Guidance for FY 2022 - DRAFT - City of Chelsea MA
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Adopted XXXX XX, 2021
Guidance for FY 2022 – DRAFT
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
Bea Cravatta, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Division
Judith Dyer, Conservation Commission Representative
Caroline Ellenbird, Member At-Large, Vice-Chair
José Iraheta, Member At-Large, Chair
Johnathan Gomez-Pereira, Member At-Large
Alex Barcarcel, Historical Commission Representative
Yahya Noor, Clerk, Member At-Large
Juan Vega, Chelsea Housing Authority Representative
Mimi Rancatore, Planning Board Representative
Chelsea Community Preservation Plan FY22 Guidelines •1
Adopted XXXX XX, 2021
Introduction
Since the 2019 approval of the Community Preservation Plan the CPC has completed annual updates at the turn of the fiscal
year. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic that largely spanned over March 2o20 – May 2021, multiple concerns and needs
regarding housing security, public health, and outdoor amenities have become more prevalent in communities across the
City of Chelsea. Although the overall scope of the Plan still stands, it appears that there is a shift in the prioritization of the
existing goals within it. This addendum serves as guidance for the for the Community Preservation Committee over the 2022
fiscal year.
FY ‘22 Funds and Allocations
AVAILABLE FUNDS
The remaining available funds from the years prior to FY ’22 are $955,811, in addition to these funds it is anticipated that the
local surcharge tax will bring in $770,046. The forecasted State match is $246,262, bringing the total FY ’22 budget to
$1,016,308. The CPC allocated the required minimum funds (10%) to each category and 5% of the total funds to
administrative expenses with the remaining funds (65%) being placed into the budget reserves.
Category FY ’22 Fund Designation
Affordable Housing (10%) $101,631.00
Open Space & Outdoor Recreation (10%) $101,631.00
Historic Preservation (10%) $101,631.00
Administrative Expenses (5%) $50,815.00
Undesignated (65%) $660,600.37
Community Engagement
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, in person community engagement opportunities were not possible. The community was
able to provide input regarding the CPA funds for the upcoming fiscal year through an online and paper survey, that was
open for 6 weeks. Additionally, an online public meeting was held on April 29th.
PUBLIC MEETING
The public meeting was held via Zoom and live shared on the City Facebook page on April 29th at 5pm. Approximately 15
people were in attendance and they were able to actively participate and respond to the survey questions via Mentimeter.
The general sentiment regarding prioritization was that housing should be considered the number one priority and within
the realm of affordable Housing, increasing homeownership and improving existing housing & preserving affordability
should be the primary focus. Regarding the prioritization of Historic Preservation, the participants found the current order
Chelsea Community Preservation Plan FY22 Guidelines •2Adopted XXXX XX, 2021
of goals to be appropriate. However, the participants
believed that the creation of waterfront parks was most
important and improving access to existing parks was the
least prioritized.
COMMUNITY SURVEY
The community survey was open between April and May
2021 and was available via Google form and in paper
applications that were shared with a variety of Chelsea
community organizations. The paper applications were
also added to the CPC display at the 440 Broadway
Gallery (Figure 1). From the survey, 119 responses were
collected with two not qualifying, bringing the total
eligible responses to 117.
Figure 1: CPC Display at 440 Broadway
DEMOGRAPHICS
The survey respondents were somewhat representative of the community with nearly 50% 0f all respondents identifying as
Hispanic. The median income was similar to that reported by the Census (2019); however, this does not account for residents
who may not have been included in the Census. Furthermore, a majority of the respondents speak English at home and are
long term (10+ years) residents.
SURVEY RESULTS
The survey results were collectively calculated, then also subdivided amongst English speaking households and Spanish
speaking households in order to determine if there were any differences in priorities. Overall, the funding distribution
skewed more heavily in favor of utilizing the funds to support Open Space and Recreation projects. Although lower in overall
allocation percentages amongst all respondents, Spanish speaking households still strongly favored the use of funds for
Affordable Housing. Historic Preservation funding percentages were determined to be lower in all groups than projected in
the 2020 Preservation Plan.
