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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCommunity Preservation Committee -- 2005-08-17 Minutes \ a o`�>o Town of Brewster w Community Preservation 3 a r A = BREWSTER BICENTENNIAL o N Committee 2198 Main Street N Brewster,Massachusetts 02631-1898 (Fax08))(53896-8089 w 1llfllllll1t111 COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES: August 17, 2005 Present: Elliot Carr, Paul Ruchinskas, Stephen McKenna, Roland Bassett,Jr, Michael Lach, Elizabeth Taylor, Roy Robinson,William Reyburn, Paul Hush Guest: Florence Selden, Chatham CPA Committee,Jillian Douglass The meeting was called to order at 4:00 PM at the Brewster Ladies Library. 1. Review of status of funds in re open space debts being paid off first. Town Accountant indicates that current open space debts will be paid off on yearly basis until cleared. However, Carr and Taylor will verify with Souve and Sumner. 2. Minutes for July 20TH approved with corrections: Moved by Robinson, second by Hush. All voted""AYE". Florence Selden Chatham CPA Committee 3. Selden: Chatham approved the CPA on top of the existing Land Bank at a full 3%. Town meeting was not close, but only passed by 48 votes at the ballot. Nothing recommended so far by the CPA has failed to be approved at Town Meeting. Selden discussed percent allotted to each of the three areas—there is no recommendation that 10% be included for Recreation. If any category does not spend its 10% each year, it gets banked for that entity. There is also no requirement that the BOS or FinCom agree or support any CPA recommendation in order to get it on as a Town Meeting article. The CPC is required to hold a public hearing. Chatham holds theirs in September. That is their deadline for applications. At this public hearing they did a power point presentation about how CPA works, what is planned for Town Meeting and what their Long Range Plan were. They listed approved projects. Selden provided a copy of their application for the Brewster CPC to work with. Their deadline is absolute!! They then meet every week in January and February—with applicants. They have also rejected many applications. They have turned down Affordable Housing, Historic, Housing Authority, etc. They have also given $ to a non-profit—Atwood House. Chatham has used $ for Affordable Housing. They have an Affordable Housing down payment program, with Minutes: Community Preservation Committee—August 17,2005 Page 1 of 4 an agreement with the Housing Program. They have renovated houses on Affordable Housing sites (houses owned by the Town) —the MCI property - 4 homes are now being rented there. Chatham has given $ to Affordable Housing for a consultant, as well as a Rental Voucher Program. They have helped 10 families in the last 5 years. 4. Douglass: We can use $ for ownership housing, but it must be deed restricted. $ could be used for the Habitat for Humanity Housing Project. 5. Selden: Chatham has been looking for property to purchase —they are considering creating condos for home ownership and these will be deed restricted in perpetuity. 6. Q: Can CPA funds be used for additional down payment $s? 7. Selden: Pretty much anything goes unless it is in conflict with the legislation. The Town must keep a separate account for these funds. S. Robinson: 10% is the minimum requirement of the act for each area? 9. Selden: Yes, but the Chatham Town Bylaw is different from the Brewster Bylaw and other Towns on the Cape which have used percentages that differ from the straight 10%-10%-10% in Chatham's local Bylaws. Remember Chatham still has the Land Bank monies as a separate 3%. 10. Selden: Work done by Chatham e.g.: a. Restored a historic Scout Hall b. Constructed an Archival Center c. Master Plan for Historic properties d. Moved a house e. Preserved a school building. f. Atwood House— preserved a historic light g. Elementary school — playground CP Coalition work is not always consistent with Town Counsel or legislation — but until anything is challenged. Someone could challenge the use of public funds for private use—or when funds go to a non-profit. Chatham also gave $300,000 to a non-profit called"Community Builders"to build 47 rental units, the Town gave the land. 11. Lach: We can't borrow against state funds, but we can borrow against local funds. 12. Ruchinskas: How long did the process take? 13. Selden: CPA approved in May 2002— Met in August (1st meeting) and got applications the next spring 2003. 