Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board November 13, 2023, Meeting Minutes Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board Meeting Meeting Minutes November 13, 2023 A meeting of the Salem Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board was held on Monday, November 13, 2023, at a Remote Zoom meeting at 6:30 p.m. Members present: Chair Filipe Zamborlini, Councilor Jeff Cohen, Council President Megan Stott, Councilor Caroline Watson-Felt, Vice Chair Chris Malstrom, Jason Leese, Jason Sydoriak, Liza Ruano-Lucey, Jack Butterworth Members absent: Mayor Dominick Pangallo, Lynda-Fairbanks Atkins Members arriving late: Council President Megan Stott, Chair Filipe Zamborlini Members leaving early: None Staff present: Senior Planner Elena Eimert Vice Chair Malstrom called the meeting to order with a roll call at 6:33 p.m. NEW BUSINESS Jack Butterworth asks about the status of the Neighborhood Stability Coordinator role, given his understanding it was an ARPA-funded position, and asks if the Trust might author a letter of support of making the position a permanent salary position. The Trust may revisit this item nearer to the budget cycle. Vice Chair Malstrom notes the Chair may have additional items of new business to raise in the future. Vice Chair Malstrom prompts the Trust to consider what the Trust might fund if funding streams are established. Chair Zamborlini arrives but has minor audio issues. Councilor Cohen raises transfer fee as a topic the Trust and Mayor should consider, to support affordable housing initiatives, and states that there are local examples like Boston that have implemented these fees. Staff note that the Housing Bond Bill/Affordable Homes Act, as currently drafted, offers a path forward for local adoption of a linkage fee without a Home Rule Petition, which is currently required. Jason Sydoriak asks after the end recipient of those funds, how could that funding be applied. Chair Zamborlini joins, audio restored. Chair offers brief welcome to new members. Underscores that Jason S’s question will be the mission of the Trust Fund board as it looks forward to consistent funding streams in the near-term future, looking at the Affordable Homes Act, potential availability of Community Preservation Act funding, and other streams. Page 1 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board November 13, 2023, Meeting Minutes Staff notes Massachusetts Housing Partnership offers a handbook for Trusts and recommends it to the new members as they embark on this work. Chair raises desire to review the Trust’s overall goals and receive an update on the status of strategies identified within the Housing Production Plan/House Roadmap. Council President Stott joins the meeting. Discussion of timing of Trust reconfiguration. Expectation is this would be in effect before end of 2023. Chair expresses interest in bringing experts to provide additional information to the Trust. Cosigned by many members. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. Jason Sydoriak leaves the meeting. STAFF UPDATES A. Condominium Conversion and related Home Rule Petition Staff provide an update on movement in this item since the Trust last convened. The Joint Committee on Housing had a hearing on October 24, 2023, to hear testimony related to H.3722, the Home Rule Petition filed by Rep. Cruz, that would enable the City to consider adoption of a local condominium conversion ordinance with a lower threshold of applicability than state law (currently only applicable to buildings with 4 or more units). Staff submitted testimony on behalf of the Trust, as agreed upon at the October Trust Meeting. Chair Zamborlini, Councilor Cohen, Rep. Cruz, and a representative of the Salem chapter of the League of Women Voters appeared to give live testimony. The Mayor also provided written testimony, available here. We are now awaiting action by the committee. A positive vote out of the Committee allows for consideration of the bill by the legislature. The committee must vote the bill out of committee no later than the first Monday in February. By that deadline, committees must report bills out favorably, send them to study (usually no further action taken), or ask for an extension. This bill was reported out favorably last session, so the hope is that it would get another favorable report this session. Staff are in touch with Rep. Cruz’ office to keep tabs on this item. Councilor Cohen expresses concern about this item and that it might go another session without a vote by the legislature, requiring Salem to restart the process again. States displeasure with the Home Rule Petition structure broadly. Chair instructs staff to continue following up with the Salem legislative delegation. Page 2 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board November 13, 2023, Meeting Minutes B. Inclusionary Housing Staff state that an Inclusionary Housing ordinance was filed with City Council in October. The proposed ordinance is available here, starting on page 12, in line with what the Trust saw at the presentation at its September meeting. A joint public hearing with the Planning Board has been scheduled for Monday, November 20, 2023. Trust members and members of the public are invited to attend and provide public comment in person or by writing. Chair explains potential funding stream for the Trust that would be generated through the Inclusionary Housing ordinance, if adopted. Discussion of interplay between Inclusionary Housing ordinance and the MBTA Communities Act/Section 3A. Discussion as to how to provide public comment. Jason Sydoriak rejoins. C. Request for Proposals – ARPA funds Staff met with Finance last week and were advised not to structure this as a Request for Proposal but instead as a Request for Grant Applications. It is back with Finance for final review. Hope to have this live by end of week. Staff have a press release ready to be distributed, will be shared out to the Trust when program goes live. Staff will keep the board updated. As drafted, the RGA will have a rolling deadline, meaning the Trust could see proposals as early as the December meeting. The Construction Grant Program, also offered through the Trust, has a December 15, 2023, deadline and so the Trust could see applications for review at its January 2024 meeting. Trust has consensus to review applications as a whole, needing no subcommittee review. D. FY23 AHT Annual Plan Staff have prepared the FY23 Annual Plan for the Trust. It recaps the Trust’s activities and finances during the last fiscal year. While no action by the Trust is required, it is available here for your review and comment. If no edits from members of the Trust, staff will submit to Council following the November Trust meeting as a “receive and file” item. Jason Sydoriak leaves the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Council President Stott made a motion to approve the September 12, 2023 and October 3, 2023 meeting minutes. Seconded by Jack Butterworth. A roll call vote was taken, motion passed with 6 yeas, 2 abstentions. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair recognizes Councilor-Elect Kyle Davis is in the audience. No members of the public offered comments. Page 3 of 4 Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board November 13, 2023, Meeting Minutes Jason Sydoriak rejoins. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Council Cohen, seconded by Council President Stott. A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. Approved by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board on February 6, 2024 Respectively submitted, Elena Eimert Senior Planner Page 4 of 4