Minutes
North Stonington Affordable Housing Committee
October 25, 2012
In Attendance: Mary Ann Ricker, Kristen Comstock, Michelle Brophy, and Jim Scaramozza
Absent: Tim Pelland and Tony Rose
Guests: Juliet Leeming and Heidi Samokar
Location: Wheeler High School Media Center
The meeting was called to order by Co-Chairman Mary Ann Ricker at 6:00 PM. Minutes from the September 27th meeting were reviewed and ratified.
The majority of tonight’s meeting centered around further discussion of the housing plan. Suggested edits ran the gamut from stylistic and syntax to specific content and organization. Overall, however, the Committee acknowledged the excellent work of Planimetrics and how this version of the housing plan was organized better and flowed in a more organic manner.
Heidi indicated that the implementation section will be pulled out of the housing plan, such that it will be a stand alone document. The consensus was that it would be more efficient and reader-friendly to have the housing plan be devoted to and focus upon strategies and goals with another document dedicated to implementation of said strategies and goals. However, the implementation plan will be worked on coincident with Heidi’s completion of the next draft of the housing plan.
Returning to the housing plan, certain members of the committee volunteered to take or procure pictures and photographs that could be inserted into the housing plan in the appropriate sections.
A key substantive comment was made by Juliet concerning the housing plan’s making a clear distinction between housing as required pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes, 8-30g and what qualifies as otherwise “affordable” from an income and household expense perspective. Heidi was going to make this more clear and distinct in the housing plan and likely identify housing under 8-30 g as being “qualified affordable housing”.
For our next meeting, Heidi hopes to have for the committee’s review an implementation table, a memo explaining same and, ideally, a next draft of the housing plan (or by December’s meeting). She will continue to meet with Juliet on a more regular basis to go over specifics of both plans.
We then briefly discussed Meadow Court and its having secured certain approvals from the State and the developer’s now having to obtain final site plan approval. The news was welcoming to the committee as it appears that project is back on track, subject to the foregoing Town approvals.
Lastly, Mary Ann brought to the committee’s attention a recent tax foreclosure resulting in the Town’s taking title to a trailer. She proposed to the committee that a letter of recommendation be written asking the Town to deed restrict this property for affordable housing of some kind. She further suggested that all properties foreclosed upon in the future by the Town should have similar deed restrictions. Mary Ann offered to write this letter. Michelle suggested that if the Town was reticent to deed restrict certain properties (a brief discussion had preceded this suggestion in that some committee members noted that certain properties may not lend themselves to such restrictions) we could instead ask the Town to deposit all excess moneys and funds resulting from the sale of a
foreclosed property into a housing fund of some kind. The committee unanimously approved Mary Ann’s request and letter.
The next meeting is scheduled for November 12, 2012 (a Monday) due to the committee’s next meeting to fall on Thanksgiving, at 6:00 p.m.
With no further action items in which to discuss, a motion for the meeting’s adjournment was made and seconded and thereafter approved.
Accordingly, the meeting was adjourned by our co-chair Mary Ann Ricker at approximately 7:45 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
James Scaramozza
Recording Secretary
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