14. Robinson: re: accounting —does CPC allocate funds for administration costs. Selden —yes — but Chatham does not charge CPC for this—Town absorbs those costs. They did hire a clerk. 15. Reyburn: They hired a paid consultant for start up? 16. Selden: They used the Town Finance Director's help. The Town handles all of the contracts. The Town Manager is the person who does all of this. The Town wrote contracts with the Housing Authority, the Nickerson family. 17. Lach: Info about the required annual public hearing? is. Selden: This is done every year in the fall. Minutes: Community Preservation Committee—August 17,2005 Page 2 of 4 19. Carr: If Habitat comes in and wants to do a project-where do they go first? We need to work closely with specific committees. When items come before the CPC- everyone gets an equal vote. 20. Consensus: Any application should first be reviewed/approved by the pertinent committee and then it goes back to the CPC. 21. Douglass: All applicants do come to the full CPC? 22. Ruchinskas: re: Affordable Housing -did all applicants go to the Affordable Housing Committee first? 23. Selden: No, this was not required. The Committee then comments on the application. 24. Douglas: Is there an evaluation form? 25. Selden: No, but they do have decision guidelines. But, there is no point score. If an application is not complete, it goes back to the applicant. 26. Douglas: Concerned that if different entities do not have specific criteria? What does the committee do? 27. Selden: Referred to the back of the application... 28. Robinson: We are concerned that we are going to get inundated. It is important that we do not alienate Town Committee, non-profits, etc. 29. Selden: Chatham has a lot of this information on their Town website. It really helps if information gets out to everyone. People really do not understand the Act or the process. It helps to check out the CPA websites in different towns. It is interesting that in Chatham a lot of people felt that they would never see State $$. Selden: E-mail: floiraftomcast.net 30. Carr: How do we relate to all of the committees? Liaisons to these committees? Do we have $ for clerical, administrative costs? 31. Douglass: I will review the article and get this information. The Town Meeting article is very clear on this. 32. Carr: Can we get $$ this fall? When is $$ available? 33. Ruchinskas: We need to get Goals and Objectives done- put Long Range Plan on hold for now. 34. Carr: We need to meet sooner than one month - second &fourth Wednesday or first and third. We need to get going, get goals and objectives from all. 35. Bassett& Ruchinskas passed out copies of their respective( Recreation & Housing) Goals and Objectives 36. Carr: We will need to meet more than once a month. Everyone will be informed of the meetings times. We will re-do the application we got from Chatham for our own use. 37. Ruchinskas: The Cape Cod Commission will be setting up a CPA workshop on the Cape- will let everyone know when a date is set. Members will be informed of next meeting date. Meeting adjourned at 6PM. Minutes: Community Preservation Committee—August 17,2005 Page 3 of 4 Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth G.Taylor, Clerk Community Preservation Committee Approved: a��� r)001-�— Signed: D Pe lerk of the Committ Minutes: Community Preservation Committee—August 17,2005 Page 4 of 4 Dear At Brewster's November, 2004 Town meeting the Town voted to create a Community Preservation Act Committee"to make recommendations to the Town Meeting for the acquisition, creation and preservation of open space, for the acquisition and preservation of historic resources, for the acquisition, creation and preservation of land for recreational use, for the creation, preservation and support of community housing and for the rehabilitation or restoration of such open space,historic resources, land for recreational use and community housing that is acquired or created as provided in this section." Funding will be available to begin to implement this act in fall, 2005. The rr embers of the Community Preservation Act Committee regard this effort as a wonderful opportunity to improve the character of Brewster. We believe this objective will be fulfilled if the Committee itself serves as an umbrella coordinating the efforts of as many Brewster Committees and private organizations as possible. Many opportunities cross the specified functional lines of conservation, recreation,housing and historic preservation. The Committee, which meets regularly on the third Wednesday of each month at 4:00 pm, will be holding hearings to discuss how it should work with other existing committees and organizations in each of the functional areas to maximize the impact of its efforts in each of the specified areas. If your Committee has an interest in playing a role in this process, please advise us and provi&e a brief description of the Committee' past activities as they might impact implementation of the Act. Sincerely, LIST OF TOWN COMMITTEES AND ORGANIZATIONS 1. Open Space Committee. 