Andover
Affordable housing fund approved

Until recently, if a city or town wanted to establish a trust fund to promote affordable housing, it had to file a Home Rule petition with the Legislature. But legislation enacted in January changed that, and last month Andover became the first community in the state to move toward creating such a fund on its own.

On May 2 Town Meeting voted to establish the trust fund, although officials still need to draw up the fund’s bylaws, which will be voted on at a future town meeting.

“The legislation is pretty broad,” said Senior Town Planner Lisa Schwarz. “This way we can look at it and decide exactly what responsibilities we want the board [overseeing the trust fund] to have.”

The fund will be used as a repository for grants or gifts that the town receives related to housing, as well as for proceeds the town is entitled to under certain circumstances when affordable housing is sold. For example, if a bank forecloses the mortgage of an affordable home and then resells the home at market rate, a community receives the difference between the market rate and what the home would sell for as affordable housing. Without a trust fund, that revenue would go into a community’s general fund.

Andover, which is above the state-set affordable housing target of 10 percent, wants to make sure it is in position to replenish its affordable housing stock if necessary, Schwarz said. Had the new legislation not been enacted, Andover likely would have filed a Home Rule petition. “But,” Schwarz said, “I think it would have been more complicated, and definitely lengthier.”

A measure to create a trust fund was also on the Town Meeting warrant this spring in North Andover. But selectmen chose to withdraw the proposal in order to develop language more suited to the town’s needs, according to Town Planner Lincoln Daley. A new version is likely to be introduced next year, he said.


Framingham
Town OKs downtown housing TIF

Framingham is close to becoming the first community to capitalize on a state law that makes it possible for developers to obtain tax breaks for projects in downtown areas that include affordable housing. On May 5 Town Meeting removed the most significant hurdles to plans for a development that would include 290 apartment units as well as 50,000 square feet of commercial space.

“It could really change the face of downtown,” Town Manager George King said of the project.

He compared the potential impact to that of Cronin’s Landing in Waltham, a residential development on the Charles River that helped that city’s downtown evolve into a popular restaurant district.

“If there is one thing that you absolutely have to do to rejuvenate a downtown,” King said, “it is to get people living there.”

The developer of what is known as the Arcade project in Framingham has indicated that the development would not be feasible without tax incentive financing. While TIF has long been available for commercial or industrial projects, it was only recently expanded to include housing in urban centers. The new rules will make the Arcade project developer eligible for about $7.8 million in property tax breaks over the next 20 years. Framingham is projected to receive about $16.5 million in tax revenue from the development during that period, $11.5 million more than it would have if the property remained undeveloped.

The Department of Housing and Community Development and the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council still must sign off on the plan in order for the Arcade developer to be eligible for the tax incentives.


Stoughton
Administrator puts spin on phone music

The music is always changing at Stoughton Town Hall, where Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz draws on the public library’s CD collection for tunes to play while callers are on hold.

Depending on the week or time of year, callers might hear rock, jazz, blues, country/Western, or classical; Christmas music, Jewish music, Irish music, Brazilian music or Portuguese music; or Broadway tunes or Hollywood movie themes. The genre changes every couple weeks, after Stankiewicz returns from the library with selections for the five-CD changer that was set up after a new phone system was introduced in Town Hall about a year-and-a-half ago.

Stankiewicz said he began playing the variety of music not only to ease the monotony of being on hold, but also to draw attention to the town library’s music collection.

Previously, only classical music had been used, and “one person actually did call [to complain]. He wasn’t enthralled by hearing ‘Ave Maria’ when he was on hold.”

On the other hand, Stankiewicz said, “Some of the older residents don’t much care for rap music,” which has been played when movie themes are being featured.


Franklin
Common gets National Register designation

Franklin’s Town Common has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a move that local officials sought in order to have more control over the widening of streets and other public projects in the area.

The new designation, which includes surrounding homes and buildings established near the four-acre common in the 19th and early 20th centuries, means that any proposed public projects affecting the district will need to be reviewed by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.

“If there is no other way of doing something, this [designation] isn’t going to stop it,” said Carol Harper, Franklin’s planning and community development director. “But if you have someone who says, ‘Build me the widest, straightest road possible,’ this forces the engineer to consider other options.”

Franklin’s Historical Commission, aided by a town-hired consultant, had been seeking the designation for about four years, Harper said. Following the recommendation of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the National Park Service certified the designation on March 31.


This monthly column features regional and local news briefs related to local government in Massachusetts. To suggest a news item for this column, contact Mitch Evich at the MMA (phone: (800) 882-1498; fax: (617) 695-1314).