Affordable Housing Trust Fund

CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL MAYOR 98 WASHINGTON STREET ♦ SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 TOM DANIEL, AICP TELE: 978-619-5685 DIRECTOR Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board May 3, 2018 Approved Meeting Minutes Members present: Mayor Kim Driscoll, City Council President Beth Gerard, City Councillor Christine Madore, City Councillor Bob McCarthy, Ben Anderson, Rebecca Curran, Grace Harrington Napolitano. Members absent: Mickey Northcutt Other present: Tom Daniel, Planning and Community Development Director Mayor Driscoll called the meeting to order at 6:05 PM. She noted the large number of issues in the affordable housing arena including people being priced out, the need for advocacy, and policy changes. She sees the AFTF Board as serving as a clearinghouse of strategies. She provided background on the AHTF, the initial $50,000 it received, and how the funds were used. Driscoll provided an overview of the Housing Choice legislation, noted the need to educate the community about the affordable housing crisis and build a coalition of support. Becky Curran asked where the initial $50,000 came from. Driscoll replied that it was a payment made as part of the potato chip plant redevelopment into housing. Curran suggested that regulatory changes would be needed. She noted that Marblehead has obsolete trust funds and wondered if Salem had funds of this type that could be moved into support for affordable housing. Curran referenced the Housing Needs Demand Analysis. She suggested focusing on affordable housing developments that don’t generate a lot of traffic because traffic seems to be the main concern of current residents. She suggested possible incentives for workforce housing or micro housing if they came without cars. She noted the 40B project in in the Point where lower parking demand was demonstrated and thus fewer spaces needed to be constructed. Driscoll remarked that the City was looking at an intra-city shuttle option. She also noted seniors who are over housed and don’t know what options they have. Councillor Madore referenced the Massachusetts Senate report on housing which looked at granting a homeowner tax relief for granting the municipality the first right of refusal. The municipality could then acquire the property, layer in an affordability restriction, and then market the property. 1 Curran described the Nesterly service that pairs over housed seniors with younger people in need of housing. Driscoll is hoping to have a pilot with Salem State University. In addition to meeting a housing need, it helps to address seniors’ number one issue—isolation. Driscoll also noted community land trusts, public school land for housing for teachers, underutilized park land, and Salem Housing Authority (SHA) land as among the potential strategies to explore. Curran noted several SHA sites that are spread out, low level development that could accommodate more housing. She suggested getting technical assistance to SHA for senior housing. She further suggested that it may be wise for outreach to focus on senior housing initially as this is generally viewed more favorably by the community than housing for other demographic segments of the city. Ben Anderson agreed with looking at opportunities for generating more housing units on underutilized land. Driscoll referenced a presentation by Strong Towns that showed how urban infill can be done well. She noted underutilized parking lots as potential opportunities. Curran reiterated the need to tie housing with transportation. Driscoll agreed and called out the need of a per trip generated fee that goes to a shuttle or other transportation infrastructure similar to what is done in Kendall Square. Madore asked if there is an inventory of opportunities for affordable housing development. Driscoll noted there is a list of City-owned property. There could be a list of privately held parcels that seem to hold development capacity potential as well as school sites. Madore thought it would be good to look at these. She noted that prior to an inclusionary housing ordinance the City could include affordability requirements in zoning overlays. She noted that the Council should think about this. Curran suggested being able to grant special permits for increased density if there is an increase in affordable housing. Anderson noted that a shuttle would increase the value of the sites near the stops if the shuttle was reliable. Madore suggested looking at density bonuses. Curran suggested looking at cohousing and looking at incentive zoning, a sort of home-grown 40B. Tom Daniel noted transportation demand management alternatives. Driscoll offered the idea of expedited permitting for affordable housing developments. 2 Madore echoed this suggestion by looking to make the process easier for affordable housing development. Anderson noted that there needs to be clearer expectations of what the City expects from development projects. He referenced the PEM addition as an example of excellence. Driscoll suggested articulating guiding design principles. Daniel referenced a tool showing more preferred and less preferred design aspects that could be utilized by Boards and serve as a guide for applicants. He noted the One Stop Meetings as opportunities to support projects. Curran suggested having peer reviews at the ZBA would be helpful if a project is not going to the Planning Board. She then left the meeting due to a prior commitment. Madore and Driscoll offered suggestions for developer meetings—LOCUS through Smart Growth America, Mass Development roundtable. Driscoll reiterated the need to get clearer on design guidelines. Councillor McCarthy commented that the community needs to understand that if higher quality materials are desired, the cost needs to be covered. This may mean that a development needs to have more units. He further noted that he thought senior housing is the biggest problem. He noted the challenge of seniors who are house rich but cash poor. Anderson suggested incentivizing sale of existing single family houses to the city in return for priority in a new multi-family affordable unit. Driscoll noted there are some naturally occurring senior communities. Housing production is at the heart of the problem. Vertical construction is needed. The accessory dwelling unit ordinance has short comings. Driscoll expressed the need for staff support to quarterback the housing agenda. Madore made a motion to use the existing AHTF balance of $49,650 to hire a housing resource person to assist with developing the housing agenda. Seconded by Councillor Gerard. Passed unanimously 6-0. McCarthy suggested looking at other communities with similar issues. Madore suggested looking at transfers of development rights (TDRs) as an opportunity. Driscoll recommended looking at the land assets the public sector has now. Gerard suggested looking at partnerships with AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, and Youth Build. Daniel referenced MassHousing as a partner and provided an overview of the grant the City applied for. Driscoll asked Gerard, Madore, and McCarthy about how to engage City Council colleagues. 3 Grace Harrington Napolitano suggested initiating the conversation around seniors. Driscoll noted there would need to be neighborhood education. Being no other business, Napolitano offered a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Gerard. Passed unanimously 6-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM. Approved by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board on 09/10/2018 Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A § 18-25 and City Ordinance § 2-2028 through § 2-2033. 4