2. Conservation Commission. 3. Cape Cod Pathways Committee. 4. Bikeways Committee. 5. Brewster Conservation Trust. 6. Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. 7. Historical Commission. * 8. Old King's Highway Regional Historic District Committee. 9. Town Archivist. 10. Stony Brook Mill Site Committee. 11. Alewife Committee. 12. Historical Society. 13. Housing Authority. 14. Housing Advisory Committee. 15. Brewster Housing Partnership. 16. Recreation Commission. * 17. Nickerson State Park Advisory Committee. 18. Crosby Mansion Advisory Committee. 19. Long Pond Advisory Committee. 20. Planning Board.. * 21. Department of Public Works. • Enabling act requires communication. COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE 9 Members: 5 delegates,4 BOS appointments—staggered 3-year terms Conservation Commission Delegate: 2008 Stephen McKenna 757 Slough Road (w)508-362-1760 (h) 508-385-4749 (e) steohen.mckennarastate.ma.us Housing Authority Delegate: 2008 William Reyburn 88 Russell's Path (w) 508-240-3009 (h) 508-896-4843 (e) wrevburn�a).cane.com OKH Historic District Committee Delegate: 2008 Roy Robinson 667 Lower Road (h) 508-896-2968 Planning Board Delegate: 2007 Elizabeth G.Taylor P O Box 1774/245 Run Hill Road (h) 508-896-8434 (e) eatnverizon.net;openspacena,town.brewster.ma.us Recreation Commission Delegate: 2007 Roland W.Bassett,Jr. 102 Bassett Lane (h)508-896-5615 Citizen Representative: 2007 Michael Lach 178 Governor Bradford (w) 508-362-3422 (h) 508-896-6461 Citizen Representative: 2006 Paul Hush 200 Breakwater Road (h) 508-896-3406 (e) naulhushna.webtv.com??? Citizen Representative: 2006 Paul Ruchinskas 10 Bog Pond Road (w)508-362-3828 (h) 508-896-5671 (e) nruchinskasra;capecodcommission.or2,piruch(n`,cane.com Citizen Representative: 2006 Elliot Carr 46 Run Hill Road (h) 508-896-6696 (e)ecarrna,capecodfive.com Jillian Douglass—Selectmen's Office 508-896-3701 x130 jouglass@town.brewster.ma.us Brewster Housing Advisory Committee Housing Plan—Goals and Strategies Primary Goal: To create 200 more affordable housing units and maintain every existing units over the next 10 years. Specific Strategies are as follows 1. Adopt local regulations requiring a MINIMUM of 50% of all units within comprehensive permits developments under MGL Chapter 40B to be affordable 2. Pursue small-scale comprehensive permit developments of under 20 units. 3. Maintain and encourage small-scale scattered-site programs 4. Encourage 100% of cottage colony conversions to create permanently restricted affordable rental or ownership units 5. Encourage and expand the Affordable Accessory Apartment program. 6. Encourage group homes and expansion of existing group homes where appropriate (i.e.: scale or expansion is in keeping with the character and carrying capacity of existing and proposed and use is compatible with existing or proposed uses). 7. Seek Town Meeting approval to develop affordable housing by comprehensive permit on town-owned land. 8. Seek Town Meeting approval for purchase of parcels specifically for the development of affordable housing. Secondary Goal: To ensure that all development accommodates community affordable housing needs through either direct production of units or contribution towards making housing or other living costs more affordable. 9. Actively seek donations and gifts towards the production and preservation of affordable housing. 