[HISTORY: Adopted by the 5-7-2018 Annual Town Meeting, Art. 34.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Housing Authority — See Ch. 188.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This article also repealed former Ch.
104, Affordable Housing, adopted by the 5-8-2000 Annual Town Meeting,
Art. 28, as amended.
[Amended 5-8-2023 ATM by Art. 60]
The purpose of the Orleans Affordable Housing Trust Fund (Trust) is to provide for the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Orleans, for the benefit of low- and moderate-income households, for the creation and preservation of attainable housing, as defined below in § 104-15, and for the funding of community housing, as defined in and in accordance with the provisions of MGL Chapter 44, § 55C.
[Amended 5-13-2019 ATM
by Art. 49]
There shall be a Board of Trustees (Board) consisting of not
less than seven nor more than nine Trustees who shall be appointed
by the Board of Selectmen. At least one of the Trustees shall be a
member of the Selectmen. Only persons who are residents of the Town
shall be eligible to hold the office of Trustee. Trustees shall serve
for a term of two years, except that two of the initial Trustee appointments
shall be for a term of one year, and may be reappointed at the discretion
of the Selectmen. Any Trustee who ceases to be a resident of the Town
shall cease to be a Trustee and shall promptly provide a written notification
of the change in residence to the Selectmen. Any Trustee may resign
by written instrument signed and acknowledged by such Trustee and
duly filed with the Town Clerk. If a Trustee shall die, resign, or
for any other reason cease to be a Trustee before his or her term
of office expires, a successor shall be appointed by the Selectmen
to fill such vacancy provided that in each case the appointment and
acceptance in writing by the Trustee so appointed is filed with the
Town Clerk. No such appointment shall be required so long as there
are seven Trustees in office. Upon the appointment of any succeeding
Trustee and the filing of such appointment, the title to the Trust
estate shall thereupon and without the necessity of any conveyance
be vested in such succeeding Trustee jointly with the remaining Trustees.
[Amended 5-8-2023 ATM by Art. 60]
The powers of the Trustees, all of which shall be carried on in furtherance of the purposes set forth in General Laws Chapter 44 Section 55C and the purposes set forth above in § 104-1, shall include the following:
1.
With the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to accept and receive
real property, personal property or money, by gift, grant, contribution,
devise or transfer from any person, firm, corporation or other public
or private entity, including but not limited to money, grants of funds
or other property tendered to the Trust in connection with any bylaw
or any general or special law or any other source, including money
from Chapter 44B of the General Laws (Community Preservation Act);
provided, however, that any such money received from Chapter 44B shall
be used exclusively for community housing and shall remain subject
to all the rules, regulations and limitations of that chapter when
expended by the Trust, and such funds shall be accounted for separately
by the Trust; and provided further, that at the end of each fiscal
year, the Trust shall ensure that all expenditures of funds received
from said Chapter 44B are reported to the Community Preservation Committee
of the Town for inclusion in the community preservation initiatives
report, form CP-3, to the Department of Revenue;
2.
With the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to purchase and retain
real or personal property, including without restriction investments
that yield a high rate of income or no income;
3.
With the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to sell, lease, exchange,
transfer or convey any personal, mixed, or real property at public
auction or by private contract for such consideration and on such
terms as to credit or otherwise, and to make such contracts and enter
into such undertaking relative to Trust property as the Board deems
advisable notwithstanding the length of any such lease or contract;
4.
To execute, acknowledge and deliver deeds, assignments, transfers,
pledges, leases, covenants, contracts, promissory notes, releases,
grant agreements and other instruments sealed or unsealed, necessary,
proper or incident to any transaction in which the Board engages for
the accomplishment of the purposes of the Trust;
5.
To employ advisors and agents, such as accountants, appraisers and
lawyers as the Board deems necessary;
6.
To pay reasonable compensation and expenses to all advisors and agents
and to apportion such compensation between income and principal as
the Board deems advisable;
7.
To apportion receipts and charges between income and principal as
the Board deems advisable, to amortize premiums and establish sinking
funds for such purpose, and to create reserves for depreciation depletion
or otherwise;
8.
