HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - AHSC - 04/10/2019 Minutes of the Affordable Housing Committee
Tuesday April 101", 7 PM
Town Hall—Basement
Attendees: Robert Jeffers,Jack Creighton, Paul Kierce, Peter Hobson, Susan Sardina, Beth Tarpey, Clark
Brewer
Absent: Bridget Bearden, Melissa Weber
Guest : Alexis Smith, Peter Matchak
Meeting Called to order @ 7:08 PM
Minutes from previous meeting approved (Jack moved, Paul Second, unanimously accepted)
Paul Kierce asked to discuss an item that came up while he was at the Boston Housing Summit. A
Cohasset resident,who owns land is interested in developing affordable housing in Cohasset, shared
some ideas with Paul. Paul shared the high level of details of ideas in three areas around town, but
most of the time was spent on an area near town center. The committee expressed general approval
that the concept as it contained affordable housing units in a desirable location. However, no vote was
taken and it was pointed out, several other Boards would actually make the decision on whether any
project could move forward.
The rest of the meeting was spent discussing the committee's recommendation for housing goals within
the Housing Production Plan. In addition to the standard 10%Affordable Housing Stock to comply with
40B,the committee recommended that the town should look to encourage development of housing for
the following groups, regardless if that housing fits the technical definition to qualify for"Affordable
Housing". The housing should be affordable to the groups mentioned, but in some cases that may not
equal the states definition of affordable. In these cases, the housing may not be deed restricted,
allowing more flexibility.
• Senior Housing—We believe there is a need for smaller, more affordable housing for seniors
looking to downsize,while staying in the community. Many seniors are forced to move to
another town in order to downsize.
• Workforce Housing—We believe it would be beneficial if individuals who work in town had the
ability to be part of the community they work in. This could include town employees,teachers,
lobstermen or anyone working in the many establishments within town.
• Veterans Housing—We believe the town would support development of housing targeted for
Veterans. This could include communal living space as well as stand alone units.
• Affordable Housing—While we should be able to meet our goal of have 10%of our housing
stock count as affordable housing,the actual number of units available will be less than 10%.
This is due to the fact the state counts all units in complex if 25%or more of the units are
affordable. This means the actual number of affordable units will probably be around 3%to 4%
Meeting Adjourned @ 9:01 PM