz, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn Fenollosa,
Vice -Chair, Jeanne Krieger, Leo McSweeney, Sandy Shaw, Betsey Weiss and Dick
Wolk.
Administrative Assistant: Nathalie Rice
Also in attendance were Hank Manz, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and members
Deb Mauger and George Burnell; Shirley Stolz, on behalf of the Capital Expenditures
Committee; John Bartenstein representing the Appropriation Committee and
Chairwoman Joyce Miller and members Stewart Kennedy and Phil Hamilton of the
Conservation Commission. Carl Valente, Town Manager, and Rob Addelson, Assistant
Town Manager for Finance were present as was staff member Dianna Chabot and Town
resident Bob Pressman. Alan Wrigley, counsel for the Wright family was in attendance,
and Patrick Ball from the Lexington Minuteman covered the meeting. LexMedia had also
been asked to televise the meeting.
The meeting was called to order at 2:00 pm. by Ms. Manz.
1. Wright Farm - Presentation of the Application for the Purchase of the
Wright Farm - Ms. Manz opened the meeting and briefly discussed the
timing of the application submittal, summarizing when the application,
appraisals and pertinent information had been received by the CPC. She said
she understood the unpredictability of negotiation for the purchase of land, but
strongly urged the applicants not to submit future applications at the last
minute, and particularly to avoid doing so during Town Meeting itself. She
then introduced Conservation Commission member, Phil Hamilton, who
made the presentation for the acquisition of the Wright Farm on behalf of the
Board of Selectmen and the Conservation Commission.
Mr. Hamilton apologized for the delay in bringing the application before the
CPC in final form, saying the parties working on behalf of the Town had tried
their best to finalize negotiations in a timely manner. He then described the
proposed acquisition, starting with a locus plan of the property and color
photos of the land. He stated that the proposal was for the purchase of
approximately 13.47 acres (or ten lots) on Grove Street and showed the By -
Right Plan for the property, entitled "Proof Plan of Land — Option 1 C",
completed by Meridian Associates, dated April 11, 2012. The Proof Plan
showed the lot layout, wetlands, frontage, and a parcel (.96 acres) containing a
house and a barn which will be retained by the Wright family.
The decision of the Wright family to retain a portion of the land required the
recalculation of the appraised value of the portion offered for sale. Mr.
Hamilton stated that the agreed price of the land to be purchased by the Town
was $2,950,000 and that the parcel to be retained by the family was valued at
$500,000. Town Manager Carl Valente passed out copies of the two
supplemental appraisals, which were updates of those submitted on February
1, 2012. The Foster Company appraised the portion of the land to be sold at
$3,110,000 and Avery Associates at $2,950,000. Mr. Valente also distributed
a Draft Letter of Intent which he stated represented the agreement just reached
between the Wright family and the Town. However, the Letter of Intent has
not yet been executed by the parties.
Mr. Hamilton returned to his presentation and highlighted the importance of
the land's conservation value. He explained that the parcel offers wildlife
habitat, trail connections to the Burlington landlocked forest and the Bedford
reservoir area, and a scenic gateway to the Town.
Ms. Weiss questioned the initial appraisal which had been for $3.4M for 12
lots, while the subsequent one was for $2,950,000 for 10 lots. Ms. Manz,
consulting the earlier appraisals, noted that the Avery appraisal was for $3.5M
and the Foster appraisal for $3.68. Mr. Adler noted that the assessed value of
the house lot was presently $735,000 per Assessor's records. He questioned
whether a Chapter 61 A exemption would still apply to the house lot. Mr.
Valente responded that it would not, due to a minimum acreage requirement.
Mr. Valente addressed the house lot (or outparcel), noting that an agreement
had been reached with the family to give the Town an option to purchase the
lot with a "Current Agreed Value" of $500,000. The value of the lot would be
adjusted over time based on changes in the CPI -U, the Consumer Price Index
(all items). The intent of this agreement was to retain the possibility of using
the house and perhaps the barn at some point in the future.
Ms. Manz sought clarification of a phrase in the Avery appraisal dated April
18, 2012, which stated, regarding the parcel being offered to the Town, that
"the terms ...... do not specifically indicate that the acreage will be kept in
conservation only. In fact, the land would be open to any and all municipal
uses." The paragraph further referenced community farming as a potential
use. Mr. Manz, Chairman of the Board of the Selectmen, responded to this
reference, stating that the Board had voted (4-0) to put the 12+ acres in
conservation, and that it would be done through the instrument of a
Conservation Restriction.