10. Pursue Tax Credit Program for provision of permanent deed-restricted affordable units 11. Seek Town Meeting approval for inclusionary zoning bylaws requiring 1 out of every 5 new residential, commercial or institutional units or residential lots created to be deed restricted for affordability(production on-site, at an alternative site or an equivalent financial contribution to the Town's Affordable Housing Fund ^12. Support other economic development, day care and public transportation programs that would allow for working residents to better afford housing. COMMUNITY PRESERVATION OBJECTIVES & POTENTIAL PROJECTS OLD KING'S HIGHWAY REGIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICT ACT AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE OLD KING'S HIGHWAY REGIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICT AND THE OLD KING'S HIGHWAY REGIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION IN BARNSTABLE COUNTY. "SECTION 1. Purpose -The purpose of this act is to promote the general welfare of the inhabitants of the applicable regional member towns so included, through the promotion of the educational, cultural economic, aesthetic and literary significance, through the preservation and protection of buildings, setting, and places,within the boundaries of the regional district, and through the development and maintenance of appropriate settings, the exterior appearance of such buildings and places, so as to preserve and maintain such regional district as a contemporary landmark compatible with the historic, cultural literary and aesthetic tradition of Barnstable county, as it existed in the early days of Cape Cod and through the promotion of these past historic associations of Barnstable county." h BY-LAWS FOR THE BREWSTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY. INC. "The object of the Brewster Historical Society shall be to create and foster an interest in the history of the Town of Brewster; to promote historical research; to collect and preserve documents and relics and to provide for their custody." POTENTIAL FUNDING PROJECT Continued Windmill Restoration Including New Sails Continued Restoration of Crosby Mansion Continued Preservation of"Old Town Hall" Support Move of Brewster Historical,Society Museum to "Old Town Hall" Financially Drummer Boy Septic System and Toilets Support Joint Effort of Town Clerk, Brewster Historical Society & Ladies Library to Organize and Make Available to Computer Internet the Town's Historical Records i The Town of Brewster Open Space Committee Aims & Objectives This Committee was originally chartered as the Land Acquisition Committee, investigating parcels of interest for the Town and pursuing funding for these purchases. These initial pursuits resulted in expansion of the Punkhorn Parklands to almost 1,000 acres and the acquisition of 13 parcels located between Bakers Pond and Nickerson State Park. With the creation of the Cape Cod Land Bank Land Bank, a guaranteed income stream became available. With input was from the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts (Compact), the Association to Preserve Cape Cod(APCC), Barnstable County organizations such as the Cape Cod Commission, the Brewster Conservation Trust, as well as concerned citizens and various Town committees, the Open Space Committee identifies, evaluates, and negotiates land protection projects to accomplish five major objectives. 1) Protect drinking water supplies and surface water quality; 2) Protect wildlife habitat; 3) Protect passive recreational opportunities; 4) Protect the town's scenic beauty and rural character; 5) Protect historical and cultural landscapes; The Open Space Committee has mapped and investigated all areas of town to best determine which parcels combined as many of the five objectives as possible. The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts and Association to Preserve Cape Cod funded studies to rank parcels measured against a set of open space criteria. If priority parcels are protected, then the Committee's objectives can be met; the environmental quality of life in Brewster can be maintained and enhanced. As to the future of open space purchases in Brewster, it may be that the most important projects are still ahead of us. The Committee remains ready to meet Brewster's future land protection needs, with the same care and caution we have demonstrated in the past. 8/16/05 Brewster Recreation Commission I. To set policy for existing and new programs. II. To maintain existing facilities and pursue avenues for new ones, when the diversity of the towns recreational population needs require it. Potential projects for Brewster Recreation. A. Sodding existing soccer field due to continual use. B. Suggestions by the Board of Selectmen to move tennis courts to a more suitable site, because of continual extensive maintenance.