Committee Report CR-1
The Housing Committee held a public hearing on March 10, 2004 beginning at 6:15 P.M. in the Sullivan Chamber for the purpose of receiving an update on the Trolley Square development.
Present at the hearing were Councillor Anthony D. Galluccio, Chair of the Committee, Councillor Marjorie C. Decker, Councillor David P. Maher, Councillor Brian Murphy, and D. Margaret Drury, City Clerk. Also present were Beth Rubenstein, Assistant City Manager for Community Development, Darcy Jameson, Director of Housing for Community Development (CDD) and Christopher Cotter, Housing Planner, CDD, Peter Daly, Executive Director, Homeowners Rehab Inc. (HRI), Jane Jones, Senior Project Manager, HRI.
Councillor Galluccio convened the meeting and explained the purpose. He began by asking the members of the public present to raise their hands if they had attended the public meeting that HRI had held about the project at the Peabody School. Somewhat more than half of those in attendance raised their hands. Councillor Galluccio then requested that Mr. Daly make a short presentation on the current status of the project, including some discussion of the concerns raised by residents at the Peabody School meeting to which Mr. Daly had indicated he would be responding at the next public meeting.
Mr. Daly began by thanking the City Council for its vote in May of 2003 transferring the land to the Affordable Housing Trust and setting parameters for the development. The architect used these parameters in the development of two options. The first option included 35 units of affordable housing, of which 28 would be rental and seven would be homeownership units, 1700 sq. ft. of commercial/community space, 3500 sq. ft. of public open space and 36 surface parking spaces. The second option called for 40 units of underground parking, 40 units of affordable housing, of which 8 would be homeownership units and 32 would be rental, 2300 sq. ft. of commercial/community space and 3300 sq. ft of public open space.
Mr. Daly reported that among the members of the community present, there was a preference for the second option. Concerns expressed by residents about the second option included a desire for a larger public open space that would reach down to Massachusetts Avenue, and less housing along Cameron Street and having the Cameron Street housing front on Linear Park. Mr. Daly said that the next step would be to come back for another community meeting in about a month, bringing plans that are much more embellished and incorporate as many of the community suggestions as possible.
There will be another community meeting closer to the start of construction, after a contractor has been selected. The contractor will attend that meeting and the meeting will focus on construction issues and mitigation plans. HRI will only deal with a contractor who is sensitive to neighborhood issues. Thereafter, there will be another community meeting about marketing. The start date for construction will depend on the availability of state tax credit funds. There are two rounds of tax credit awards scheduled for 2004. The first is at the beginning of June; the second is in November.
In response to a question from Councillor Murphy, Mr. Daly said that there is only a 50% chance that the project will be funded in the first round, because there are still projects in the pipeline from the previous year’s tax credit rounds. However, if it does not get funded in the first round, it almost certainly will receive tax credits in the second round.
Councillor Galluccio said that he had hoped to see more homeownership units, although he understands that there are often funding constraints with regard to the type of units that can be constructed. He urged Homeowners Rehab to give careful consideration to whether additional units could be homeownership units, so that there could be a little better balance of ownership.
Councillor Galluccio asked about the plans for the community space. He said that there are some exceptional community arts organizations in North Cambridge, for example, the North Cambridge Art Association (NOCA), Debby Mason’s School of Dance, and a children and family opera organization, that could provide benefits to the residents and to the larger community, and could even utilize the open space for performance space or summer art camps. He urged HRI to do significant outreach to the community organizations to get a good sense of the needs and interest of all of the potential organizations. He stressed the importance of a fair and open process.
Councillor Decker emphasized that the open space uses have to be respectful of the needs of the residents. They will not yet be living in their new housing at the time these decisions are being made, and it is essential to keep their needs and comfort in mind as well. Ms. Jones said that the plan is for the residents to have their own courtyard space as well, so that they will open space that is not the public open space. Mr. Daly added that HRI has successfully managed that sort of combination at Auburn Court.
Councillor Maher said that he has found this discussion very helpful. He urged HRI to continue to keep the neighbors well informed and to have signage on the site directing those with questions to a website that is updated frequently. He added that one issue for him is neighborhood preference. He requested that HRI make every effort to do outreach to North Cambridge families, especially for the homeownership units. Ms Jameson said that CDD holds information and help sessions to assist residents in the application process, and she believes it would be appropriate to hold some of those sessions in the North Cambridge area.
