RESIDENT INPUT NEEDED!!!

Transcription

1 RESIDENT INPUT NEEDED!!! A Public hearing will be held January 31, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the Arcand Meeting Room Bellingham Municipal Center 10 Mechanic Street, Bellingham MA To discuss a potential grant application to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in cooperation with the Town of Hopedale for funding from the 2017 Community Development Fund (CDF) The proposed grant application will seek funding to continue and expand to a town-wide basis in both communities the successful Housing Rehabilitation Program which provides low and moderate income homeowners with funding to make repairs to their homes, as well as other potential eligible activities. There will also be a discussion of the 2017 updated Community Development Strategy (CDS) which is required as part of the grant application and which identifies priority community development projects for the Town of Bellingham over the next 3 years. This meeting will be broadcast on Bellingham Community Access TV for those unable to attend in person. Residents are invited to attend, and if they wish to comment upon the grant application and/or the CDS they may do so at the meeting, or by submitting written comments by mail or to: Denis Fraine Town Administrator 10 Mechanic Street Bellingham, MA dfraine@bellinghamma.org by no later than 5 p.m. on February 15, 2017 A copy of the draft Community Development Strategy is attached for your review.

2 BELLINGHAM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY What is a Community Development Strategy? Why does Bellingham need a Community Development Strategy What are Bellingham s needs and priorities? What are Bellingham s Target Areas? What else should the Town consider? The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) requires communities to prepare a Community Development Strategy (CDS) to assess the Town s overall community development needs. The Town then organizes the identified needs into a framework for addressing them. The CDS also identifies target areas for revitalization. DHCD requires that communities submit their Community Development Strategy as part of any Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application. The CDS, once approved, is valid for three years. In recent years, Bellingham has completed a number of planning efforts. Most recently, in connection with its 2013 CDBG application, the Town submitted a Community Development Strategy that ranked priority community development needs (see attached list). It is now time to review and update the list of priority projects and programs in preparation for submitting a 2017 CDBG application. For the last several years, the Town of Bellingham was required to identify a target area for expending CDBG funds, and chose South Bellingham (the area south of Blackstone Street) as its target area. For 2017, the target area requirement has been eliminated. This provides an opportunity, if the community wishes to do so, to provide services such as the long standing Housing Rehabilitation Program to residents of the entire Town, rather than just within the target area. This is a matter the town must discuss and decide upon. DHCD asks that when municipalities formulate their Community Development Strategies, that they consider how their strategy will correlate with the following sustainable development principles: 1. Concentrate development and mix uses 2. Advance Equity 3. Make efficient decisions 4. Protect land and ecosystems 5. Use natural resources wisely 6. Expand housing opportunities 7. Provide transportation choice 8. Increase job and business opportunities 9. Promote clean energy 10. Plan regionally

