Affordable Housing Trust Fund - Sep 26th, 2024

Meeting held via remote participation. Materials were available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/34786/.

Action Plan Implementation

(Karen Kelleher, AHTF Chair) Ms. Kelleher would like to discuss the Trust Fund's action plan, and steps taken to fund the Housing Corporation of Arlington's (HCA's) projects.

(Neal Mongold, AHTF) Mr. Mongold says there are two projects. The first is a new apartment building planned for 10 Sunnyside Ave in East Arlington. There will be 43 apartments, and HCA is working to finalize contractor plans and subcontractor bids. They hope to start construction by 2025. The trust contributed $250k towards this project.

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher asks about the total project costs. She notes that 10 Sunnyside Ave will include some extremely low income units, which require an operating subsidy.

(Neal Mongold) Mr. Mongold doesn't have an exact number, but he believes the total cost will be over $25M. Federal Home Loan Bank funds are going towards this project, along with a number of other funding sources. He's pleased that HCA was able to receive funding so soon after the Downing Square/Broadway initiative.

HCA's second project is an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 40 Dorothy road. It's a pilot project, where the ADU is replacing a garage on a site that HCA already owns. It's a very energy efficient building. Lottery applications will remain open until October 7th, and there have been over 200 applicants so far. Mr. Mongold says the number of applicants should paint a picture of how much demand there is for affordable housing.

(Jack Nagle, AHTF) Mr. Nagle says the construction was done off-site, which means that prevailing wage requirements do not apply. He thinks that's a huge benefit for low-income housing developers.

(Neal Mongold) On the preservation side, Mr. Mongold says that HCA is also performing a capital needs assessment.

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher thinks the Dorothy Road ADU was innovative, and one of the first affordable ADUs in the state. She understands that it's all electric, and was built to passive house standards.

(Jack Nagle) Mr. Nagle says the Arlington Housing Authority (AHA) is working on the creation of a new group home for special needs individuals. There will be services on site for the people who live there. AHA is working with the Executive Office of Housing and Liveable Communities, as well as the Department of Developmental Services. He says the new building will have some accessible rooms, and they're also planning to redo part of the parking lot for improved accessibility. It will also be passive house compliant.

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher stresses the importance of having supportive housing.

She'd like to move on to the Acquisition, Creation, and Conversion (ACC) program. This is a town effort to create new affordable housing through the use of ARPA funds. She says they've received a variety of applications from a range of stakeholders, and she's pleased to see such a range of proposals. She says the application period ends at 5pm on September 30th.

(Sarah Suarez, Assistant Planning Director) Ms. Suarez says her department has been working with several applicants. Folks have been very cooperative and eager to participate. She lists some of the proposals they've received, which includes an applicant that's interested in purchasing a multi-unit building. She says the trust may need a special meeting to review the applications.

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher thanks Ms. Suarez for her work during the last months. She says that staff support has been critical in this effort.

(Sarah Suarez) Ms. Suarez says the Town Manager is eager to see the proposals, and what we can leverage. She reiterates that September 30th is the application deadline.

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher says ACC has been a cool pilot, but can't be our only strategy.

Community Engagement

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher says there are two upcoming forums. The first is scheduled for October 7th, and we'll use that to talk about strategies for creating affordable housing. The second forum will explore a challenge that we've identified -- that it's difficult to build affordable housing in Arlington. We'll talk about an affordable housing overlay as a potential way to address that.

Treasurer's Report

(Jaclyn Pacejo, AHTF) Ms. Pacejo requests that the treasurer's report be deferred until the next Trust Fund meeting.

Community Preservation Act for FY 2026

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher would like the Trust Fund to apply for CPA monies. We've submitted applications in the past, in order to further trust fund goals. She'd like to apply for up to $500k, and says there are specific action plan items the money could be used for.

(Eric Helmuth, AHTF) Mr. Helmuth says that CPA funding is an iterative process. The CPA committee often starts with basic ideas, and then works with applicants to refine them. He says the CPA committee likes being able to leverage funds, and would likely be excited by using a grant of $250--500k to access a larger pool of money.

He understands that affordable housing providers need operating cost subsidies. CPA funding tends to follow a Town Meeting cycle, since Town Meeting has to approve the grants each year. He makes a motion to authorize the chair to submit a $500k application.

(Jack Nagle) Mr. Nagle says that having money in the Trust Fund allows the Arlington Housing Authority and Housing Corporation of Arlington to go there during the year. He says it's a great resource. He'd also like to look at the feasibility of modular construction.

(Neal Mongold) Mr. Mongold asks about the percentage of CPA funds that are allocated to affordable housing. He hopes there will be more than $500k spent in that area. He says that the Trust Fund allows a timely response to issues that come up during the year.

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher says there could be a conversation about how much of CPA funds are spent on affordable housing.

(Jaclyn Pacejo) Ms. Pacejo asks how much CPA money we have during a typical year.

(Sarah Suarez) Ms. Suarez says we had $2.5M in CPA funds for FY2023. That year, 53% went to open space, 15% went to historic preservation, and 37% went to community housing.

(Eric Helmuth) Mr. Helmuth says the percentage allocations vary from year to year.

(Jack Nagle) Mr. Nagle asks if CPA funds can be used for housing preservation

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher answers in the affirmative.

The Trust Fund votes to authorize a $500k application for CPA funds, 5--0.

Town Day

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher says the Trust Fund had an active booth at town day, even with the rain.

(Jaclyn Pacejo) Ms. Pacejo asks for a vote authorizing $89.99 to be spent on a tent, for future town days.

Motion passes, 5--0.

Public Comment

(Karen Kelleher) Ms. Kelleher notes that several Trust Fund members have 8pm commitments, so the meeting will have to end at that time.

(Carl Wagner, Edgehill Rd) Mr. Wagner says he recently heard about the Affordable Housing Overlay, which he believes is another density overlay. He understands there's a group that's working on this proposal. He'd like to know about their meetings and how the Trust Fund is involved.

(Kristin Anderson, Upland Road West) Ms. Anderson runs a business in the heights. She's heard that the overlay would open up the business and industrial zones for housing. She says we need more affordable housing and more businesses. She doesn't think we need to sacrifice commercial buildings for housing, and believes that people want a diverse set of uses.

(Peter Bermudes, Belknap St) Mr. Bermudes has a question about HCA's modular ADU, and the comment about not needing to pay prevailing wage. He asks if that means we're not paying minimum wage. He'd like to make sure that we're not paying people less for Arlington's benefit.

There are no further comments from the public.

Meeting adjourned.