12/2/13 Comm. Preservation Comm. (CHDC Funding Request) Meeting Summary & 11/4/13 Minutes from CHDC presentation to CPC (Pre-WCAC meeting @ Thoreau public disclosure of intent)

There wasn’t a vacant seat in the conference room at 141 Keyes Rd Monday night. The Community Preservation Committee started their meeting with a packed house of onlookers. CPC Chair Chris Toomey warned the crowd that this was not a public hearing, but only a deliberation/discussion meeting — public comment would be limited to requests the CPC made in relation to information under review. 

The WinCom Neighborhood Association’s letter to the CPC was addressed in the first 45 minutes of discussion as the committee reviewed “new material/information received since last meeting.”  One committee member Ms. Toby Kramer recused herself from the conversation and stepped outside the conference room. Considering the points in the letter, some members noted that little was known about the scope of the project, or how the funds would be used. Others asked why money had to be allocated this year for a project that was still so unclear and unformed. 

Lara Kritzer, Sr. Planner in the Town’s Planning Department protested that if the CPC didn’t fund the CHDC’s request, the state might see the lack of funding as an indication of low community and Town support when appealing to the State for additional “matching funds” for this project to move forward. She asserted that time was of the essence to have an additional $125,000 “set aside to show support right now,” yet neither she nor any other members of the CPC could speak to how long the timeline for state match or process is (two years, five years, eight years…) or if additional funding would come from other sources. Ms. Kritzer also stated that “this land is deeded for affordable housing” and was politely corrected by another member to “affordable housing OR OPEN SPACE.” Multiple members then noted money from the CPC’s budget could be set aside for open space for the project (kayak launches, grassy areas), as only 8% of the 2014 CPC budget had been funded to open space thus far. One suggested that it could be a better use of the money, because the project clearly had not yet gained community support and it wasn’t clear how it would conform to the Long Range Plan.

After much discussion back and forth, members of the CPC ultimately came to the conclusion that at this point, with the lack of the developer or CHDC representation in the room to speak to the number of units and other scope-related questions, there was not enough information available about the project to “write a blank check” for $125,000. The CPC wants the CHDC to come back with answers on scope, funding details (line items for expenses i.e. engineering, legal, etc.) and more specifically the 9 points in the WinCom Neighborhood letter, which several members felt were valid concerns. The CPC asked to receive the CHDC’s response before the December 16^th CPC meeting to vote on distributions. In the meantime, they withheld making an allocation to the CHDC’s Junction Village project line item.

Meeting Minutes for this Committee are usually posted to the town website 2-3 weeks after the meeting has taken place which means we will not be able to review them before the Dec 12th voting meeting but once available, a link will be provided on this blog so subscribers can review them with one click.

Everyone should review the meeting minutes from 11/4/13 regarding the CHDC's presentation to the CPC. This meeting was held before the public WCAC meeting at Thoreau Elementary where we first learned of the crushing inflation of this project. I have cut and pasted the Junction Village Portion below but the full notes can be reviewed at:

http://concordma.gov/Pages/ConcordMA_CPCMin/I01C27F39

Broadening Affordable Housing in Concord, Concord Housing Development Corporation – Concord Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) Co-Chair Barbara Morse presented the application to fund two aspects of the CHDC’s ongoing affordable housing program.  The first was to contribute to a reserve fund to be used as needed to buy down or update/renovate existing affordable housing units.  Ms. Morse explained how the existing affordable housing program functioned and how the CHDC was occasionally asked to step in if an eligible buyer could not be found in the allotted timeframe.  She noted that the Town had asked about using these funds only a few weeks ago for a unit at Elm Brook Lane and that CPA funds were the primary source of the CHDC’s funds for these actions.   Members discussed the process with Ms. Morse who provided more details on the affordable housing process and how CHDC had stepped in to “buy down” houses when the market rate or restricted price was beyond what an affordable buyer could pay.  She explained how the CHDC had grown out of the Concord Housing Trust and been given legislative ability to work more freely to gather funds and develop affordable units.  The CHDC currently had about $80,000 in reserve and worked with the Concord Housing Foundation to raise additional funds when needed. The second aspect of this year’s application was for funding to begin work on the Junction Village project.  The CHDC had sent out an RFP in June and received 12 responses for potential developments ranging from homeowner townhouses to rental apartment buildings. The number of units could be anywhere between 30 and 150 depending on which project moved forward, but all of them were expecting some CPA funding from the Town.  The CHDC currently had $75,000 in previous CPA funds set aside for the project and were requesting at additional $125,000 for this project to have an even $200,000 for developers to use as the local contribution when they asked the State for more funds.   The CHDC was meeting with the West Concord Advisory Committee on November 13th to present these plans to the public and get a sense of what the Town needs and would like to see here.  Ms. Morse noted that this was only the first meeting on this issue and that they would show some schematics to give a sense of the possibilities for the site.  She went on to explain that the CHDC wanted the Town’s help in narrowing down the parameters of the project and developing more guidelines.  The challenge would be to balance the Town’s needs with the Developer’s abilities.    Lastly, she noted that the transfer of the land from the State required that all of the housing be at 140% AMI or less.   Mr. Toomey expressed concern that the existing Reserve Fund was low and that a developer might take the funds provided now and just ask for more.  Ms. Morse stated that they had spoken with Housing professionals and there was agreement that $200,000 was enough to get the process started with the State.  She stated that they might come back in the future and could also decide that a developer expecting a lot of Town funding was not the best one for the site.  She explained that this could be an ongoing negotiation between the CHDC and the developer but that it was important to show that the Town had a stake in the funding.  Members discussed other Housing projects and noted that a similar process had been followed by the Housing Authority for the Peter Bulkeley project.  In that case, $1 million in CPA funding was used to raise over $5 million from the State and other sources.  It was suggested that the Commission anticipate also funding 15% of this project and that it could be closer to $1 million in CPA funds before the work was done. Ms. Morse stated that they hoped to decide on a developer by early 2014.  Ms. Cookman asked if there were architectural guidelines for the development.  Ms. Morse answered that they wanted to develop the project to fit into the neighborhood but that they were not necessarily restricted to a specific design.  She also noted that about half of the site would be Open Space.  Ms. Cookman asked for information on the CHDC’s other development.  Ms. Morse explained how Lalli Woods had been developed and that they were looking at a different management structure for this project.  Ms. Escobedo asked if there was potentially State funding available now for the project and whether the Regional Housing Services Office was involved.  Ms. Morse stated that they were working with the RHSO on this project.    Ms. Morse also noted that once a developer was chosen, they would still be 2-3 years away from construction as they would need time to develop the plans and raise funds.  They were gathering informal feedback right now and might move away from the assisted living concept.   Mr. Mahoney asked if the CHDC had consulted the Housing Production Plan and Ms. Morse stated that they had.  She added that they were also looking at traffic, engineering studies, and school projections in developing the project.  She invited the Committee to attend their meeting on November 13 in the Thoreau School Auditorium as well. Mr. Toomey asked how much funding was usually needed to buy down a unit.  Ms. Morse stated that they more commonly spent $25,000-30,000 maybe three times a year.  Ms. Morse discussed how units themselves had been purchased in the past and Members discussed whether a higher reserve would be more useful to those goals.  Mr. Toomey asked how the CHDC made the decision to spend their reserve funds and Ms. Morse explained that they looked at the available options for the unit and how the funds could best be used to retain its affordability.  She added that it made sense to build up their reserve fund now when there were fewer Housing projects, and explained how they were now working with the Housing Foundation and Housing Authority to collaborate on upcoming projects and funding requests.  Ms. Morse noted how the need to buy down a unit often came up without warning and thought that it was important to have the reserves in order to be prepared.   Mr. Mahoney suggested that it might be helpful for the CHDC to develop a long term financial plan around what they might need or want to do in the future.  He thought that it was logical for the CHDC to annually request CPA funding but that it might be easier for the Committee to review if they understood the CHDC’s long range plans.  He also asked that the CHDC present information on all of their programs.  Ms. Morse stated that they had tried that approach in the past but that not all of their initiatives, such as the Small Grants Program, had been well received by the Committee.  Ms. Cookman thought that it would be helpful to understand what types of scenarios the CHDC might pursue in the future.  Ms. Morse stated that the CHDC was just beginning to realize that there was a lot of confusion as to which housing groups did what in Concord and that they needed to increase their public presence. Discussion of Public Hearing Presentation and Process Committee Members discussed potential locations for the public hearing and agreed to hold it in the regular meeting location of the First Floor Conference Room at 141 Keyes Road.  Members briefly discussed the usual process and presentation to be made. Approval of Minutes   No Minutes were reviewed at this time. Other Business   Mr. Banfield raised concerns about the use of CPA funding as a match for existing projects.  Members discussed whether CPA funding should be noted in the match for the project or as a separate line item.  Mr. Banfield also recommended that any matches be clearly related directly to the CPA funded portion of a project.  Members discussed how a project with several components might be divided or how the description could be designed to provide the best information. Mr. Taylor moved to adjourn the meeting.  Ms. Cookman seconded the motion and ALL VOTED IN FAVOR.  The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Lara Kritzer Senior Planner                  Minutes Approved on:   December 2, 2013          Paul Mahoney, Clerk