3 Bellingham Overview TOWN OF BELLINGHAM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Bellingham is a moderate sized residential community situated on the I-495 corridor on the southwestern fringe of metropolitan Boston at the Rhode Island border. Although settled since the colonial era, the town has never experienced any prolonged periods of intensive industrial or commercial development. Bellingham evolved from agricultural village to rural small town and to bedroom exurb without becoming an important economic center. However, over the past 20 or so years this development pattern has been changing substantially. The dramatic upsurge in business activity in Bellingham is a consequence of many factors. Heavy development of Boston s inner suburbs and towns along Route 128 has resulted in land shortages, high prices and congestion which, in turn, increased the attractiveness of development of the I-495 corridor. Today, Bellingham has a much larger commercial base, due in part to changing local attitudes and improvements to public infrastructure. Unlike the past, Bellingham is now prepared for and strongly interested in economic growth. Bellingham is committed to providing good municipal services. This commitment is best typified by the construction in recent years of a new fire station, police station, municipal building, senior center, elementary and high schools, as well as improvements to the town s playgrounds and recreational facilities. The Town has also recently appropriated $15 million to construct two water treatment facilities, one to be located at each end of Town. A Comprehensive Planning Process Community Outreach and Participation C Bellingham has engaged in a comprehensive community-based planning process over the last decade, involving all segments of the community at each step along the way. The Bellingham that residents envision has been made clear through citizen input at numerous workshops and forums held as part of a master planning process and other planning initiatives; in fiscal and policy decisions made at Annual Town Meeting and at the polls; and from advocacy positions taken by community leadership that are backed with community support. All of these activities demonstrate that local needs have been identified and priorities determined in a comprehensive manner. Citizens input, visions and desires have been captured in various planning documents that have guided policy, growth and (re)development in Bellingham to this point and that will continue to do so in the future. The Bellingham Master Plan, originally adopted in 1998 and updated in 2010, is the primary document that identifies the kind of town residents want Bellingham to be. It addresses the potential threats and moving to secure a desirable community through The plan presents goals and objectives for ten key areas of interest: Land Use and Growth, Town Center, Housing, Community and Economic Development, Community Facilities, Circulation, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Open Space and Recreation, and Cultural Resources. The Bellingham Community Action Statement also guides the town administration s important decisions. It was developed with the cumulative efforts of the Finance Office, Department of Public Works, Bellingham Public Schools, Conservation Commission, Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator, Planning Board, Parks Department, Fire Department, and Police Department, as well as many other boards and committees and town residents. Town needs are identified in the areas of Administration, Budget, Finance, Accounting and Assessing, Community and Economic Development, Housing, Land Conservation, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Zoning, and Public Works. The original CAS (later revised) was initially written two years prior to the master plan, and many of the concerns that Bellingham identified at that time carried through to the 1998 Bellingham Master Plan. Other topic-specific planning efforts that Bellingham has completed include: the 2015 Housing Production Plan, an Open Space and Recreation Plan for Bellingham that is currently being updated; a Capital Improvements Plan; a Water Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Report, a Smart Growth study and plan for a mixed-use zoning overlay to encourage development of the Pulaski Boulevard corridor in south Bellingham. Page 1

4 The Community Development Strategy Bellingham has invested considerable time and effort into translating the thoughts and ideas of its citizens and public officials into a Community Development Strategy that can serve as a legitimate basis for and roadmap to becoming a town that reflects the character and ideals its residents value. The community development goals and priorities cited in the documents named earlier are summarized in this Community Development Strategy. Goals and Objectives are outlined below in major categories and are followed by a list of actions to be taken in support of those goals and objectives. Goals and objectives for Land Use: 1. Carefully weigh unwanted outcomes from the past in the formulation of the Town s land use goals and regulations; 2. Manage future growth and prioritize smart growth; 3. Balance the use of the land (type of use) and investigate future regional planning possibilities; and 4. Maintain the diversity of living environments and housing that currently exists and promote programs aimed at helping older people to stay in their homes Goals and objectives for Town Center and Village Areas: 5. Build on a major local initiative to create a traditional town center, centered on a newly-created town common; 6. Maintain a user-friendly environment to both automobiles and pedestrians; 7. Allow the Bellingham Town Center to be a place of business, culture and natural surroundings; 8. Develop the Center in the character envisioned by residents and users; and 9. Revitalize other neighborhood areas, including redeveloping the Pulaski Boulevard corridor in south Bellingham as an attractive mixed-use district. Goals and objectives for Housing: 10. Address housing affordability, target needs and promote diversity; and 11. Direct efforts to the physical and socio-economic conditions of populations that show the greatest need, including rental housing, housing inhabited by the elderly and existing housing stock. Goals and objectives for Community and Economic Development: 12. Maintain a balanced relationship between housing and job growth; 13. Continue to promote the development of low-impact manufacturing, research, warehousing and other industries in previously-developed areas with appropriate infrastructure and adequate transportation access; 14. Select businesses which best promote the town objectives and help strengthen themselves and those businesses which they surround; 15. Offer lower income and elderly homeowners a place to turn for assistance with rehabilitation; and 16. Offer low- and moderate-income residents of the town additional resources to stabilize and improve their economic status by providing financial literacy training, as well as information about and access to available resources provided by federal, state and local agencies to increase income, decrease expenses, or better manage existing resources. Goals and objectives for Community Facilities and Services: 17. Provide more adequate programs and facilities for the police and fire departments, local library, Department of Public Works, school facilities and senior center. 18. Continue to implement actions outlined in the town s recently completed A.D.A. (Americans with Disabilities Act) Transition Plan to make needed changes to ensure that all of the town s buildings, facilities, services and programs are accessible all, including persons with disabilities. Page 2

