Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board Meeting Approved Meeting Minutes March 2, 2021 A meeting of the Salem Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board was held on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at a Remote Zoom meeting at 6:00 p.m. Members present: Mayor Kim Driscoll, Rebecca Curran, Councilor Christine Madore, Mickey Northcutt, Councilor Patricia Morsillo, Caroline Watson-Felt and Councilor Ty Hapworth. Staff present: Amanda Chiancola, Acting Deputy Director of Planning and Community Development. Chair Mayor Kim Driscoll called the meeting to order with a roll call vote at 6:02 p.m. NEW BUSINESS A. Officer Elections Ms. Chiancola says the ordinance requires a yearly appointment of officers. The current seats are held as such, Chair: Mayor Driscoll, Vice Chair: Mickey Northcutt, Treasurer: Filipe Zamborlini. Mayor Driscoll asks if there is a desire to change up the current officers. Becky Curran replies, no as long as the current members are willing to continue to serve then it works well. A motion to approve the current officers to continue in their current role is made by Councillor Morsillo to seconded by Rebecca Curran passes by a roll call vote with all in favor (Councillor Patti Morsillo, Mickey Northcutt, Councillor Ty Hapworth, Council President Christine Madore, Caroline Watson-Felt, Rebecca Curran, Mayor Driscoll). UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Discussion of the Disposition Ordinance Work on updating the disposition ordinance. Ms. Chiancola says she wants to hear from the Board on how they want to update the ordinance. In parallel she will be working on a land trust model and will bring that research to the board at a future meeting. Ms. Chiancola asks if the Board would like to edit the current ordinance or start fresh with a new ordinance. Ms. Chiancola says her preference would be to start fresh but wants to hear from the board how they want to proceed because the current ordnance is clunky to work from. Councillor Madore asks for a reminder of what is clunky about the current ordinance. Ms. Chiancola responds that the current ordinance is an inventory approach that requires all city owned land to be inventories and determined whether it is surplus and if it is then how it should be disposed of the criteria for the determination is unclear. There are opportunities to dispose the land for less than the appraised value if it is going to be affordable housing or veterans but that it is buried and again it is not clear. The Board previously discussed the idea of a complete streets model where the ordinance would identify priorities of the city such as affordable Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board March 2, 2021 Approved Meeting Minutes housing or open space and include criteria to help identify the path for surplus land. Mayor Driscoll also notes the ordinance requires an annual inventory we want an ordinance but that does not happen in practice. We want an ordinance that reflects that actually happens in practice or commit to follow the new practice whatever it may be. Mr. Northcutt asks that if we create a new ordinance what does that process look like, would the Board refer it to City Council to vote on and what kind of vote is required. Mayor Driscoll responds that it would take a Council vote and would be a simple majority. How it gets there is someone has to introduce it. We have three Councillors on this board it ideally if would be great to come from one of them (or collectively from them) with our endorsement if they support it. Councillor Hapworth asks about the priorities that will be set, are we going to set a list of priorities starting out with number 1 being affordable housing, 2 is economic development or is it we set a priority – the priority being affordable housing. He asks whether the board could set the priorities based on a geographic distance from the MBTA station, noting that Salem is in need of affordable housing everywhere but especially downtown and there might be places that does not make sense for affordable housing so those locations could be slated for something else. Mayor Driscoll notes that would take a whole hog review rather than tinkering on the edges, we can work on those details. Councillor Madore asks if other boards and commission will have an opportunity to weigh in. It seems that we are spearheading it which sends a strong message, but surplus land would not always be residential so is this something we are spearheading or is it a cross board collaboration. Mayor Driscoll responds that is a good point, one option is for the AHTF Board to begin the process and frame it then asks other boards and commissions to weigh in with feedback with their lens, ultimately that could be a strong ordinance that is supported across boards. Ms. Curran notes that we are subject to Chp. 30B so this ordinance would run parallel to that and then be more detailed, Mayor Driscoll responds yes, we cannot get out of 30B. Ms. Curran asks about tax title, do we want to include it we can’t do a request for proposal, but we can auction it. Mayor Driscoll says that is a good point to consider. The task ahead of us is to frame a new ordinance aimed at things that are important to us, look at process that will bring more stakeholders along. B. Discussion of the housing priorities for 2021 Ms. Chiancola shares priorities discussed by the board last year, with housing production plan being number one. Ms. Chiancola informs the board that the City received a grant to cover a portion of the housing production plan. STRATEGY