Date: March 2, 2011
Location: 2nd Floor North Hearing Room, Hingham Town Hall
Called to order: 7:36 pm
Attendance: Tim White, Kevin Connelly, Blake Auchincloss, Gretchen Condon, Laura Burns, Susan Crowley and Gary Ludwig. Jim O'Brien joined the meeting after roll call.
With a quorum present, Tim White opened the meeting. He summarized the creation and purpose of the Trust, the acquisition of the 80 Beal Street property, the history of the request for proposals and selection of Strekalovsky Architecture Inc., the creation of the current concept site plan, and the Trust's intention and work to date in preparing a LIP (Local Initiative Program) application for submittal to the Commonwealth for the 80 Beal Street Property.
80 Beal Street Update and Community Presentation: Tim White introduced Vcevy Strekalovsky, President of Strekalovsky Architecture Inc. Mr. Strekalovsky introduced the other members of his team: Peter Palmieri, a civil engineer from Merrill Associates; Sally Coyle, a landscape architect from Coyle and Caron; and Lynn Sweet, a financial and permitting consultant from LDS Consulting Group. Jim O'Brien joined the meeting. Mr. Strekalovsky presented the proposed site plan and summarized the proposed project as a low impact development of eight detached housing units on three acres, with each unit being 1,200 square feet and having 3 bedrooms, a garage and a farmer's porch. He also reviewed the cottage community style of the project, the walkable nature of the community, the existing street view photograph of the property taken from Beal Street, and the removal of the railroad tracks. Ms. Coyle reviewed the site plan, the 12' road/driveways in the front and back of the development, the 18' main road, the saving of the large maple tree, the preservation of some significant trees in the front, the designation of cottages 3 and 8 as the two affordable units with the remaining six units being market rate units, the existence of parking space for each unit, and the placement of cottage 7 approximately where the existing house is. Mr. Strekalovsky reviewed the desirability of the project, the derivation of the affordable unit prices, the anticipated pricing for the market units in the vicinity of $500,000, and the very low density for a 40B project. Ms. Sweet reviewed the statutory requirements for income determination, the anticipated pricing for the affordable units in the vicinity of $225,000, the only differences between the affordable and the market rate units being the level of interior finish, the plan for 1st floor masters with a total of three bedrooms, 800 square foot basements, and one car garages. She reviewed the ownership structure, which is proposed as condominium with common areas, the anticipated monthly condo fees, a deed rider which will limit resale pricing on the affordable units to ensure long-term affordability, the inclusion of one local preference unit, and the presence of a monitoring agent. Tim White noted that it is the Board's desire to have a monitoring agent with a Hingham connection. Ms. Jan Pickford provided public comment in favor of the site design and expressed concern regarding long-term monitoring of income of the affordable unit owners, and the number of 40B developments and other development in the area. Discussion followed regarding the Shipyard, the chain of title to the 80 Beal Street property, the analysis undertaken on the existing house, and the Trust's decision to demolish and not renovate the existing house. Mr. Strekalovsky and Ms. Sweet both commented on the statutory requirements of a 40B project, this project being a friendly 40B process, the Town' control over the property preventing an adversarial approach to the property's development, and the ability of a developer to put up to 36 units on the site instead of the eight units as proposed. Mr. Strekalovsky summarized the purpose of the application being to gain site approval, the 60 day waiting period after submittal, and the need to still go through the engineering, zoning and planning processes. Selectman Riley inquired about the process for turning the project over to a condominium association. Discussion followed regarding an additional RFP for a developer, restricting the developer's profit, the rights of review retained with respect to the Avalon project, restrictions and rights to be contained in the marketing plan, and the party who will be writing the condominium documents. Mr. Shane Ness provided public comment regarding surrounding property values and the pricing levels suggested for the 80 Beal Street units. Ms. Sweet explained the analysis used to determine the anticipated pricing and her conversations with local brokers. The Board explained to the audience the financial aspects of the project, the grant from the Community Preservation Committee as approved at Town Meeting, the nonuse by the Trust of any Town operating funds, and possible funding opportunities for a third affordable unit. Mr. Palmieri stated that the project is at a preliminary stage, it will be public sewer and water, and all interior utilities will be underground. He reviewed the small piece of wetlands, the anticipated traffic impact based the low number of units, road design, grade, stormwater drainage, and the intent to use low impact development techniques. Discussion followed regarding the development roads and the Trust's desire to design the roads to be acceptable to the Town. Ms. Sweet noted that the numbers as proposed show road maintenance by the condominium association. Discussion followed regarding the Selectmen's parcel and chain of title of 80 Beal Street. Tim White announced the plan going forward is to attend the Board of Selectmen's meeting next Tuesday March 8th to request their support and to then proceed with the LIP application.
The general consensus was to set the next meeting date for Wednesday April 6th at 7:00 pm.
Discussion followed regarding work to be performed during the 60 day waiting period after submittal of the LIP application. A motion was made by Jim O'Brien and seconded by Gretchen Condon to continue with engineering per the contract amounts while waiting for the Site Eligibility Letter. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
Discussion followed regarding the railroad abandonment permit application fee. A motion was made by Gary Ludwig and seconded by Kevin Connelly to approve the expenditure of up to $500 as needed for the filing fee for the application for the railroad abandonment permit. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
Ms. Sweet agreed to further research the monitoring agent issue.
A motion was made by Gretchen Condon and seconded by Susan Crowley to authorize the payment of $1,240 to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the LIP application fee. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
A motion was made by Blake Auchincloss and seconded by Susan Crowley to approve the payment of Strekalovsky Architecture Inc. Invoice #3 in the amount of $13,017.58 and Invoice #4 in the amount of $1,725. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
A motion was made by Kevin Connelly and seconded by Susan Crowley to reimburse Laurie Zivkovich $67.35 for the postage, envelopes and labels purchased for the mailing of the 80 Beal Street community meeting notification letter. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
A motion was made by Kevin Connelly and seconded by Susan Crowley to reimburse Laurie Zivkovich $75.00 for the membership fee paid for the Trust to join the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed.
Avalon Lottery Update: Tim White provided an update on his conversations with, materials obtained from, and procedures utilized by Blue Sky Advantage, the out-of-state lottery agent for Avalon. He noted that they have not provided materials referencing the procedures followed in 2009. The general consensus was that Jim O'Brien would request copies from Avalon of the 2009 record of Waitlist Management Update Notification Form which would have continued the position of the individual in question on the waitlist, the 2010 Removal from Waitlist Letter, and the 2009 First Placement Waitlist Update Notification Form. Jim O'Brien also reviewed his recent contact with Representative Bradley's office which confirmed that local preference is only considered when a lottery is established to fill housing units when first developed; and that any preference beyond the initial lottery would be determined by the developer or administrator of the particular housing project. Representative Bradley's staff will inquire about filing legislation to address the issue.
Adjournment: A motion was made by Kevin Connelly and seconded by Susan Crowley to adjourn the meeting. A vote was taken and all were in favor; the motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 9:32pm.
Respectfully submitted by: Laurie Zivkovich, Administrative Assistant
Approved on: April 6, 2011