Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board Meeting Approved Meeting Minutes April 6, 2021 A meeting of the Salem Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board was held on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at a Remote Zoom meeting at 6:00 p.m. Members present: Mayor Kim Driscoll, Rebecca Curran, Councilor Christine Madore, Filipe Zamborlini, 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 UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Accessory dwelling unit ordinance update Amanda Chiancola provides an update. The City Council and Planning Board held a joint public hearing for the Affordable Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance on March 30th. The public hearing was closed that night. The Planning Board provided a positive recommendation on April 1st. The next step is for the City Council to receive the Planning Board recommendation. Mayor Driscoll says the expectation is that the City Council will put the ordinance into the Ordinance License and Legal Affair subcommittee to make adjustments which could put them in a position for a vote on April 22nd. B. Discussion of the housing production plan Ms. Chiancola says she put together a scope of work. Rebecca asks what the role of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board is in the process. Ms. Chiancola says that once a consultant is on board we would put together a steering committee with AHTF Board members serving on it. The AHTF Board has been the driving force behind this project, the city applied for a grant for this work because it is identified as a priority by the AHTF Board and received said grant. The steering committee will include many other board members and community stakeholders. Ms. Curran asks about the evaluation criteria for the Request for Proposals (RFP)- recommending it is someone who has done this before in a community like this. Marblehead recently completed a Housing Production Plan done by MAPC. C. Discussion of the scope priority discussion Ms. Chiancola drafted the priorities into a workplan matrix (shown below). Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board April 6, 2021 Draft Meeting Minutes Ms. Watson-Felt asks where she can find more information about these strategies. Ms. Chiancola responds that more information is available on the sharepoint site. Councillor Hapworth recommends the land disposition ordinance be a priority, he asks why it is in quadrant 1 versus quadrant 2. Ms. Chiancola responds that the first quadrant are tasks she is currently working on. Councillor Hapworth notes the shifts in the market, especially this year, for example with the million-dollar condominium at Brix, he wants to make sure we are smart with how we dispose of land. Mayor Driscoll responds that we need a mix of housing at all levels. We control the land disposition process, so it feels that we already have the most oversight on that absent an ordinance change. Mayor Driscoll asks if “next” is referring to next fiscal year or next calendar year. Ms. Chiancola clarifies that “next” is referring the next items on the list, so when the ADU ordinance is wrapped up the we can shift an item from Quadrant II over. Mayor Driscoll notes that this is also about resources, if we have more staff resources, perhaps a strategic internship over the summer that can be an extra set of hands could be one way to get through these items faster. Ms. Watson-Felt asks if the items are listed in order of priority. Ms. Chiancola says she didn’t lay out what comes in next, she was thinking the processes would determine that, for example when DCAM releases the RFP and a developer is chosen for South Campus, then we would need to move that over. Councillor Morsillo loves the idea of the supplemental programs for Accessory Dwelling Units if it gets passed and recommends including universal design within the package. Councillor Madore generally agrees with the quadrants, but she recommends including something about the Trust itself. It has been an advisory board but asks if there is interest in playing more active role, having a real estate component in addition to policy. Right now the trust is on the periphery as an advisory board but the ordinance allows selling and acquiring land too, so the Trust should determine if they want to take this role. Mayor Driscoll responds it would be interesting to understand if the Trust would like to play a more active role. Page 2 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board April 6, 2021 Draft Meeting Minutes Filipe Zamborlini has joined the meeting at 6:28pm. Mayor Driscoll asks if we want an aggressive stance on multifamily homes being purchased. We would need to understand what has to be involved including staff resources. We could also have partners to help play that role, we could assist with funding but the arm, or agency doing the procurement and management happens by non-profits. Some cities work with non-profits created by their housing authorities. Mayor Driscoll provides an example of when she worked in Chelsea, Chelsea worked with a small community development corporation, Chelsea Restoration Corporation. The City provided funding while the Chelsea Restoration Corporation which provided the muscle of purchasing and managing properties, received properties when they were condemned. It doesn’t have to be something the city takes on, it is hardwork but it creates units. Mayor Driscoll notes this is the first time we have seen the priority list laid out like this. Councillor Hapworth recommends adding detail about each item to understand what we can logically accomplish. Ms. Curran agrees with a further breakdown of the first two quadrants. What is the action of the board. Then the ADU loan program, what do we have to do. If we finish all those then we can move on to 3 and 4 but let’s look at what it entails. Ms. Watson-Felt adds on to what Becky said, sub bullets of status/next to do that would help reshift priorities in a fully informed fashion. Mr. Zamborlini wonders if there are any federal resources coming that could be added to the list, e.g. funding coming to Massachusetts to maintain or create affordable homes. With a massive program created by the White House there might be a whole new toolbox, so keep in mind major investment is coming down the pipeline. Mr. Zamborlini asks whether it is worthwhile to get an update/status on the affordable housing that is in the pipeline. Mayor Driscoll says we can provide a general overview. Mr. Zamborlini suggests a general list/estimated number of units with an overview. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES A. March 2, 2021 draft minutes Motion to approve the minutes by Councillor Hapworth, seconded by Filipe Zamborlini and passes unanimously with a roll call vote. PUBLIC COMMENT Steve Kapantais 23 Wisteria Street: Salem is a very desirable place to live. When he listened to Ms. Chiancola’s presentation the other at the City Council and Planning Board joint public hearing that was evident in looking at the turnover rate. People who live here want to stay here and there are lots of people wanting to live. For those who can afford higher rents they are forced to pick what is available. Now we are creating affordable accessory dwelling units. There is no language that provides ADUs to people who need it, you created a tool in the wrong toolbox, the affordability has to be for people who need it, you cannot allow the free market to do that. He hopes that the ADU loans will only be for people who provide affordable homes to people who need it, he appreciates the Board’s time and Ms. Chiancola’s presentation. Page 3 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board April 6, 2021 Draft Meeting Minutes ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn by Councillor Madore, seconded by Councillor Hapworth—passes unanimously by a roll call vote. Meeting adjourned at 6:51 p.m. Approved by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board on 5/4/2021 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 4 of 4