Affordable & Fair Housing Partnership

Minutes Easthampton Affordable & Fair Housing Partnership September 24, 2020 Members present: Brad Riley, Janna Tetreault (chair), Jackie Brousseau-Pereira, Jamie Webb (EPD staff) Members absent: Kate Shapiro, Ken Iavecchia, Koni Denham Meeting called to order by chair at 6:10pm 1. Approve Affordable & Fair Housing Partnership minutes from July meeting Jackie BP made a motion to accept, Brad R. seconded, the motion was approved unanimously. 2. Review of draft Housing Production Plan (if ready) The plan was not ready for review. We are waiting on a draft from the consultant. The new schedule for review is to get the draft to EAFHP members a week before the next meeting (Oct. 22). The consultant will attend that meeting. If the HPP is ready, we will send it to the City Council for a public presentation at the Nov. 4 meeting. Council can approve it that night and then send it to the mayor for approval so the HPP can be submitted to the state. Discussion: The HPP is a stand alone document. It includes the housing needs assessment but the market study and zoning recommendations are a separate document and will take a bit longer to complete. The City’s current HPP expires at the end of October. We need to have a new one one on file so that housing production can be counted towards our goals. 3. Update on CPA Rental Assistance Program RFP Once the EPD has a bit more feedback on the revised RFP, it will be re-released, advertised, and sent to the same organizations that had previously expressed interest. New timeline: Place ads next week. Available on Oct. 7, responses due on Oct. 21. Note: The state’s eviction moratorium ends next month (October 17). Jackie BP mentioned that the clerk of the housing court is interested in hearing when funds are available so they can make referrals. 4. Advocacy Updates Jackie BP agreed to write a column about affordable housing in October. This will be timely with the eviction moratorium being lifted on Oct. 17. 5. Other Updates Jamie W. gave an update on progress at 3 Ferry St. The buildings being developed now are for retail and business but the owner is planning to develop approx. 150 units of housing and is applying for workforce housing funds to be able to add some units of affordable housing.  Janna T. reported that she went to the recent planning board meeting to hear more about a project that would build 18 condo units on Loudville Road. These would be market rate duplexes with a proposed selling price of $350,00-400,000. The developer described the project, saying that it was not going be affordable housing and that it would therefore be “nice.” This raised the issue that EAFHP members discuss often, we should find opportunities to educate the public about what affordable housing is (and that it can and should be “nice”) The public hearing was continued to the October Planning Board meeting. Janna T. made motion to adjourn, Jackie BP seconded, motion passed unanimously Meeting adjourned at 6:45pm Respectfully submitted, Jackie Brousseau-Pereira