MVC Advises Additional Review of Draft Bill for Housing Bank

By IAN FEIN

The Martha's Vineyard Commission last week recommended that draft legislation for the proposed Martha's Vineyard Housing Bank receive one more round of public comment across the Island before it is filed with the state legislature.

Housing bank representatives said yesterday they do not think it is necessary.

"We're not going back again for another official thing from the selectmen because we already have the vote of the population," said Abbe Burt, administrative coordinator for the Martha's Vineyard Community Housing Bank Coalition. "I think that we did all of our work for the past 10 months, and I think the people of the Island have spoken."

MVC chairman Linda Sibley agreed it was probably unnecessary, but said another round of support might not hurt.

"It's political advice," Mrs. Sibley said. "We think it would be a good idea to get support, but they may have another strategy. And they've really thought about it more than we have."

Approved in a nonbinding ballot initiative by voters in all six Vineyard towns last spring, the housing bank would generate revenue for affordable housing projects through a one per cent seller-paid transfer fee on real estate transactions more than $750,000. The concept is modeled after the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank, and could raise as much as $2.5 million per year for affordable housing.

Cape and Islands Sen. Robert O'Leary plans to file the bill in the state legislature later this month. Both he and Rep. Eric T. Turkington have described the road to passage as an uphill battle.

In a three-page letter sent to Ms. Burt last Friday, commission members provided input and raised questions about some of the elements of the draft legislation, but also offered procedural recommendations to improve its chances on Beacon Hill.

"In order to ensure strong public support for this legislation, it would be desirable to allow a final opportunity for public comment on the revised draft," the commission wrote, adding that a show of strong political support from town boards of selectmen, the Dukes County Commission, public and private nonprofit housing entities and other regional boards would resonate with leaders on Beacon Hill.

The commission noted twice in the letter that it has not taken a formal position on the draft legislation, but will consider endorsing it after reviewing a revised version.

The commission did, however, provide a preliminary vote of support last winter, prior to the annual town meeting circuit in the spring.

Mr. Turkington said yesterday that while additional endorsement from the commission and boards of selectmen could help the bill at the state level, the response at town meeting and in the ballot box last spring was strong enough to indicate Island approval.

"You can always use more support for any proposal, but town meeting votes are significant," he said.

The coalition held an Islandwide public forum about the legislation on August 30, and Mr. Turkington said an additional round of public comment was unnecessary because the bill likely will be changed multiple times during the legislative process.

"I wouldn't spend too much time fine-tuning it before it gets there," he said. "What the housing coalition sends up is the beginning of the process, not the end."

Both Mr. Turkington and housing bank coalition member John Abrams noted that Vineyard residents will have another opportunity to voice their opinions when the state legislature holds a public hearing on the bill. And if the legislation is approved at the state, it would still need to return to the Island for another round of binding votes.

"When the public really is going to react to this is if we can get through the legislative process," Mr. Abrams said. "And we don't feel it's worth going too far with it right now because we don't know what will happen at the legislature."

Mr. Abrams added that the draft legislation is making its way through the towns for one final review from counsel, and said he hopes Vineyard residents turn out for the legislature's public hearing, whether it is held in Boston or on the Island.

"We don't know yet where or when the public hearing will be, but certainly the Vineyard will be aware of it and we'll be pushing for supporters to come," he said.

Ms. Burt also said another round of comment is unnecessary because she received so little feedback during the previous two months, after sending the draft legislation to every board of selectmen, planning board and housing committee on the Island.

"We sent it to 32 committees, and not one of them came back and said they think it should be different," she said.

Ms. Burt and Mr. Abrams both said they appreciated the comments from the commission, which were more extensive than feedback received from other organizations. They said the coalition plans to meet this week to incorporate some of the commission input, and will likely go back to the MVC with the revised draft per its request.

The commission in its letter to the coalition, noted that the housing bank town advisory boards would be more accountable to the public if some of the members were elected, and that an exemption should be added for real estate transactions related to a divorce, as it is for the land bank.

The commission also expressed concerns about the $750,000 exemption price - an aspect of the draft legislation that Ms. Burt and Mr. Abrams said might be changed this week.

"Although the under $750,000 exemption was part of the proposal approved by the towns, there was not much discussion of this formula at the time and concerns have been raised more recently about the application of this technique, especially for houses selling in that price range," the commission wrote in its letter, noting that a house selling for $749,999 would have no fee but one selling for $750,001 would be charged a $7,500 surcharge.

"Another formula (such as an across-the-board exemption for a lower amount) might deal with this issue and could potentially generate the same revenue," the commission added.

Mr. Abrams said the coalition will reexamine the lower across-the-board exemption this week.

Mrs. Sibley said yesterday that she thinks it deserves a second look.

"It seemed to be a critical area," Mrs. Sibley said. "At the public forum in August a number of people raised concerns about the exemption, and I didn't hear anyone come up with a very good defense about it being an all-or-nothing thing."