HomeMy Public PortalAboutHousing Partnership -- 2017-12-20 Minutes Brewster Housing Partnership Minutes 12/20/ 17 r
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Members present : Vanessa , Diane, Ralph, Steve, Lisa , Ned , Jillian '
Guests present : Jill Scalise, Ryan Bennett, Stefanie Coxe, Cynthia Bingham
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Meeting called to order at 6 : 04 .
1 . Guest Stefanie Coxe from Smarter Cape Cod and Ryan Bennett, Brewster Town Planner met with
the Partnership to discuss model zoning for housing options/accessory dwelling bylaws .
Stephanie reported that Chatham will be putting the model bylaw on the warrant for Spring
town meeting . Ryan reported that Brewster has been awarded an $ 110, 000 grant to hire
technical consultant to draft a bylaw and will target the Fall town meeting, 2018 . She is
preparing the RFP for the consultant and is asking that the BHP provide recommendations and
pros/cons of current bylaw ( § 179 -42 ) .
a . Questions and discussion :
i . Should the Partnership format its feedback based on the current bylaw or on
the proposed model ? Ryan suggested it may be more efficient to look at the
model . Issues to address include : 1 . Enforcement, 2 . Minimum length of rental
period — ex . 6 months vs . 30 days and , 3 . Notification to abutters .
ii . Clarify current meaning in bylaw about affordable access "commercial " dwelling
unit ? Ryan will clarify — the understanding is that commercial property may
have different square footage requirements . We will look at other current
models ( i . e . Nantucket "top of the shop" ) units we can benchmark .
iii . There is a need to streamline the language in the bylaw since the current bylaw
may confuse the public or make people shy away from pursuing creating a unit .
iv . Stephanie proposed a " road show" with community groups to provide
information before it goes to town meeting and , after is passes, holding
information sessions .
v . Is there a benefit to offering tax incentives to homeowners to create units ? Or
to create affordable units? Stephanie noted that the model bylaw is intended to
remove barriers to creating rental units, the rental income is an incentive .
A New bylaw should consider deed restrictions, permitting processes, etc , if we
intend to preserve affordability aspect .
vii . Other consideration to address : need for annual inspections, separate
entrance, tenancy term restrictions, capping number of permits allowed per
year, owner- occupancy, size of unit relative to primary unit size . Jill noted that
since the 2002 bylaw, there have been 4 permits granted for units, all
approximately 500 sq . ft .
2 . Housing Coordinator Updates : Jill provided updates on her work including strategies from the
Housing Production Plan , researching and gathering information on Municipal Housing Trust,
the Buy- down program , created an inventory of the subsidized housing units and participation in
the Cape Housing Institute . BHP members noted Jill ' s work has been appreciated and valuable
to the Partnership' s mission .
3 . Approval of Minutes of prior meeting as submitted .
4 . January 8 Select Board Meeting will include a presentation on Municipal Housing Trusts and BHP
members are planning to attend .
Meeting adjourned 7 : 12 p . m . Next meeting : January 17, 2018 at 6 : 00 p . m .
Respectfully submitted ,
Lisa Forhan
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