5 Goals and objectives for Circulation: 19. Accommodate through-travel safely with minimal congestion and with the lowest feasible impact on the natural environment; 20. Provide adequate access to all areas of the town for resident convenience while minimizing the intrusion of excess traffic into residential environments; and 21. Provide for modal choice when feasible. Goals and objectives for Infrastructure: 22. Balance the relationship between development and infrastructure capacity; 23. Adequately serve residents and local businesses in order to protect public health and the environment; and 24. Avoid excessive public costs for utilities Goals and objectives for Natural Resources: 25. Safeguard natural resources; 26. Preserve what open space the town currently has; 27. Obtain as much as possible in the future; 28. Protect priority habitats, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, scenic landscapes and public water supply resources; and 29. Conserve energy when possible. Consistency with Sustainable Development Principles The goals and objectives listed above are consistent with the Commonwealth s Sustainable Development Principles as shown on the chart below: Sustainable Development Principle (SDP) Goals (from above) meeting SDP 1. Concentrate Development and Mix Uses 1-4,8,9,10,11, 12,14, 2. Advance Equity 3-5,8-12,15,16,18,20,23,24 3. Make Efficient Decisions 1-3,9,12,22 4. Protect Land and Ecosystems 1,2,7,13,22,23, Use Natural Resources Wisely 1-3,8,9,11,13,,20,23, Expand Housing Opportunities 2-4,8-11,12,15,16, 7. Provide Transportation Choice 2,3,6-9,13,20,21 8. Increase Job and Business Opportunities 2,3,7-9,12-14,24 9. Promote Clean Energy 15,23, Plan regionally 1-3,10-12,19,21,25 Actions and Planned Activities In order to achieve the Goals and Objectives outlined above, a number of actions will be required. As can be seen, these are policy and regulatory actions, as well as bricks and mortar projects. These are listed below, with responsible parties, anticipated resources and actions to date in italics shown in parenthesis after the action item: Strengthen regulatory decision-making criteria and development choices: review subdivision regulations and propose appropriate zoning amendments (Annual Town Meeting/Planning Board/Town Planner); ongoing Page 3

