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Landmark seeks changes to affordable-housing terms for The Standard at Four Corners
Summary
Landmark asked Mansfield’s Affordable Housing Committee to let it swap LIHTC tenant standards for Section 8, pay a $1.7 million fee to remove 17 workforce units from the project, and reduce 80% AMI units from 35 to 18 (with 10 at 50% AMI). No quorum was present, so the Committee took no vote and requested the developer share rent-calculation spreadsheets.
Attorney Amy Souchuns, counsel for Landmark, presented three requested modifications to the special permit for The Standard at Four Corners, a proposed 392-unit mixed-use development at 1725 Storrs Road (Assessor’s Parcel ID 8.15.9). She asked the Affordable Housing Committee to allow the developer to: switch tenant-qualification rules from Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) standards to Section 8 standards; pay a $1.7 million fee in lieu to convert 17 units designated as workforce housing (120% of AMI) to market-rate units; and reduce the number of units set aside for households at 80% of area median income (AMI) from 35 to 18, with 10 of those 18 made available at 50% AMI.
Committee members and Landmark representatives discussed several implementation and access concerns. The minutes record a mailbox flyer that incorrectly described affordable-unit pricing, current leasing that shows eight of the affordable units leased and none of the workforce units leasing, and difficulties some applicants face qualifying under LIHTC rules. Staff and applicants noted that workforce-unit rents can exceed market rents for some unit types and that HUD rent calculations and Section 8 voucher rules (which, as described in the minutes, make applicants over age 24 and meeting income limits eligible) could affect the applicant pool, potentially including graduate and Ph.D. students.
The Committee also discussed procedural and access issues: paper applications were not available, which the minutes identify as a potential barrier for some applicants, and Committee members asked for the spreadsheet used to calculate rents and fee figures. Paul Stern, a Committee member, requested the rent-calculation spreadsheet and Chase Powell, representing Landmark, agreed to provide it for the Committee’s review.
The minutes note that the $1.7 million fee-in-lieu was calculated using the same methodology as when the development was originally approved; the file does not include the spreadsheet or the detailed calculation in the minutes. Because no quorum was present at the meeting, the Committee did not vote on the requested modifications. Staff said a special meeting could be scheduled if a quorum can be assembled to consider the application further.
Next steps: the Committee requested the developer’s rent-calculation spreadsheet for review; no formal action on application P1372-3 was recorded in these minutes.