Ms. Weiss stated her concerns with the acquisition, noting that she
appreciated the opportunity that all identified stakeholders had been part of
the initial executive session with the Board of Selectmen in November 2011
to hear their interest in the property. However, she noted that the housing
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advocates were not invited to an April 4th meeting where the Selectmen voted
to submit the land purchase application to the CPC for conservation purposes.
The advocates were never given the opportunity to present a detailed concept
plan or idea prior to the final BOS vote. She said LexHAB and the Housing
authority had also sent a joint letter to the Board in December of 2011, stating
that both entities supported affordable housing development on the Wright
Farm. She noted that affordable housing options on both the Leary and Busa
properties were still unrealized, and that since there were six houses on Grove
Street across from the Wright Farm property, she felt it was important to
retain a strip of land along the road on the Wright parcel for affordable
housing or another municipal use. Mr. McSweeney echoed this sentiment.
Ms.Manz questioned Ms. Fenollosa as to the historic significance of the
structures on the property. Ms. Fenollosa replied that she did not feel the
historical aspect of the house or barn was relevant at this time. Ms. Fenollosa
then commented on the issue of satisfying all CPA purposes when a land
acquisition comes before the Committee. She noted that the CPA statute was
an outgrowth of land bank legislation, and that it was the driving force to
preserve open space that ultimately led to the passage of the CPA. With this in
mind, she said she felt that the CPC was not obligated to look at other uses if
a proposal came before the Committee for just one use, in this case
conservation purposes. She noted that other uses were not part of the present
application.
Ms. Manz added that though the CPC does not have the authority to modify
applications, it is reasonable to request the applicant to consider all CPA
purposes prior to submitting an application for funding. Mr. Cohen reminded
the Committee that the Town will have an option to purchase the Wright
house lot at some point in the future.
Ms. Shaw noted that the word "recreation" had to be used carefully in
describing the uses to which the Wright Farm property might be put. She said
it is only "passive recreation" that is proposed for the property. She said the
Recreation Committee reviewed the application and voted not to suggest
active recreation on the parcel due to its topography and location. She said she
felt the appraisal of the parcel to be retained by the family seemed low and
questioned whether this was done at the seller's request. Mr. Hamilton
addressed this concern, stating that the appraisal reflected the full and fair
market value, with no input from the seller.
Mr. Pressman, a Town resident, voiced his opinion that he would like to see
affordable housing on the Wright Farm property and disputed the claim that
the parcel was less attractive for affordable housing because it was not
accessible by public transportation.
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Mr. Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, was asked to present
possible financing options for the potential $2.95M acquisition. He explained
that the CPA would have approximately $1.87M in the CPF for FY 14, and
described four funding scenarios for paying down the debt service. He said
one approach would be to select a scenario which took advantage of the 10%
that is required to be aside each year for open space purposes — roughly
$440,000 in FY14. He showed bonding scenarios of 3-20 years, noting where
the "break even" points were, (where the 10% open space set-aside could be
used to satisfy the debt service.) Ms. Stolz of the Capital Expenditures
Committee stated that her Committee had discussed 5 years as a preliminary
bonding term, though they had not yet taken a vote on the matter. Mr. Cohen
noted that the percentage rate at the time of bonding could be more favorable
than the 4% that Mr. Addelson had used in his analysis. Mr. Bartenstein asked
when final debt payments would be made for Busa and Cotton Farm; Mr.
Addelson replied that final payments would be made on both projects in
FY13.
Mr. Burnell was asked about his minority opinion in the Selectmen's vote to
acquire the Wright Farm for conservation purposes. He said his objection was
due to his desire to see active agricultural use, "grazing or farming". He said
he did not want to see the land lie fallow. Mr. Hamilton responded to this
concern, stating that the Conservation Commission leases its land for
agricultural use, both for pasture land and for farming. Ms. Manz asked if the
Wright Farm was being considered for a community farm, to which Mr.
Hamilton responded that it was not.
Ms. Manz then directed the discussion to the application process and whether
the CPC was prepared to vote on the application as submitted. Some members
expressed concern with the process, stating that it felt "rushed" and ill-timed,
giving them little opportunity to review the two new updated appraisals and
the Draft Letter of Intent that had been submitted during the meeting. Mr.