6 Establish an Economic Development Commission to provide assistance and direction to proposed developments and Town Boards. (Town Planner, Town Administrator, Board of Selectmen) ; Develop pedestrian facilities like sidewalks, curbing and clear crosswalks (local funds, c.90 funds, CDBG, CDAG, private developers) (DPW, Town Planner, Community Development Office) ongoing; Complete needed road improvements throughout town and identify additional resources for doing so. (local funds, CDBG, c. 90 funds), (The DPW will be responsible party for design, bidding & construction. The Selectmen and Ad Hoc Road Committee, established in 2007, help the DPW decide where to spend appropriated funds. Funding is well below what is needed to achieve sustainability of the roadway system. (DPW, Board of Selectmen, Town Meeting) ongoing: Examine current zoning and propose zoning revisions to create a village center overlay district to enhance the environment surrounding the former commercial parcel that the town developed into a new Bellingham Town Common (local funds and private contributions) (Annual or Special Town Meeting /Planning Board/Town Planner)2019 Continue efforts to redevelop the town-owned Pearl Street Mill complex (acquired through tax title) in north Bellingham, into a mixed use development, emphasizing elderly housing and/or assisted living. The town, utilizing a Brownfields grant, cleaned up the site with the exception of some additional asbestos that was discovered after funding ran out. Local funds will be used to remove the remaining asbestos. The property will then be put out to bid. (PDF grant application, local funds) (Town Meeting, Board of Selectmen, special ad hoc reuse committee) Provide technical and financial support, as appropriate, to foster micro- and small- business development. Development Handbook updated December 2007-forms and applications available online. (seek state and federal grants, such as EDA, CDBG and PDF) (Planning Department) ongoing Improve housing quality and expand availability, especially for elderly and lower income residents Complete 2015 CDBG Housing Rehab Program activities and apply for 2017 CDBG funding. Expand program to include entire town to address unmet needs of LMI owners and renters in North Bellingham not in the current target area. (Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator, Grant Consultant) Provide high quality, efficient and accessible public facilities; since 1997, the town has constructed, a senior center (local funds), a new high school (local and SBAB funds), reuse of old high school as middle school, local and SBAB funds; and a new town office building and new Police Station (local funds) completed; Continue to budget for and make changes recommended in 2014 ADA Transition Plan, (Town Meeting, Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator, DPW) ongoing Manage land use plan with traffic in mind (Planning Board/Town Planner/DPW); ongoing Investigate alternate north and south routes along with alternate transportation modes (MassHighway); ongoing Strengthen local capacity to assess development proposals to ensure that they contribute to sought-after solutions consistent with the Master Plan and Community Development Strategy (Planning Board/Town Planner/DPW Director and other land use regulatory bodies), ongoing GIS Mapping capacity continues to be expanded. DPW has completed mapping of water and sewer lines. Future updates will make current paper plans and maps available electronically (DPW) ongoing Promote water conservation (DPW/DEP grants); (The Town Planner/ Zoning Agent has also taken over the unofficial title of DPW Public Education Administrator and manages public education and outreach for both water conservation, water resource protection, and stormwater pollution awareness) ongoing Explore a water use review in the zoning regulations and revisions of zoning to avoid sewer extensions to new residential development. Stormwater Management Handbook completed in December 2007 and available online for new and major upgrades to existing developments (Planning Board/Town Planner) ongoing Page 4

7 Fund next stage of sewer development to increase system capacity. Bond authorization article defeated by Annual Town Meeting, and is being resubmitted for Wethersfield West neighborhood at Next Town Meeting (Annual Town Meeting) October 2017 Provide financial assistance to individual homeowners to upgrade/replace septic systems in areas not served by town sewer (BOH, CDO using CDBG and DEP SRLF) (Board of Health, Community Development) ongoing; Research potential grant applications and strengthen town regulations relating to water resource protection (Conservation Commission, Charles River Watershed Association); ongoing Pursue leads for undeveloped land that could be obtained for future protection and preservation (CPA, CGI, DEM); ongoing Implement EnergyStar requirements for all town-managed projects, including a town-sponsored housing rehabilitation program (various funding sources); (Community Development Office) ongoing Maintain current diversity as a theme that runs through each goal and action. (All municipal staff and boards) ongoing Updating the Community Development Strategy In December of 2016 and January of 2017, two public forums (December 29th and January 9th) were held to discuss and update Bellingham s Community Development Strategy. In order to increase participation, both an evening meeting and an afternoon discussion were held. The evening meeting was conducted in the Arcand Meeting Room at Bellingham Municipal Center on January 9 th and that meeting was televised on local cable access television and by the Milford Daily News, the local newspaper of record. A daytime session was held at the Bellingham Senior Center on Blackstone Street on December 29 th. Both meeting sites are accessible to disabled participants. At those public forums, participants discussed specific priority needs and projects that were planned or underway to meet those needs. The meetings also included a discussion of the Commonwealth s Sustainable Development Principles and their relationship to local needs and strategies. The current Community Development Strategy was made available for review and public input was solicited. The draft updated CDS was made available on the Town s website as well as at the Municipal Center, Community Development Office and Senior Center. An article was also run in the Senior Center Newsletter asking for comments. There was also a discussion of the upcoming Massachusetts Community Development Block Grant (MCDBG) funding round. Participants at both meetings expressed interest in applying for funds to continue the successful regional Housing Rehabilitation Program in collaboration with the Town of Hopedale. Members of the Board of Selectmen expressed an interest in applying for funding to make sidewalks more accessible and to install additional ramps at intersections. As this project would require more planning and design work than could be completed for the upcoming grant, it was added to the list of projects to be considered for future funding rounds. Changes to the Grant Application requirements in 2017 will allow the Towns to apply for Housing Rehabilitation Funding to do projects anywhere within the two towns, as opposed to just within the two target areas. This is expected to allow the program to serve a large number of income-eligible property owners who have not been eligible in prior years due to the target area requirements as prior grants. Only emergency repairs (failed heating or septic systems, for example) were eligible for assistance outside of the target area with a maximum of 20% of available grant funds. In Bellingham this will open the program to all of North Bellingham (North of Blackstone Street) and help to address the needs of low- and moderate- income homeowners outside the current target area who have long been requesting assistance. A Public Hearing held as part of the January 30, 2017 Board of Selectmen s meeting will also provide an opportunity for resident involvement and input. The public hearing was advertised twice in the Milford Daily News and posted in municipal buildings and on the Town s website.. Residents who did not have an opportunity to attend CDS Forums were given the opportunity to comment on the CDS at this meeting or by writing or ing the Town Administrator s Office or the Community Development Department.. Page 5

