Sharon Housing Partnership

May 7, 2008 Meeting Minutes- Approved June 10, 2008

 

In attendance: Jane Desberg, Mary Tobin, Susan Saunders, Alan Lury, and Warren Kirshenbaum

 

Meeting Minutes

Approved February 6, 2008 and March 6, 2008 SHP Meeting Minutes.

 

Change of SHP Meeting Time and Day

After some the discussion the group decided to meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 PM.

 

Avalon Sharon

About two weeks ago Jane Desberg met with Scott Dale from Avalon and Ben Puritz, Sharon Town Administrator. During the meeting Jane asked Mr. Dale whether Avalon would consider donating the 1.79 acre parcel on Edge Hill Road abutting the Avalon Bay complex to the SHP. This parcel is zoned as Rural District 1. The inquiry was met with some interest and Jane Desberg will follow up.

Twenty-eight of the 39 affordable units have been awarded to Sharon residents. It is unknown at this time how many of these individuals/ families will accept these awards. Approximately 50% of the market rate units have been rented.

 

Sharon Commons

Attorney Bob Shelmerdine contacted Jane Desberg regarding meeting with the SHP. The group discussed the reported difficulty this project is having attracting stores and the fact that many other large scale malls are being developed in the local area.

 

Wilber School

The ZBA hearing on this project is coming to a close. It was thought that the ZBA would vote on this proposal at their next meeting.

 

Simpson

Proponents of this project have resubmitted their application to ZBA. The new proposal has considerably fewer units and is thought to have addressed safety concerns regarding egress. Jane Desberg will contact Simpson representatives to get more information.

 

Hunter’s Ridge

It appears that work has stopped on this project. It is unknown if there has been a decision regarding this project’s request to the Sharon Planning Board to change its age requirement.

 

Old Business

Home Rule Petition

Susan Saunders and Jane Desberg reported on their meeting with Representative Kafka and the Housing Committee. This committee expressed little to no support for this petition and it is most likely that the Bill will not be moved forward.

 

Community Preservation Draft Plan

Jane Desberg and Mary Tobin worked on the draft and sent their revision to Jennifer Goldson. Ms. Goldson suggested that the CPC will be reviewing all comments at their upcoming meetings. The changes to the original draft included changing the focus from rental to home ownership and including the development of new affordable housing. Mary Tobin will send the revised draft to the other members of the SHP for their records.

 

Horizons for Youth

There has not been any follow up to the SHP presentation to this committee. The Sharon Conservation Committee and the Sharon School Committee have also made recent presentations to this group.

 

New Business

Susan Saunders and Warren Kirshenbaum expressed interest in attending the Annual Housing Institute Conference June 12-13th at Babson College.

 

Glenview House Lottery

MA DHCD requires that even for a single affordable home, all steps in the process, including submission of a marketing plan and lottery application to DHCD for approval, must be carried out. Jane Desberg has been in contact with the Randolph Housing Authority and they will provide SHP with a copy of their marketing plan. Warren Kirshenbaum suggested he has a recent lottery application and will send a copy to Jane. Marketing and administrative costs  will be paid from the $5000 contributed to the SHP account by the MBNA group.

The group discussed how to proceed regarding getting  this property prepared for sale. Jane Desberg will get a copy of the existing lease from the Town. Mary Tobin mentioned that the front of the house appears to have some staining on the siding. The group decided that it is important to move ahead quickly to access money in the Glenview account for purposes of preparing the property for sale. Jane Desberg will contact the BOS to get on their agenda.

 

Sacred Heart Re-use Committee

This group has contacted Jane Desberg . They are interested in having the SHP present ideas to them regarding re-use of this property. The group discussed whether this property was designated by previous legal action to be used only for recreational purposes. Several members suggested that this was in fact the case. The SHRUC requested someone from SHP appear at their meeting on May 21.