1. Presented by: Jennifer Goldson, AICP JM Goldson community preservation + planning Sept 20, 2013 C.40B Training Lowell, MA THE CASE FOR PLANNING AHEAD

2.  Be pro-active about housing instead of just reactionary  Plan ahead to gain control of community development  State recognizes these efforts and gives credit = more local control over development  Prior municipal action  Certification WHY PLAN AHEAD?

3.  What a community does prior to an application must be considered by the subsidizing agency in determining a project’s eligibility.  Comp Permit Regulations (760 CMR 56.04(4)(b)) defines “prior municipal action”  For example:  Inclusionary zoning  Multi-family zoning districts  C.40R Smart Growth Zoning Overlay Districts  Also: local funds for development project, disposition of municipal land, creating a housing trust, fund local homebuyer program PRIOR MUNICIPAL ACTION

4.  Certification allows denials of 40B applications to be upheld (for 1-2 years)  First, must have an approved Housing Production Plan (HPP) that includes:  Housing Needs Study  Goals  Strategies  Regulatory  ID specific development sites  Characteristics of preferred development  Second, approve # of new affordable housing units  Approved HPP readies community to obtain “certification” CERTIFICATION

5. Public Process COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO DETERMINE LOCAL HOUSING STRATEGIES

6. OBJECTIVES FOR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

7.  Facilitated public workshop  Online survey (or paper survey)  Focus groups  One-on-one Interviews  Traditional public hearing  Presenting at regular board/committee meeting  Other? KEY ENGAGEMENT METHODS Which methods have you had experience with in a planning process? How successful were they at engagement?

8. Traditional Public Meeting Community Workshop BEST PRACTICES FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

9. ① Visibility: local coverage, announcements, direct invitations to stakeholders ② Convenient time & location ③ Extra amenities – go above expectations: Child care, food, raffle ④ Appearance of exclusivity & RSVP advanced commitment ⑤ Clearly explain meaningful & direct impact The power of certification Help determine policy for future development What if you had to get a babysitter, leave work early, skip dinner, or, worse, skip NCIS to attend a public meeting? Would you still come out? JM GOLDSON’S TIPS TO GET PEOPLE OUT

10. TIPS FOR RUNNING THE WORKSHOP

11.  Educate through questions in an interactive style  Don’t bog them down in the details  Of course, we all know about using jargon TIP 1: PRESENT THE DATA, BUT MAKE IT INTERESTING About 30% of people in this room may be considered low-income; This reflects the proportion of low income households in your town.

12. TIP 2: LET PEOPLE AIR FEELINGS UPFRONT Pretty reasonable point of view, I’d say…

13. APPROACH FOR SETTING GOALS & PRIORITIES WITH CITIZENS

14.  Don’t begin with a blank sheet, give citizens some ideas first to react to  Build on past plans, policies, & actions  Confirm, challenge, or build  Use small discussion groups with mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions to discuss  Foster discussion by leaning toward an informal feeling – put citizens at ease TIP 3: YES, BUT GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO WORK WITH

15.  Evaluate priorities identified through community process to:  Determine feasibility of strategies & sites  Helpful to have a development consultant on team  Ensure priorities address housing needs – circle back to the data analysis and tie priorities directly to needs  Should have a municipal entity responsible for the plan to do this reality check (housing partnership, planning board, ad hoc task force) TIP 4: DON’T SKIP THE REALITY CHECK

16. QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? THOUGHTS?

17. Jennifer M. Goldson, AICP, owner JM Goldson community preservation + planning office. 617-990-4971 cell. 617-872-0958 email. jennifer@jmgoldson.comjennifer@jmgoldson.com facebook. www.facebook.com/JMGoldsonwww.facebook.com/JMGoldson blog. www.jmgoldson.comwww.jmgoldson.com CONTACT