Figure 2: Survey Results - Preferred Funding Allocation
Chelsea Community Preservation Plan FY22 Guidelines •3Adopted XXXX XX, 2021
Affordable Housing
When presented with the opportunity to rank the existing Preservation Plan Housing goals it was found that all groups
believed increasing homeownership was the most important. Spanish speaking households found that creating and
preserving ELI units to be the second most important, while English speaking households placed improving the existing
housing stock and creating more affordable units was in this rank. The lowest priority of all groups was supporting existing
organizations in Chelsea.
Open Space and Recreation
The overall ranking and ranking amongst English speaking households for Open Space and Recreation goals was found to
be in the exact order which the goals were presented with the most important being to improve existing parks and open
space, while the lowest priority was found to be outdoor space for teens. However, creating outdoor space for them was
found to be the second highest priority within Spanish speaking households, even though no teens participated in this survey
Furthermore, Spanish speaking households heavily prioritized the creation of parks & gardens.
Historic Preservation
Both English and Spanish speaking households prioritized improving outdoor public spaces, then improving accessibility to
public historic resources. Following in priorities was inventorying historic resources and improving existing parks and open
space.
Recommendations
Although this guide does not rigidly prescribe the CPC to any actions or uses of the CPA funds, this does help the Committee
in guiding their decision making on projects over the next year as the City recovers from the COVID-19 Pandemic. For this
reason, paired with the results from the community survey, changes to the undesignated funds allocations in each category
are recommended. In addition, the order of the goals for each category should be taken as the ranking of their priority level
over the next year.
UNDESIGNATED FUND ALLOCATIONS
Affordable Housing’s percentage allocations based upon the survey results averaged to 35% overall, with 26% (English
speaking households) and 38% (Spanish speaking households) allocations. However, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and
the increased awareness of housing insecurity and overcrowding within Chelsea residences the allocation from the 2020
Plan update will remain at 40%.
There has been a striking increase in the desire for outdoor public space and recreational opportunities, also due to the
COVID-19 Pandemic, which is highly reflected in the survey results. In order to ensure that all potential Open Space &
Outdoor Recreation projects have the opportunity to be fulfilled, it is recommended that the funding percentages for this
category are increased by 5%.
Historic Preservations allocation will remain the same as in FY ’20 with 20% of the total funds designated to it; however, the
undesignated funds will decrease to 5% with administrative expenses remaining at 5%.
Category Fund Percentages
Affordable Housing 40%
Open Space & Outdoor Recreation 30%
Historic Preservation 20%
Administrative Expenses 5%
Undesignated 5%
Chelsea Community Preservation Plan FY22 Guidelines •4Adopted XXXX XX, 2021
PRIORITY SCALE – REORDERING TO IDENTIFY MORE IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
COMMUNITY HOUSING GOALS
1. Increase the city’s homeownership rate for low-income households.
2. Utilize existing housing stock to create permanently affordable units for Chelsea residents that
in the process improves conditions of Chelsea’s housing stock.
3. Create and preserve affordable units for—and provide support to—Chelsea residents who have
extremely low- to low-income, and residents with special needs.
4. Mix housing with parks, playgrounds, and other green space—and integrate sustainability and
energy-efficiency efforts.
5. Support CPA-eligible initiatives of existing housing-oriented organizations.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION GOALS
1. Improve outdoor public historic places and public monuments.
2. Improve public accessibility to historic resources.
3. Preserve historic archives including city records.
4. Continue to inventory Chelsea’s historic resources to complete city and state records in
accordance with CPA eligibility.
OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION
1. Improve and maintain existing parks, playgrounds, and other open space facilities.
2. Improve and create waterfront access.
3. Improve public access to and safety in existing parks, playgrounds, and other open space.
4. Integrate green infrastructure and open space into City’s neighborhoods, such as community
gardens, rain gardens, and pocket parks.*
5. Protect key parcels that enhance community resilience in the face of climate change impacts.
6. Create more outdoor recreation spaces that cater to teens.*
*these were highlighted as the two main priorities for Spanish speaking households
Chelsea Community Preservation Plan FY22 Guidelines •5You can also read
