Lexington's Affordable Housing Trust will go behind closed doors Thursday, Sept. 3, to discuss a potential property deal tied to its MBTA multi-family buy-down program.

The meeting agenda lists an executive session under Exemption 6 of the state Open Meeting Law, which allows public bodies to discuss the purchase or lease of real property in private. The trust will not return to open session afterward, according to the agenda.

The buy-down item is not new. It has appeared on every AHT agenda since at least Jan. 22, spanning at least 11 meetings. No public details about the specific property or dollar amount under discussion have been released.

What the buy-down program does

Lexington's MBTA multi-family zoning requires affordable units to be priced for households earning 80% of Area Median Income. Based on fiscal year 2024 HUD limits, that means $91,200 for a one-person household and $130,250 for a family of four, according to the trust's 2025 Town Meeting presentation. The buy-down program uses public funds to push rents or prices below that threshold or to add more affordable units to private developments.

The trust has significant money to work with. The governor announced a $1.6 million state grant through the HousingWorks Infrastructure Program on Oct. 31, 2025, according to the trust's 2026 Town Meeting report. The 2026 Annual Town Meeting then approved $3.2 million in Community Preservation Act funds for the trust, with the Community Preservation Committee voting 9-0 in favor, per the Appropriation Committee's report.

Lexington's housing crunch

Nearly half of Lexington's renter households are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income on housing. The trust's Town Meeting presentation put the figure at 951 out of 2,028 renter households, or 47%, citing U.S. Census Bureau data.

Waitlists tell a similar story. Avalon has more than 100 households on each of its waiting lists for affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom units. A LexHAB lottery in April 2024 for five units drew 184 applications. The Lexington Housing Authority's Section 8 voucher waitlist stretches at least eight years.

Lexington was the first town in Massachusetts to pass MBTA Communities Act zoning, in spring 2023. As of March 2026, more than 1,600 units were under construction, approved or in the pipeline, the Boston Globe reported. Town Meeting later voted 164-9 to scale back the MBTA zone from 227 acres to 90 and tighten density and height limits, the Globe reported.

"I am all for us playing our part in solving the state's housing issue. … But there is such a thing as too much growth," Planning Board member Tina McBride told the Globe in March 2026.

Other agenda items

Before the closed session, the trust will take up several open-session items starting at 11 a.m. in the Select Board Meeting Room at the Town Office Building. The open agenda includes an update on the Pilot Rental Assistance Program, which provides up to six months of rental help for income-eligible Lexington renters, and a Community Preservation Application discussion. A finance report, planning board zoning amendments and the trust's annual town report are also on the docket.

Residents can attend in person or join the open session via Zoom using Webinar ID 850 1436 3327. The meeting is expected to adjourn by 1:30 p.m.