DESCRIPTION Develop a A Housing Production Plan (HPP) is a community's proactive strategy for planning and Housing developing affordable housing by creating a strategy to enable it to meet its affordable Production Plan housing needs. (we will talk about this more under the next agenda item). Health-Housing Broad strategy to be brainstormed. Potentially partner with the race equity task force Linkage on this? Senior Housing Should this be part of the HPP discussion? Discussion Page 2 of 6 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board March 2, 2021 Approved Meeting Minutes STRATEGY DESCRIPTION Condo Currently, 49% of housing units in Salem are renter-occupied, and 51% are owner- occupied. However, Salem’s housing stock is overwhelmingly old. Over half (54%) of Conversion all homes were built before 1940. Older homes are vulnerable to conversion into Ordinance condominiums, which reduces the city’s rental options. Since June of 2015, 305 rental 1 units have been converted into condominiums. This is particularly concerning because the median income of renters is about $37,000 and half of all renter households (4,465) are cost-burdened. If these renters were to be displaced they would have very few options for relocation in Salem. A condo conversion ordinance could be developed to provide protection for tenants facing displacement. A condo conversion ordinance does not limit a landlord’s ability to convert their property into condos, but it does require protections e.g. providing proper notice to the tenants. An MAPC case study of various condo conversion ordinances can be found here: http://www.mapc.org/wp- content/uploads/2017/11/Condominium-Conversion-Ordinances.pdf Opportunities Chapter 40R of the Massachusetts General Law encourages cities and towns to zone for compact residential and mixed use development in “smart growth” locations by way for a 40R of a 40R district. District A 40R district is a zoning overlay. A 40R is beneficial to a developer in that it allows more homes than what would be allowed under the based zoning through a site plan review process, rather than by special permit. A 40R district is beneficial to the City in that it requires 20% of new units created to be affordable. The City may also include design guidelines to guide the design of new development in a 40R district. In addition, adoption of a 40R District provides the City two financial incentives: the first is an upfront payment that ranges from $10,000 - $600,000 depending on the number new units, the second financial incentive is a set of payments in increments of $3,000 for every unit built in excess of what the base zoning would have allowed. More information about 40Rs can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/service- details/chapter-40r City-owned In process Building and Land Opportunities ADUs In process Filipe Zamborlini joins the meeting at 6:30pm. Mr. Zamborlini notes he brought this up to understand what is feasible for the board to undertake this year and to have a discussion on what on the list will have the greatest impact on affordable housing. There are a lot of strategies here that are worth considering here. Salem is losing its multifamily stock so the condo conversion ordinance is worthwhile and opportunities for wealth generation, 40Rs would also 1 The number of apartment units converted into condominiums is shown below. The year represents June 15 of the prior year to June 15 of the year shown: 2016: 37 2017: 45 2018: 60 2019: 52 2020: 80 2021: as of last summer, 31 Page 3 of 6 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board March 2, 2021 Approved Meeting Minutes be a great opportunity. Mr. Zamborlini wanted to make sure these conversations are not going on the backburner they are important, and we should discuss what we should move forward with in 2021. Mayor Driscoll responds that this is a healthy conversation, the condo conversion strikes her as the share magnitude of conversions is hollowing out opportunities and shares that her first home was a multifamily, her household needed the rental income to afford to purchase a home. In the 1980s we went through a wave of condo conversions, for example in the Derby Street neighborhood and it is still happening. We also need to consider staff capacity, where can we supplement capacity. For the health equity housing index, there is so much data that demonstrates having a safe roof over your head has other positive impacts perhaps we could outsource this analysis- we know there is a link but how strong is that. Councillor Hapworth wonders if we can look at opportunities to incentivize housing that has a health component. On a spectrum of no healthcare to assisted living facilities, he is interested in seeing what other communities are doing on this. Mayor Driscoll asks if it makes sense to set up a work session to think about possibilities, if we want to move this to another action level what that would take. Councillor Morsillo adds that the Board of Health are interested in that topic, they want to be actively involved in that discussion, Sara Moore might be able to assist she is amazing, the whole board would benefit from the discussion. Mr. Northcutt explains that the health housing link is a real conversation in community development field. The North Shore Community Development Coalition (NSCDC) is setting up a call with statewide Community Development Coalitions that specialize in this, how to bring resources into the field. Mr. Northcutt notes that he is not well versed on latest and greatest of programmatic has been in communications with the CEO of Community