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Thursday, June 20, 2013

By Jack Shea
Published: June 18, 2009

Chilmark town officials and residents debated heritability rules for affordable housing recipients Tuesday. The debate also extended to whether the town can force developers to create affordable house lots and whether the town or donors should select homesite recipients.

Selectman J.B. Riggs Parker argued that the town needs new bylaws to govern creation of affordable housing lots and choice of recipients. His colleague Warren Doty argued the town has the right to exact the lots and choose the recipients.

The debate arose around implementation guidelines proposed by the town's housing committee. The town planning board favors demanding that an affordable housing lot be donated by a developer. The housing committee has proposed that if three or more lots in a subdivision will be sold for profit, a fourth lot must be designated for affordable housing, and the recipient chosen by the town, housing committee chairman Andrew Goldman said. The town now allows large lot owners to carve a substandard lot of at least an acre from their holdings, if the remainder amounts to at least three acres. In such cases, the town allows the property owner who creates the substandard lot, which must be sold or given as an affordable housing lot, to choose the recipient of it.

Frank Fenner, the third selectman, acknowledged what he said were valid concerns on both sides of the lot designation question. Mr. Doty and Mr. Parker did not share his generous embrace of the issues, particularly on the question of whether land donors or the town ought to designate recipients. Mr. Doty supported the town's right to select recipients regardless of the donor source, citing his experience as chairman of the housing committee several decades ago when the committee designated recipients of what were called "youth lots," on which mostly young residents could build homes.

Mr. Parker argued that there is no force of law to support Mr. Doty's position. "That has been the Chilmark practice - that you need to [provide a lot in exchange for development approval]. But it's not a power we have. Now comes the housing committee and says developers can't designate the recipients. That's double jeopardy. First, they donate the lot, then they can't designate the recipient," he said.

Mr. Parker said the matter should go before the town and that the town's bylaws ought to reflect the voters' judgment. "We shouldn't shave it or body English it. It's improper," he said.

"It is proper," Mr. Doty said.

Mr. Parker cautioned that more work is needed on bylaws regarding homesite awards. "We have people coming here now that know the rules," he told Mr. Doty.

Debate also considered deed riders permitting children of affordable housing recipients to inherit property regardless of income and whether private and commercial developers should be allowed to designate recipients of affordable lots they donate to the town.

Dardanella Slavin, winner of the town's first home site lottery in January, and Jennifer and Lev Wlodyka told selectmen that heritability by children of affordable home owners should be allowed regardless of income.

"I just wanted to come and support this," Ms. Slavin told selectman as she managed her slightly squirmy two-year-old son, Quinlan. "Family continuity is important here. If he becomes a cop and makes a little too much money, he ought to be able to stay in the house he was raised in," she said of her son. Ms. Spavin's husband, Sean, is a West Tisbury police officer.

Brian Cioffi, a former homesite recipient, also spoke in favor of passing on his house to his children. Mr. Cioffi was recently named the town's police chief.

Selectman Frank Fenner was clear on his priorities. "To me, families are the important thing. That's the core. If kids don't meet income guidelines, that's only one guideline. There are other regulations that will keep the housing affordable."

Jennifer Wlodyka, an aspiring affordable home owner, said, "We want you guys to be able to interpret, to have discretion (in awarding home sites). The sense of community is why we live here and not in New York City."

Lev Wlodyka, Jennifer's husband, expressed frustration with the process. "I understand that this is a difficult process, but it goes on and on," he said. "Hey, I'll sign an open deed. I need a home and yard."

"We don't have consensus. We're not going to pass anything tonight," Mr. Doty observed.

In other news, selectmen, following a public hearing, approved construction of three new utility poles sought by NSTAR to provide service to the Middle Line Road affordable housing project.

They also asked school superintendent James Weiss to provide a detailed plan and a financial pro forma describing use of the former Edgartown School to house administration staff.

Selectman Frank Fenner expressed concern that the large Edgartown building will lead to expansion of administrative staff. "As a selectman, I've watched the school budget grow," he told Mr. Weiss. "I get nervous when I see a building like that being used. If you build it, they will come,"

Agreeing to provide as much detail as he could, Mr. Weiss said the school department would occupy only the upper floors and that the Martha's Vineyard Performing Arts Center would use the bottom level as a performance space.

Selectman were responding to Mr. Weiss's request to create a warrant article for a fall special town meeting authorizing him to sell the current administration building in Vineyard Haven and create a new building or use the Edgartown School.