8 The draft Community Development Strategy was also posted on the Town of Bellingham s website with a request for comments from residents. Geographic Target Area for Community Development Activities For 2017 (and perhaps only for this year) MCDBG grant applications do not carry the Target Area Requirement for funded activities. For a number of years, CDBG funded activities had to be largely confined to a designated target area, which in Bellingham was comprised of the portion of town from Blackstone Street south to the Rhode Island border. While public service programs could be conducted town wide, the Housing Rehabilitation Program and any other construction activity were required to be conducted within the target area (with the exception that emergency repair needs outside the target area could be completed with up to 20% of available grant funds). This has led to a pent up demand for assistance among low and moderate income property owners in the northern part of Bellingham which can be addressed if 2017 grant funds are received Community Development Strategy Priority Project List 1. Continue the long-established housing rehabilitation program by submitting an MCDBG FY 2017 application, with funds to be made available to LMI households throughout the Town of Bellingham and continue the collaboration with the Town of Hopedale in regard to this program. In 2015, the Town of Franklin was added to the regional housing rehabilitation program, but demand for the program in Franklin was disappointing with few units completed and the Town of Bellingham has decided to return to the Bellingham-Hopedale regional program that was initiated with the 2013 grant application and which has been successful. The expansion of the program to allow income-eligible property owners throughout the two towns to participate is expected to further strengthen demand for and success of this long standing and popular program. Estimated Timeframe: Application by March Program (if funds awarded) July 2017 through December Continue to make infrastructure improvements to roads, sidewalks, water and sewers both in the South Bellingham and throughout the Town using local funds and to seek additional funding through other available resources. The Town continues to appropriate funding each year to augment Chapter 90 funds in support of this work. Cooperation with private utilities to relocate utility poles cited in the middle of sidewalks to allow for sidewalk usage by all users will continue. Estimated Timeframe: planning/design, underway(ongoing); construction 2017 and later 3. Continue to annually budget for and complete changes recommended in the 2014 ADA Transition Plan to ensure that all facilities, services and programs are accessible to all residents. Explore options for making local sidewalks more accessible to those with disabilities and to install additional access ramps at intersections where needed, possibly with future CDBG funds. Timeframe 2014 and ongoing: 4. Complete the disposition and redevelopment of the Pearl Street Mill. Redevelopment, (heavily dependent on economy and real estate market). 5. Continue to work toward Re-use of the Former Macy School site for additional housing, including affordable housing through a Local Initiative Program effort. (2017 and forward). The town is proposing to sell the site to a private for-profit or not-for-profit developer to build 12 units of homeownership housing consistent with the character of the surrounding neighborhood provided that 25% of the completed units are affordable to low and moderate income homebuyers. 6. Continue to work with private housing developers to maximize affordable unit production within planned developments. Development of projects under the 40B and Local Initiative Program continues at Taft Estates, Lakeview Estates, as well as seven other units that shall be deed restricted in perpetuity through the Town s Inclusionary Housing Bylaw. Page 6