have you ever tried this

“Have you ever tried this?” The Housing Planners/Coordinators Network: a synergized approach to developing affordable housing

Session for the Southern New England American Planning Association (SNEAPA) Conference

Elizabeth DeMille Barnett, AICP, MODERATOR

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Housing Planners/Coordinators Network or the Housing Network

• Was formed in the Fall of 2011, following a Massachusetts Housing Partnership Housing Institute, by primarily small-town affordable housing staff and board members

• Meets on a monthly basis in each other’s communities for breakfast

• Participation is voluntary – members from a variety of professional backgrounds, e.g., planners, lawyers, community leaders, engineers, etc.

• Disciplined monthly “roll-up-your-sleeves sessions” with project progress updates and/charrette-style problem solving.

• Organization has served as a professional support incubator for both housing development and housing planning – sharing resources/experience ranging from planning and procurement to operations.

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Affordable Housing Timeline

• 1937 United States Housing Act• 1949 Housing Act of 1949• 1959 Housing Act of 1959 Section 202 and Section 221D3• 1965 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)• 1969 M.G.L. Chapter 40B – local permitting override for affordable housing• 1973 HUD Section 8 Program for New and Existing Housing• 1986 Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and the McKinney Act • 1989 HUD HOME Program• 1993 HUD Hope VI (unit rehabilitation/replacement)• 1997 Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC)

pre-development loans and supportive housing financing• 2000 Massachusetts Community Preservation Act –funding for

Community Housing development/establishes Municipal Affordable Housing Trusts

• 2012 HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) - rehabilitation of existing developments

(Massachusetts initiatives in italics)

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2016 Affordable Housing Resources(Massachusetts)

• 1937 United States Housing Act• 1949 Housing Act of 1949• 1959 Housing Act of 1959 Section 202 and Section 221D3• 1965 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)• 1969 M.G.L. Chapter 40B – local permitting override for affordable housing• 1973 HUD Section 8 Program for New and Existing Housing• 1986 Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and the McKinney Act • 1989 HUD HOME Program• 1993 HUD Hope VI (unit rehabilitation/replacement)• 1997 Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC)

pre-development loans and supportive housing financing• 2000 Massachusetts Community Preservation Act –funding for

Community Housing development/establishes Municipal Affordable Housing Trusts

• 2012 HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) - rehabilitation of existing developments

(Massachusetts initiatives in italics)

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Housing Network Topics: affordable housing and public private partnerships

• Areas highlighted today:

• Demand vs. supply – Fran Stanley, Housing Coordinator, Groton, MA

• Who, what and where?: Easton’s experience maximizing opportunities – Wayne Beitler, Community Planner, Easton, MA

• Aligning the stars: the political challenges – Laura Spear, Vice-Chair, Stow Affordable Housing Trust, Stow, MA

• Mobilizing the army: the logistical challenges of affordable housing implementation – Adam Duchesneau, AICP, Town Planner, Boxborough, MA SN

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• “Today’s local housing developer (community side) needs to be able to work with architects, engineers, state officials, understand financing deals, and be a team player.”

-- Seasoned Massachusetts state housing veteran

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Housing Network: Affordable Housing Projects

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E. BARNETT END

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Housing Network Panel

Fran Stanley

Housing Coordinator

Groton, Massachusetts

Located 35 miles northwest of Boston and 15 miles south of Nashua

Groton’s Community Profile

Land Area: 32.5 square miles

Population: 10,937

Government: Open Town Meeting

Affordable Units: 215 units or 5.47%

Roadway miles: 107

Public Water: 60%

Public Sewer: 15%

Rivers: Nashua & Squannacook

Open Space: 41% land area or 8889 acres or

ACEC: 88% of Town in either Squannassit or Petapawag

Age restricted homeownership units. Senior subsidized housing allowed under local zoning. In Massachusetts, age restricted affordables allow applicants to have more assets than the typical affordable unit. Highly successful.

Affordable Housing Trust invests in development to create 3 affordable homeownership units. Development features re-use of historic building, siting of affordables with proximity to Town Center amenities and is an infill development. Project started in 2012 and is still being built out.

Housing Network colleagues have offered practical suggestions based on their community’s experiences. Those varied ideas and suggestions have improved my ability to support Groton’s existing affordable/subsidized inventory.

Examples:

• Sharing information about DHCD oversight of affordable units. • Resolving monitoring issues.• Assisting affordable homeowners with questions about condo

association governance, home repairs, property taxes.• Sharing ideas to support maintenance of existing subsidized rentals

offered through the housing authority.• Assisting households in need of subsidized and affordable housing.

Thank you.

Fran Stanley 978.732.1913

Housing Coordinator fstanley@townofgroton.org

Groton in 1886

F. STANLEY END

Incorporated in 1725, Easton is 28 miles south of Boston 26 miles northeast of Providence

Town of EastonMassachusetts

Easton’s Community Profile

Land Area: 28.44 square miles

Population: 23,357

Government: Open Town Meeting

Affordable Units: 826 units or 10.19 %

Roadway miles: 129 (121 Municipal, 8 State)

Public Water: 98%

Public Sewer: 5%

Open Space: 32% land area or 6,002 acres

ACEC: 8,960 acres in Hockomock Swamp or

Canoe River Aquifer ACECs

Town of EastonMassachusetts

In the past decade Easton became very proactive in planning for diverse

housing options

• Queset 40R “Smart Growth” mixed-use zoning overlay district (2008 Town

Meeting)

• Offices, stores, 60 condos, 220 mixed-income rental apartments

• Waste-Water Treatment Facility also supports abutting new Queset

Commercial zoning overlay district (2015 Town Meeting)

