A home rule petition to grant a property tax exception for registering affordable accessory apartments passed at Town Meeting, authorizing the selectmen to ask the state legislature to grant the petition. Following three public comment periods, the legislature will vote on the petition. If it passes, Harvard can implement its plan to register accessory apartments in Harvard as affordable. The plan is on track with new guidelines negotiated by Harvard with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).
Planners explained the merits of the petition, contrasting the 100 percent affordability of registered accessory apartments with the 25 percent rate of 40B developments.
“This is a one-to-one count for our affordable housing credits. It’s a modest cost to the town, compared with [the proposal for] Shaker Hills Golf Course, where the split is 105 market rate to 35 affordable units,” explained planner Kara Minar. Chris Ashley of Woodside Road spoke in favor of the petition, echoing Minar’s rationale. “Each accessory unit has potential to forestall three market-rate units,” he said.
Architect of the petition Barbara Brady expanded on what Minar called a “good deal” for the town, landlords, and tenants. “There is no apartment in town that I know of with rent that would exceed what is presented here.” For instance, one person would pay a rent of $1,058 on an income of $46,300 for an affordable accessory apartment.
Still, Bob O’Shea of Old Littleton Road thought an even better deal might be had, proposing an amendment to restrict rentals to those over 55. “Elders are a priority group,” he said, “with no addition of school children.” Brady spoke against his amendment. “To accept that amendment would be to disqualify the apartment as affordable,” since the DHCD would not accept the petition with the age limits. The floor defeated O’Shea’s amendment for an over-55 restriction.
Three-quarters through the debate, Moderator David Westerling tried to differentiate between the home rule petition, which would simply enable the program, and the detailed regulations that would make the program acceptable to DHCD. “We’re voting on the petition. We are not going to settle every detail today,” he said.
As debate continued, former Planning Board member Bob Lerner of West Bare Hill Road advised, “Don’t make zoning bylaw on town meeting floor.” Later, Stow Road resident Bonnie Heudorfer, a senior fellow at Northeast University’s Center for Urban and Regional Planning, agreed with Lerner’s zoning philosophy: “Making good zoning law is like making sausage. You don’t want to see it done.”
She urged Town Meeting to accept the article. “It serves young families, single people, older people,” she said.
