[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town
of Wayland 4-3-2014 by Art. 12.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 5-15-2022 ATM by Art. 26]
There shall be a trust to be known as the Municipal Affordable
Housing Trust Fund, referred to in this chapter as the Trust. The
purpose of the Trust is to provide for the creation and preservation
of affordable housing in the Town of Wayland for the benefit of low-
and moderate-income households and for the funding of community housing,
as defined in and in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 44B,
in the Town of Wayland.
[Amended 5-15-2022 ATM by Art. 26]
The Trust shall be governed by a board consisting of seven trustees
(the Board). At least one trustee shall be a member of the Select
Board. In making appointments to fill the remaining positions, the
Select Board shall give preference to the following: (i) a member
of the Wayland Housing Authority; (ii) a member of the Planning Board;
(iii) a member of the Housing Partnership; (iv) a real estate law
specialist licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
and (v) two residents. The Trustees shall be appointed by the Select
Board and shall serve for terms of two years beginning on July 1 and
expiring on June 30, except as hereinafter provided. The initial terms
of four of the Trustees shall be for one year and three of the Trustees
shall be for two years. The Select Board shall strive for geographical
diversity for the benefit of the entire Town. Thereafter, the terms
of all Trustees shall be for two years, except for Trustees who are
appointed to fill the unexpired term of a Trustee whose position has
become vacant before the end of the term. There shall be no limit
on the number of terms served by an individual.
The Board shall have the powers set forth herein for the Trust
which is on file in the office of the Town Clerk, and the following
powers, all of which shall be carried out as fiduciaries through the
exercise of due diligence and prudence and in furtherance of the purposes
of MGL c. 44, § 55C:
A.Â
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 by-law or any general or special
law or any other source, including money from said Chapter 44B, provided,
however, that any such money received from said 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, 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; except that transfers
of Town-owned real property to the Trust shall be approved by a two-thirds
supermajority vote of a Town Meeting pursuant to MGL c 40, § 15A;
[Amended 5-15-2022 ATM by Art. 26]
B.Â
To purchase and retain real or personal property, including, without
restriction, investments that yield a high rate of income or no income;
C.Â
To sell, lease, exchange, transfer or purchase real property. The
purchase and/or development of more than two dwellings must be approved
jointly by the Select Board and Planning Board;
[Amended 5-15-2022 ATM by Art. 26]
D.Â
To execute, acknowledge and deliver deeds, assignments, transfers,
pledges, leases, covenants, contracts, loan agreements, 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;
[Amended 5-15-2022 ATM by Art. 26]
E.Â
To employ advisors and agents, such as accountants, appraisers and
lawyers as the Board deems necessary;
F.Â
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;
G.Â
To apportion receipts and charges between incomes 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;
H.Â
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;
I.Â
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 may deem necessary and appropriate;
J.Â
To carry property for accounting purposes other than acquisition
date values;
K.Â
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, except that (i) the Board shall not mortgage or pledge
as security an amount greater than the total current assets of the
Trust, unless such greater amount is approved by the Select Board
and by the Planning Board by a majority vote and (ii) no money borrowed
and no debt issued by the Board shall be an obligation of the Town
of Wayland.
[Amended 5-15-2022 ATM by Art. 26]
L.Â
To make distributions or divisions of principal in kind;
M.Â
To comprise, 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 this act, to continue to hold the same for such period of time
as the Board may deem appropriate;
N.Â
To manage or improve existing real property; and to abandon any property
which the Board determined not to be worth retaining;
O.Â
To hold all or part of the Trust property uninvested for such purposes
and for such time as the Board may deem appropriate; and
P.Â
To extend the time for payment of any obligation to the Trust.