Councillor Decker noted that there is a philosophical disagreement among City Council members with regard to the appropriateness of neighborhood preferences and stressed the importance of being fair to all Cambridge residents in making decisions about scarce affordable housing resources. She does not support neighborhood preference.
Councillor Galluccio said that he has very mixed feelings about neighborhood preference. Rents in many private rental units have come down recently. Tenants in subsidized rentals continue to pay 30% of their income, and many tenants in Walden Square are paying monthly rents that would be sufficient to pay for a limited equity homeownership unit. This, in turn, would mean that another affordable unit would become available at Walden Square.
Tom Buffett, North Cambridge, former member of the Trolley Square committee, said that he disagreed somewhat with Mr. Daly’s characterization of the public opinion at the Peabody School meeting as establishing the second option as the favorite option. In his opinion, the feature of the second option that led to the favorable comments was the underground parking, and not necessarily the other differences between the two proposals.
K.D. Mernin, 14 Rice Street, NoCA, stated that NoCA is very excited about the possibility of the community space and is willing to help to administer the space for the benefit of the several community groups for which it will be useful. Councillor Galluccio said that he believes that there could even be the possibility of some rental income from some community organizations and reiterated the importance of broad outreach to involve many community groups in the process of deciding the disposition of the space.
Tahir Tirram, 69 Harvey Street, stated that most people at the Peabody School meeting liked the plan for underground parking. He also said that he believes that a building line five feet from the Massachusetts Avenue sidewalk is too close; the sidewalk should be 15 feet from the sidewalk.
Michael Brandon, 27 Seven Pines Avenue, stated that he was a member of the planning group established by CDD in the 1980’s to look at re-use of the Trolley Square site. He said that at the last community meeting, Mr. Daly appeared to assume that the community space would go to NoCA. The process should be opened up to the whole community. The North Cambridge Center for Families also is in need of space. Mr. Brandon also expressed concern about the litter-strewn current condition of the site and about the fact that neighbors are no longer allowed to park on the spaces that they had previously parked, even though there is no construction activity on the site at present. Mr. Brandon concluded by requesting that members of the Housing Committee attend the community meetings and by expressing concern about the level of environmental screening.
Geneva Malenfant, 14 Harrison Avenue, said that her impression of the Peabody School meeting was that people liked the underground parking because of the design and because it maximized the amount of housing that could be built on the site. She stated that David Sullivan, Notre Dame Avenue, was not able to attend this meeting and asked her to relay to the committee his similar feelings regarding the second option. Mrs. Malenfant added that she believes the concepts for the commercial piece need more work.
Nina Schwartzenchild, 28 Camp Street, said that at the beginning she was disappointed by the process, but she is very pleased with the project as it is going forward. She is pleased with what the City and HRI are doing.
Harry Johnson, President of HRI, stated that if anything has been critical to the success of HRI, it is their understanding that in every project they are guests of the community. Listening is crucial.
Councillor Murphy asked about the cost to the purchasers of the homeownership units. Mr. Daly replied that five units will go to families with incomes below 80% of median income, with the target average of 70% of median income, and three will go to families with incomes of 80 to 100% of median income, with a target average of 90% of median income. In response to a question from Councillor Galluccio about the number of bedrooms, Mr. Daly said that all of the homeownership units will have three bedrooms, and the rental units will be a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, such that the average number of bedrooms per unit will be a little over two.
Mr. Brandon asked about the status of the VFW site in North Cambridge and whether community space is still planned for that site. Councillor Galluccio said that he would allow the question in light of the close location to Trolley Square. Ms. Rubenstein stated that the site would be developed by CASCAP as 100% home ownership units. They are hoping to be able to create six to eight units. Ms. Rubenstein said that in light of the fact that community space is planned for the Trolley Square site, the City thought was that this entire space could be devoted to affordable homeownership. She emphasized that the project is in the very early planning stage.
Councillor Galluccio said that if construction is a year away, perhaps some parking could be restored to the neighborhood. Mr. Daly said that there would be heavy machinery and testing equipment on the site long before the beginning of construction, but that HRI will look at whether there is any way to accommodate this request.
Councillor Galluccio encouraged HRI to see this committee as an additional forum for dialog with the community when issues arise. He thanked all those present for their attendance. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.