Officials to Consider Next Steps in Eno Farms Ground Lease

After residents rejected a proposed amendment to the Eno Farms ground lease, town officials remain determined to find an amicable solution before a buyer for the town's subsidized housing development is found.

It's been approximately two years since CHFA- Small Properties acquired the Eno Farms property from its previous owner, Corporation for Independent Living, following a foreclosure. Before a buyer is found, town officials feel strongly about amending the residential lease to include protections for the low and moderate income tenants of the property.

Currently, the mortgage on the property has requirements in place that are in alignment with the Eno Trust, according to town attorney Robert DeCrescenzo. Once the property is sold, the new buyer will not be held to those requirements unless the lease is amended.

Although the town owns the land, which was entrusted to the town by Amos Eno in 1888 for the purpose of providing affordable housing for the town's poor, CHFA-Small Properties will sell the lease rights to the property.

Selectmen Lisa Heavner and Sean Askham will serve on a subcommittee to determine the best course of action before proposing a new amended ground lease for Eno Farms.

"Any amendment has to be recorded prior to the sale in order for the new owner to be subject to the amended lease," DeCrescenzo said.

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"We're going to take a look at everything again but at this point no decision has been made," Heavner said.

The proposed changes to the ground lease would:

• Require any future lessee of the property to maintain a seperate reserve replacement escrow account in the amount of $1,500 for each unit to ensure that the property is properly maintained.
• require tenants of the property to provide proof that they fall within the income requirments on an annual basis.
• Allow the town to renegotiate the lease at any time.

At the public hearing held last week, town residents voiced concern over the amendments to the lease saying Eno Farms tenants would no longer have adequate protection from future changes to the lease. Others were concerned about the decision to allow moderate income earners the ability to rent the subsidized units.

"Folks were frustrated with rent but it's important to remember that this is a separate issue," Askham said.

Amending the lease to include moderate income earners as opposed to low and low-low income earners was intended to make the housing complex self-sustainable. 22 of the 50 units at Eno Farms are currently reserved for eligible low income tenants.

Askham said rental rates for the subsidized units are not determined by the lease but rather they are set based on state income guidelines and are ultimately set by the town, not the property's lessee.

"It's an important issue, obviously, but our concern is to make sure the protections are in place," Askham said.

By allowing moderate income earners to rent the subsidized units also won't affect the rates for other units.

"It doesn't mean the low income residents will pay moderate income rents," DeCresenzo said.

Town officials argue that without an amended lease, the residents are already at risk of losing current protections.

The subcommittee will hold a meeting in the near future to discuss the ground lease and ask for citizen input. When the subcommittee determines a resolution, a new lease will be written.

"The subcommittee will give us guidelines and we'll go from there," DeCrescenzo said.