Health in Salem and can see about her availability when we are ready for that discussion. Next week on March 10th the NSCDC will be appearing before the Salem Redevelopment Authority (SRA) to propose a new project that speaks to this issue- they’ve been looking for a new health center integrated into their project, they don’t have real estate new project – it will offer significant affordable senior housing married with the community health center right on south river. He is happy to share more information when the time is appropriate. He notes that he will probably file the application with the Planning Board at the end of March looking towards an April meeting. Mr. Northcutt says it is the most exciting project he has ever worked on. One of the things he is interested in is having a population on site could benefit from great health care access interested in programmatic collaborations in the future plug them into different health services they will more than double their space, their designers are thinking what does health care mean post COVID, e.g. telehealth how we engage with vulnerable residents, we are able to engage with more people, perhaps the ideas we talk about could have a vehicle to think through pilot programs not limited to this project, they have a great relationship with the Salem Housing Authority it could bring other players together. Mayor Driscoll responds that it would be good to get a rundown of affordable housing projects that the NSCDC is working on as well as the Salem Housing Authority project at Lee Fort Terrace, she suggests having a meeting to get highlights on projects in the pipeline. Mr. Northcutt says that the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) recently announced that it awarded funds for a few projects in a special round, including the NSCDC’s Lighthouse project. The Lighthouse project consists of two buildings with a total of 46 apartments: 21 units on 34 Peabody Street the rest of the corner of Congress and Leavitt Street- Page 4 of 6 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board March 2, 2021 Approved Meeting Minutes it is one project as it will be financed and built at the same time, 100% affordable about ¼ at 30% area median income (AMI) the rest between 50-60% AMI. It will have family size units in a cool modern building art integrated. This is the first new construction that the NSCDC built in Salem in 13 years and the largest new construction they have ever built in Salem. It was permitted back in 2017 and is expected to start construction begin of June. Mr. Zamborlini suggests a discussion where the k-12 education providers could be involved, Department of education, School Committee. Mayor Driscoll responds that there is no shortage of priorities for 2021- we need to consider the pace of the work and identify where there are external resources that might be able to help us to leverage and prioritize more. Between now and the next meeting we brainstorm the pace. C. Discussion of the scope for the housing production plan Councillor Madore says that we we talk a lot about senior housing but that narrative around senior housing gets manipulated in ways at the expense of other populations. We have done a lot of work around age friendly and suggests we reframe the conversation as age friendly housing. There are many older adults who do not want to solely live with other older adults, that can sometimes get lost. We should update the demographic profile. What houses are going for market rate what it takes to buy that and rent that, education is important, last time that was one of the most well attended public meetings so will we have a robust public input. Suggestion for a weeklong open house with a robust public engagement process that includes reaching out to stakeholders- the AHTF Board should develop a list of stakeholders to reach out to for example: The Council on Aging, Historical Commission, Planning Board, Commission on Disabilities. Mayor Driscoll explains hat we try to do these plans with lots of engagement, but it doesn’t get circulated back, she asks the Board to consider methods of ensuring the plan is steeped once it is complete. Mr. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES A. February 16, 2021 draft minutes Motion to approve the minutes by Councillor Hapworth, seconded by Councillor Morsillo and passes unanimously with a roll call vote. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Driscoll opens the meeting up to public comment. Heather Famico, 19 Essex Street 2b says our multifamily homes two family are going double Filipe is right on with that, agrees with Councilor Madore about the importance of aging in place. Just hoping the Housing Production Plan can break down bedroom count, accessibility. Ms. Famico suggests that Salem.com include a tab for surveys- there is a lot happening it is difficult to keep track of so it would be good to have one centralized place going forward. She also suggests not requiring an account or login as that puts a barrier on providing input. Page 5 of 6 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board March 2, 2021 Approved Meeting Minutes ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn by Councillor Hapworth, seconded by Mickey Northcutt—passes unanimously by a roll call vote. Meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m. Approved by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board on 4/6/2021. Respectively submitted, Amanda Chiancola, AICP Senior Planner Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A § 18-25 and City Ordinance § 2-2028 through § 2-2033. Page 6 of 6