Adler expressed his concern with the process and stated that he would not
vote on the application if given insufficient time to review the 16 pages of
material that had been submitted. Ms. Weiss noted that the information
session would not be held until April 24th, and suggested the CPC wait until
after the hearing to vote. Ms. Shaw expressed her difficulty with the process,
and said there had been too little time to review the important information
before the Committee. Ms. Krieger stated that she was prepared to vote. Ms.
Manz noted that it had been very difficult to get all members together for the
present meeting, and questioned whether another meeting of the full
Committee could be held before the CPC report needed to go to print. She
polled members individually as to their preferences. With a majority stating
that they were prepared to vote, Ms. Manz called for a motion to vote on the
acquisition at the present meeting. This vote was (6-3) in favor of voting
immediately rather than postponing the vote to another meeting.
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Therefore, a motion was made to acquire the Wright Farm (the land exclusive
of the house lot) for conservation purposes. This vote was (6-2-1) with Ms.
Shaw abstaining. Mr. Manz, of the Board of Selectmen, stated at this point in
the meeting that he fully understood the need for affordable housing in
Lexington. Ms.Weiss left the meeting at this point.
The discussion then turned to financing options for the acquisition. Ms. Manz
suggested $500,000 (the amount the Town received in State Land Grant funds
for Cotton Farm) be used "up -front" to reduce the issuance of debt. Members
agreed that this amount seemed reasonable. Ms. Manz also said she favored
the use of the 10% open space allocation to help defray the debt service.
There was a motion to purchase the property with the expenditure of $500,000
in up -front monies from the CPF. This vote passed (7-0-1), with Ms. Shaw
abstaining. The CPC then commenced a discussion of the annual amounts that
would be needed for bond payments. Mr. Addelson interjected at this point,
stating that the exact bond payments would be calculated as the bond was
prepared for issuance. He assured them there would be communication with
the CPC as he prepared the bond issuance.
Ms. Manz then turned the discussion to the costs submitted by Ms. Mullins
for the due diligence phase of the acquisition. These include a $1,400 bill
from the Foster Company, a $1,200 bill from Avery Associates, and a $1,500
bill from Meridian Associates, the engineering firm which had prepared the
plans and had staked the outparcel (the house lot) at the Wright Farm. (Mr.
Manz pointed out here that there were stakes with a white cap delineating the
parcel to be retained by the Wright family, but that they were difficult to
discern from the road. They will be flagged by the Conservation Department
to make them more visible.) After a motion to approve the due diligence
costs, the CPC voted (8-0) in favor.
Ms. Rice noted that the acquisition would be accompanied by the customary
master plan, survey, legal and 2 1 E assessment costs. There was some
discussion of the amounts of these variables, and the CPC voted (8-0) to
approve inclusion of these ancillary costs in the payment for the Wright Farm
parcel.
2. Town Meeting Wrap-up — Ms. Manz briefly discussed the CPC Annual
Town Meeting presentation on April 4th, and elicited comments from the
Committee. Members generally felt the CPC presentation and applicant
presentations had gone very well. Mr. Cohen noted however, that in future
years the applicants should be kept to their three-minute limit particularly on
multi-year projects.
Ms. Manz noted that the Wright Farm acquisition would probably come before Town
Meeting on April 30th and that the CPC would prepare a report for distribution at the
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meeting or if possible, beforehand. Ms. Rice felt the report could be ready by
Wednesday, the 25th.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 pm.
The following documents were presented at the meeting:
(1) A letter from the Foster Company to Karen Mullins, Director of Community
Development, dated April 20, 2012, which stated the value of the Wright Farm
Property exclusive of the parcel retained by the Wright Family.
(2) A letter from Avery associates, to Karen Mullins, Director of Community
Development, dated April 18, 2012, which stated the value of the Wright Farm
Property exclusive of the parcel retained by the Wright Family.
(3) An 11 page draft entitled, "LETTER OF INTENT TO PURCHASE REAL
ESTATE", addressed to Thomas C. Wright and Sara M. Wright, (undated),
specifying the agreement between the Town and the Wright family.
(4) An Informational Handout prepared by the Conservation Commission, entitled,
"Articles 9 & 10: Wright Farm Land Acquisition Information Sheet", dated April
2012, and "Submitted by Joyce Miller on behalf of the Conservation Commission,
April 11, 2012."
(5) "Financing Options for the Acquisition of the Wright Farm Property", dated
4/20/2012, submitted and prepared by Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager
for Finance.
Respectfully submitted,
Nathalie Rice
Administrative Assistant
Community Preservation Committee
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