HomeMy Public PortalAboutAgenda and Minutes_April 17 2018_WHP Meetingi?E,r,tTIVF[: #3Y
OWN CLERK'S OF F lC;E
WATERTOWN, MASS.
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WATERTOWN HOUSING PARTNERSHIP
MEETING NOTICE & AGENDA
April 17, 2017
6:00 PM
3rd Floor Conference Room
Administration Building
149 Main Street, Watertown, MA
1. Review of Draft Minutes: 2/20/18
2. Review of Arsenal Yards Phase 4: Buildings C and D
for Consistency with Section 5.07 of Watertown's Zoning
Ordinance — Affordable Housing Review
3. Continued Discussion of Independent/Assisted Living:
• What to do if units convert?
• Concerns/Ideas for long-term monitoring?
4. Adjourn
Watertown Housing Partnership
February 20, 2018
Administration Building
Members In Attendance
Fred Reynolds (Chair), Cliff Cook, Brian Costello (Watertown Housing Authority), David Leon, Helen
Oliver and Andrea Adams (Senior Planner, Department of Community Development & Planning (DCDP))
Others in Attendance: Tony Palomba, Councilor at Large, Vincent Piccirilli, District C Councilor, xxxxx
I. Review of Draft Minutes: October 17, 2017
Mr. Reynolds asked for a motion to approve the Minutes of the December 7, 2017 meeting. Mr. Costello
moved to approve the draft Minutes as presented. Mr. Cook seconded, and the Minutes were
unanimously approved.
II. Watertown FY2019 Housing Related Annual Action Plan
Ms. Adams summarized the Annual Action Plan. She noted that it is written in a very specific way, based
on the requirements provided by the WestMetro HOME Consortium, of which Watertown is a member.
She said the Town's Housing Production Plan, Comprehensive Plan and Analysis of Impediments provide
more guidance in terms of Watertown's overall affordable housing strategy.
Mr. Reynolds asked for a motion on the Annual Action Plan. Mr. Costello voted to approve the Action
Plan as presented. Ms. Oliver seconded, and the Plan was unanimously approved.
111. Monies Available for Housing Production
Ms. Adams noted that monies available for housing production in Watertown come from a variety of
sources. First, Watertown received approximately $62,000 from the WestMetro HOME Consortium.
Next, Watertown has approximately $103,000 which are repayments of American Dream Downpayment
Assistance loans made with HOME funds. Third, Watertown has $260,000 which has come from project
developers making cash in lieu payments instead of providing affordable units. Lastly, there is
approximately $230,000 that is Town match money from old Community Development Block Grants.
Ms. Adams noted that using any of the HOME funds is "restricted" in that the project must qualify, and
funds can only be used in certain ways.
IV. Calculating Annual Affordable Rents for Inclusionary Zoning
Ms. Adams distributed spreadsheets that provide the affordable rent calculations for several of the
previously approved projects subject to Inclusionary Zoning. She noted the resultant rent can fluctuate
each year, depending on the numbers the Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes
yearly for 80% Area Median Income and the utility allowances.
V. Work Items for the Partnership
Mr. Reynolds noted that he's proposed four potential work items/discussion items for the Partnership to
consider for its 2018 work plan.
Mr. Leon said another work item would be work with developers to "combine" two smaller (2 -bedroom)
inclusionary units to create a larger size unit that could house, for example, 3 residents plus a support
person.
Ms. Adams noted that one of the potential work items was to increase the inclusionary zoning set aside,
and suggested that it was too soon after the major effort to increase it to 15%. She also questioned the
additive benefit of doing this.
Approved xxxxx
The Partnership agreed that continuing to push for larger units for families, for to work with developers
to do the type of room arrangement that Mr. Leon was suggesting was a good thing.
Ms. Adams noted that the newest affordable rental units are universally accessible, and can be made
accessible for a variety of needs, including disability, being deaf or blind. She also noted that units are
subject to lottery, and the lottery takes into account a person's disability, including if they have a live-in
care giver.
Ms. Adams noted that one of her ideas was to use a variety of funding sources to help the Housing
Authority provide more resources to their tenants, thereby providing "assisted living light."
Mr. Cook agreed, but noted the problem of providing dedicated funding. The program, once
established, needs to be maintained.
Mr. Reynolds noted another work item for the Partnership was modifying the Ordinance to require
Independent and Assisted Living to contribute to affordable housing.
Councilor Palomba was very supportive of this, and urged the Partnership to complete work on this in a
timely manner, and bring something before the Council.
Adjourn
Mr. Reynolds asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Mr. Leon moved to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. Costello seconded the motion, which was unanimously
approved. Meeting adjourned at 7:15 PM.
Minutes — WHP — February 20, 2018
Approved xxxx
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