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From: Jeff Hoyland - bedfordhoyland@aol.com
Date: 1/6/2003
Time: 1:57:59 PM
Remote Name: 66.31.43.46
The simple answer is "Mostly YES". To break it down into parts: " 1) What preservation standards would the developer have to meet in order to qualify for the preservation restriction (and therefore for the CPA funds). Do they need to meet the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation or can they do substantial reconstruction." It's up to your town to decide what the "EXACT" standards would be. The Town Of Bedford opted for the same standards that are used by the Commonwealth and the Dept. of Interior, so that any project should be able to get matching grant funds from the Commonwealth and the Federal government. " 2) As this is a 40B project, a third of the units will have to be affordable. Aside from the town purchasing an additional unit (above that required anyway), is there any way that CPA affordable housing money can be directed to this project, for example, to improve its appearance or the quality of construction? Your next qustion is about from which of the "BUCKETS" of money should the project count. This is a tough one that your CPC will have to decide. I'm assuming that you are not going to pay for the whole project out of CPA funds. How much of the project is actual restoration of the existing historic buildings? How much are you actual going to pay for the affordable housing sections. In Bedord, we are funding the restoration of the Union School building, which is also having an addition added on. Qustions we had to ask ourselves: Is putting in a new heating system for the whole project a restoration of the old part of the building, or is it additon to the new part of the building? Do you really need to split hairs on which are new pipes and which are restoration of the old pipes? We were afraid the accounting might be a nightmare. You will probally have to have two different articles at town meeting -- one for the historic restoration, and one for the affordable housing section. There might also be a third way to fund the project and that is to have aprt of the land be for recreation use. The Town of Bedford CPC thought of projects just like that where a historic house is restored, additon affordable housing is built on the land, and protion of the land is made conservation land, and another peice of the land is made into a playground. The nice thing about the CPA money is that you are allowed to be creative so that you can spend the money in the way that best improves your town. Good Luck.