Lenox Affordable Housing Committee
September 24, 2007
Minutes
Members present: Dave Klausemeyer (DK), Chair, Patty Quinn(PQ), Roscoe Sandlin(RS) and Kate McNulty-Vaughan(KV), Theresa Ahrens(TA), Jo Anne Magee(JM), and Olga Weiss(OW).
Also in attendance: Deborah Burke(DB), Trinity Church Representative and Mary Albertson(MA), Town Planner.
DK opened the meeting at 5:00 PM. Members reviewed the minutes and offered one correction regarding the Trinity Church project. Members voted unanimously to approve the minutes with one correction regarding Trinity Church.
MA distributed the following handouts:
Lenox Housing Facts, Fact Sheet on 40B, Lenox Affordable Housing Task Force Report (4/3/07) and Deborah Burke’s housing plan analysis. She thanked Deborah Burke for preparing the housing plan analysis and suggested it would be a good outline for the members to follow. Members reviewed the housing plan analysis and discussed how to prepare a housing plan for Lenox.
The consensus was to use the Bolton example as a guide to prepare the Lenox plan. The group discussed the DHCD – Planned Production requirements. The Lenox thresholds are: .75% = 18 units and the 1.5% = 35 units.
KV stated that she would like the discussion to be specific. Members should be prepared for controversy. OW noted that she lived in town when Morgan Manor was proposed and it was controversial. An unintended outcome of this project was the addition of children to the Lenox school system. Currently, 25% of the students in the Lenox school system do not reside in Lenox. KV noted that Lenox has an above average median age. She pointed to the fact that there are a number of non-residents who send their children to the Lenox schools. She suggested that this indicates that there are families who would like to live in Lenox but it is not affordable for young families.
JM suggested that the committee needs to define the demographic trends for the town. We need to understand the trends in order to prepare an affordable housing plan.
Members agreed that the group home on West Street was a good addition to the community and suggested that additional projects of this size and scope would be a positive addition.
Members discussed how to address the housing needs of the middle class. Members agreed that it is possible to reach the 10% housing threshold. The potential Trinity Church housing project is important to the development of the Lenox plan. OW asked DB to explain the Trinity project. DB gave an overview of the Trinity project.
There was a great deal of discussion regarding the service industry and the number of spa and hotel facilities in Lenox. KV and MA noted that Canyon Ranch provides housing for its employees. It was suggested that the committee determine if this type of housing can be counted toward the 10%. MA said she would contact DHCD and report back to the committee.
DK suggested that the members return to the DB’s housing plan analysis. RS volunteered to create an Affordable Housing Committee library of documents. He has high quality scanner and will scan the documents and forward to the members. Members thanked RS for volunteering to complete this task.
JM and TA will work with DB to create a Lenox document based on the Bolton example. OW suggested that the committee have a flip chart for the next meeting as this would be a good tool for committee discussion.
Members discussed future meetings. MA said she has reserved the Land Use Meeting room and posted the Committee meetings for the 2nd & 4th Monday at 5:30 PM. The October meetings are the 8th and 22nd. DK said he might have a problem attending the meetings in November. MA said she would check room availability for November and the members could determine the November meeting dates at the next meeting. The next few meetings will de devoted to preparing the Lenox plan. The committee tabled discussion of the inclusionary zoning bylaw.
MA will forward a committee member list to all the members by the end of the week.
Meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Albertson, Town Planner
Approved: October 22, 2007
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