• Encouraged several “Friendly 40B” apartment developments

• 290-unit mixed income Avalon Easton development mitigation

included tying Five Corners area into neighboring sewer district,

supporting higher-value commercial development (2015 Town

Meeting)

Town of EastonMassachusetts

Ames Shovel Works –

rehabilitation of historic factory

complex into 113 mixed-income

apartments

• $3 million preservation

restriction purchase

• $4.35 million loan

• 10-year Tax Increment

Financing agreement

• Waste-Water Treatment Facility

for Shovel Works and historic

downtown commercial district

• (2011 Town Meeting)

Town of EastonMassachusetts

Affordable Housing Trust (2008

Town Meeting)

• Mostly CPA Funds

• Homebuyer Assistance Program

(5 Units, $269,056)

• Housing Authority Roof &

Windows (87 Units, $366,589)

• Exploring Rebuilding 1 Housing

Authority House (~$200,000)

• Exploring Building Veteran’s

Housing (~8 Units, ~$400,000)

• Part-time Staff Salary (Also

Supports 40B/40R etc.)

Town of EastonMassachusetts

Only a small number of volunteers and professionals do this specific work,

which is fairly complicated and arcane. Most of that work is in cities which

operate at larger scales and with more professional and non-profit support

and programs.

Housing Network contacts and discussions have been invaluable in helping

me support Easton’s community housing goals.

Examples:

• Group provides very accessible “peer to peer” learning environment

• Group provides venue to invite expert guests (State, non-profits, etc.)

• Informal discussions provide real-world examples of RELEVANT successful

projects & programs in similar suburban towns

• Informal discussions help map out complex projects and timelines

• Informal discussions help strategize for maximum effectiveness structuring

deals, public relations campaigns, regulatory approvals, etc.

Town of EastonMassachusetts

Town of EastonMassachusetts

Wayne Beitler, M.A., Community

Planner

Town of Easton

136 Elm Street

Easton, MA 02356

Direct Line: 508-230-0645

E-Mail: wbeitler@easton.ma.us

W. BEITLER END

H O U S I N G N E T W O R K : L A U R A S P E A R , S T O W,

M A

SNEAPA 2016

Incorporated in 1683, Stow is 21 miles west of Boston

TOWN OF STOW

STOW’S COMMUNITY PROFILE

Land Area: 18.1 square miles

Population: 6590 (2010)

Government: Open Town Meeting

Roadway miles: 60

Municipal Water: 0%

Municipal Sewer: 0%

Affordable Units: 179 units or 7.16%

Open Space: 1000 acres of protected conservation land

plus 1300 acres owned by U.S. Government and

Commonwealth of Massachusetts;

50% of undeveloped land in Stow is in a Chapter

61 program

SMAHT: ROLE AND EXPECTATIONS

• Provide 10% certified affordable housing but not…• In anyone’s backyard or on an abutting parcel

• In existing golf courses

• In existing apple orchards

• In the center of Town

• In Chapter 61 land

• At the expense of undeveloped open space

• At any cost

• Know everything about Chapter 40B, Housing Production Plans, Community Preservation Act, Chapter 61 (61A, 61B), LIPs, zoning, HUD, affordable housing development community, federal and state funding sources and subsidies, legal defense, state and federal grant programs, affordable housing trust requirements, procurement laws, etc… as volunteers

AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXAMPLES: NOT SUCCESSFUL

241 Boxboro Road, Stow

AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXAMPLES: NOT SUCCESSFUL

323 Great Road, Stow

AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXAMPLES: NOT SUCCESSFUL

Plantation 2

AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXAMPLES: SUCCESSFUL

CPA funds for buying, selling, renting,

and rehabilitating housing units on the

subsidized housing inventory facing

foreclosure proceeding

AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXAMPLES: SUCCESSFUL

AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXAMPLES: SUCCESSFUL

Pilot Grove 2: Partnership with Stow Community

Housing Corporation, CPA funds

AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXAMPLES: SUCCESSFUL

Pine Point parcel (municipal land): SMAHT granted control by Town Meeting

PROCESS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON MUNICIPAL LAND

Key Steps Activities

1 SMAHT assesses parcels for suitability for development of affordable

housing

2 SMAHT informs Board of Selectmen (BOS) of intent to proceed with one or

more parcels, formally requests control of property

3 BOS distributes memo of intent to all Town Boards and committees, solicits

feedback

4 If needed, SMAHT and BOS sponsor Joints Boards meeting

5 BOS decides whether to move forward

6 If proceed: SMAHT and BOS draft Town Meeting article

7 SMAHT does community outreach and education

8 Town Meeting decides whether to change use and grant control to SMAHT

9 If approved: SMAHT further investigates technical and financial feasibility

and issues RFP for development if appropriate

10 Developer selected based on RFP criteria

Similar to surplus property process

LESSONS LEARNED

• No one has all of the answers

• Don’t get discouraged -- keep plugging away

• Communication with all stakeholders is essential

• Make sure you have

a great support

network

HOW HOUSING NETWORK HELPS

1. General support

2. Prior experience from the trenches

3. Information sharing

L. SPEAR END

Adam Duchesneau, AICP

Town Planner

Boxborough, Massachusetts

Boxborough: A Rural, Engaged Community for All

Boxborough’s Community Profile

• Land Area: 10.4 square miles

• Population: ~ 5,000

• Government: Open Town Meeting

• Affordable Units: 23 units / 1.12%

• Roadway Miles: 45

• Public Water: None (wells only)

• Public Sewer: None

• Open Space: 1,415 acres / 21.3%

Adam L. Duchesneau, AICP

Town Planner

Town of Boxborough

29 Middle Road

Boxborough, MA 01719

978-264-1723ADuchesneau@Boxborough-MA.gov

A. DUCHESNEAU END

QUESTIONS FOR PANEL?

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THANK YOU!

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