With the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to participate in any
reorganization, recapitalization, merger or similar transactions;
and to give proxies or powers of attorney with or without power of
substitution to vote any securities or certificates of interest; and
to consent to any contract, lease, mortgage, purchase or sale of property,
by or between any corporation and any other corporation or person;
9.
With the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to deposit any security
with any protective reorganization committee, and to delegate to such
committee such powers and authority with relation thereto as the Board
may deem proper and to pay, out of Trust property, such portion of
expenses and compensation of such committee as the Board, with the
approval of the Board of Selectmen, may deem necessary and appropriate;
10.
To carry property for accounting purposes other than acquisition
date values;
11.
With the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to borrow money on such
terms and conditions and from such sources as the Board deems advisable,
to mortgage and pledge Trust assets as collateral; provided, however,
that no such borrowing shall be backed by the full faith and credit
of the Town of Orleans;
12.
To make distributions or divisions of principal in kind;
13.
To compromise, attribute, defend, enforce, release, settle or otherwise
adjust claims in favor or against the Trust, including claims for
taxes, and to accept any property, either in total or partial satisfaction
of any indebtedness or other obligation, and subject to the provisions
of MGL Chapter 44, § 55C, to continue to hold the same for
such period of time as the Board may deem appropriate;
14.
To manage or improve real property; and, with the approval of the
Board of Selectmen, to abandon any property which the Board determines
not to be worth retaining;
15.
To hold all or part of the Trust property uninvested for such purposes
and for such time as the Board may deem appropriate; and
16.
To extend the time for payment of any obligation to the Trust.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary,
all moneys paid to the Trust in accordance with any zoning bylaw,
exaction fee, or private contributions shall be paid directly into
the Trust and need not be appropriated or accepted and approved into
the Trust. General revenues appropriated into the Trust become Trust
property and to be expended these funds need not be further appropriated.
All moneys remaining in the Trust at the end of any fiscal year, whether
or not expended by the Board within one year of the date they were
appropriated into the Trust, remain Trust property.
The Trust is a public employer and the members of the Board
are public employees for purposes of Chapter 258 of the General Laws.
The Trust shall be deemed a municipal agency and the Trustees
special municipal employees, for purposes of Chapter 268A of the General
Laws.
The Trust is exempt from Chapters 59 and 62 of the General Laws,
and from any other provisions concerning payment of taxes based upon
or measured by property or income imposed by the Commonwealth or any
political subdivision thereof.
The books and records of the Trust shall be audited annually
by an independent auditor in accordance with accepted accounting practices.
The Trust is a Board of the Town for purposes of Chapter 30B and Section 15A of Chapter 40 of the General Laws; but agreements and conveyances between the Trust and agencies, boards, commissions, authorities, departments and public instrumentalities of the Town shall be exempt from said Chapter 30B.
Except as may be specifically authorized in this bylaw, neither
the Trustees nor any agent or officer of the Trust shall have the
authority to bind the Town.
The Board shall work with the Town's Affordable Housing Committee
in carrying out the purposes of this Trust.
[Added 5-7-2018 ATM by
Art. 34]
There shall be an Affordable Housing Committee consisting of
seven members, who are residents of the Town, to be appointed by the
Board of Selectmen, for three-year overlapping terms as follows: two
members to be appointed for a term of one year and thereafter for
a term of three years, two members to be appointed for a term of two
years and thereafter for a term of three years, and three members
to be appointed for a term of three years.
[Added 5-7-2018 ATM by
Art. 34]
The Affordable Housing Committee shall advise the Board of Trustees
of the Town of Orleans Affordable Housing Trust Fund established pursuant
to M.G.L. c. 44, § 55C, and the Board of Selectmen with
respect to furthering the purposes of the Affordable Housing Trust
to provide for the creation and preservation of affordable housing
in Orleans, for the benefit of low- and moderate-income households
and for the funding of community housing.
[Added 5-8-2023 ATM by Art. 60]
For the purpose of this bylaw, the term "attainable housing"
shall mean housing that is not restricted to occupancy by low- or
moderate-income households, and may also include housing subject to
maximum income limits to be occupied by households with gross income
greater than 80% but not more than 200% of the area median household
income as most recently determined by the United States Department
of Housing and Urban Development, adjusted for household size.
