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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMaster Plan Council 01/08/1987Date of meeting: Members Present: TOWN OF MANSFIELD MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING January 8, 1987 Kelli Spedden Steven Chapman Robert Whitney Stuart Sweet Ed Broderick William Madan Leigh Ann Foster Douglas Annino The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. Richard Callinan Ralph Seifert Stephen Calvin Allen Willis Carl Nelson George Wojtkiewicz Joanne Colella The minutes of the December 4 meeting, having been mailed to all members for their review prior to this meeting, were not read. A motion was made by Mr. Willis, seconded by Mr. Chapman, and passed by unanimous vote to accept them. Correspondence A letter was received from Ron Doucette regarding his resignation from the Council, effective December 1, 1986, due to his transfer to Virginia. A memo was received from Linda Sohn, dated January 6, 1987, regarding the Easton Ground Water Survey, which is being prepared for the town of Easton by IEP, Inc. A copy of this survey will be sent to the Council when it is completed, as it also provides information on Mansfield's ground water supply. It is possible that joint action between towns may be recommended. Old Business Ms. Spedden noted that she had met with the Board of Selectmen, and the Doug Annino's membership on the Council as a citizen -at -large (appointed by the Planning Board to replace Ron Doucette) was approved by the Board of Selectmen, and he was officially welcomed to the Council by Ms. Spedden. The Board of Selectmen has discussed and agreed with Ms.Spedden that, due to the volume of information already received and reviewed by the Council, it would be difficult for a person appointed after this date to familiarize themselves with all the work already completed, and that in the future if a member resigns from the Council, a replacement will not be appointed unless that member is the Planning Board or Board of Selectmen representative. Mr. Callinan updated the Council on the status of the "informal survey" questionnaires. The deadline had been extended to January 7, 1987, and approximately 500 questionnaires had been received. This represents about a 15% response and is felt to be acceptable. TOWN OF MANSFIELD MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING - 1/8/87 Old Business (cont 2 Mr. Callinan stated that since it is crucial to determine the accuracy of the informal survey, he and IEP, Inc., were proceeding with the scientific survey discussed at the December 4 Council meeting. As discussed, IEP will tabulate the results of the scientific survey and Council members will tabulate the results of the informal survey. Mr. Callinan asked all members to pick up a portion of the informal questionnaires at the end of this meeting. New Business Mr. Madan updated the Council on the meetings of the Water/Aquifer Protection Committee, stating that their goal is to complete a report which will be included in the Master Plan process. Their meetings to date are concentrating on gathering information from a number of guest speakers; once they have completed this phase they will begin drafting their report, which will be forwarded to the Council. Presentations by Consultants Dr. Rolf Goetze and Mr. Bob Catineau of Connery Associates presented to the Council their Affordable Housing Opportunities Report and Affordable Housing Techniques Report (which they had mailed to all members previous to this meeting), and reviewed the slide presentation they had made of their Housing Needs and Opportunities Report at the regional housing meeting at Wheaton College. Dr. Goetze began his presentation of housing needs by reviewing the changes in housing that have taken place in recent years. - Increasing demand for housing has led to higher purchase prices and rents, making housing less affordable to lower income and long term residents. - Mansfield's population age distribution has been swinging towards an older population, introducing needs for different types of housing. - As shown in their report, Mansfield's housing stock is predominantly owner -occupied single family units. - Median home values have increased faster than household incomes, making home ownership less affordable. In summary, Dr. Goetze stated that the new diversity of housing needs creates a need for a diversity of housing responses, including differing types of housing and living arrangements. Mr. Catineau, using slides, provided an overview of Mansfield's housing supply, presenting examples of new multi -family development, j building re -use projects for multi -family, and accessory apartments in some older large homes. Also using slides, he presented some housing alternatives existing in other towns, including building re -use projects, manufactured housing, and 0-lotline townhouses. TOWN OF MANSFIELD MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING - 1/8/87 In conclusion, Dr. Goetze presented their recommendations for answering some of Mansfield's housing needs. These include: - adopting standards permitting more diverse new development - adopting cluster housing, smaller lot zoning, manufactured housing - adopt some incentive zoning - allow some adaptive re -use - consider real estate transfer tax - provide homeowner, and/or rental assistance 3 Mr. Catineau concluded that at this point Connery Associates needed the Council's views on each of these recommendations before proceeding any further. In discussion with Dr. Goetze and Mr. Catineau, Council members brought up the following points and questions: - What does Mansfield want to provide in housing? It was felt that this question would be answered by responses to the questionnaires in both the scientific and general survey. - Mansfield's ability to benefit from linkage programs - Pros and cons of a possible transfer tax - The need to set aside land for multi -family housing for the Housing Authority's use. Dr. Goetze distributed to Council members and those Mansfield residents in the audience a sheet which listed possible housing initiatives and asked that each person rank these in order of priority. He polled those present for their first two choices to better direct this discussion. The top two choices were B (adopt cluster and smaller lot zoning) and D (adopt incentive zoning to encourage the private sector to build units specifically for those in need). The Council was reminded that cluster zoning had been previously defeated in town meeting. It is felt by some members that with time for more study, more public education, and presentation to town meeting by consultants, it could be worthwhile to present this option again. Mr. Catineau reminded members that cluster housing is not necessarily affordable housing, and the possibility of combining cluster zoning with incentive zoning was discussed. The Council discussed the need to determine what segment of the population to provide housing aid to, where to encourage development, and the need to encourage commercial activity near new housing development, if outside the downtown area. Also discussed was the £ need to streamline the development review process and establish what is and is not a wetland. TOWN OF MANSFIELD MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING - 1/8/87 0 Mr. Catineau stated that Connery's next step was to come back to the Council with more specific information on those alternatives felt best suited to Mansfield and begin a step by step process of writing up those proposals which will eventually go to town meeting. The Council discussed the need for an additional January meeting to review the results of the general survey and to discuss information gathered up to this point. Mr. Chapman made a motion that a meeting be held at 7:30 PM on Thursday, January 22, 1987, which was seconded by Mr. Madan, and passed by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM. Respectfully submit/ted, / Deborah Hillman, Secretary