The supervisor's take on affordable housing

NORTH EAST — Town Supervisor Dave Sherman wants to talk affordable housing. Specifically, he wants to talk about the proposed affordable housing project, Millerton Overlook, that if approved would bring a total of 20 family and senior rental units to the head of the village where routes 22 and 44 intersect. The project, described as “work-force� housing, has been put forward by Housing Resources of Columbia County, Inc., which has been before the town and planning and zoning boards numerous times since 2005, when the plan was first proposed.

It was actually the town of North East that approached Housing Resources with the idea; the property was purchased with the help of a $108,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) North East was awarded by Dutchess County for such purposes; the town holds the first note on that $108,000 mortgage on the property.

But Sherman is eager to remind residents that not only was the project undertaken after a Housing Committee survey showed there was a need for housing in the community, but also that the venture met and meets with county requirements for successful civic planning.

“Essentially, block grants have been used by the town and the village since the mid-1980s to fund the development of infrastructure and other improvements for our citizens,� he said. “Sidewalks, water mains, refurbishment of water tanks, improvements made to the recreation park and other things of that nature have been funded for community development, and the thing that makes this possible [is block grant funding].�

Sherman pointed out that according to the 2005 CDBG application, in the overview of eligibility requirements, one is to benefit low- and moderate-income persons. Of the four national objectives stated, one is for “housing activities.�

“Our community as a whole qualifies,� Sherman said, acknowledging that doesn’t apply to everybody. “But the median household income within our community is probably within the 80 percent level of the county’s or there under. So the majority of citizens in our community would be eligible to participate.�

The agreement the town has with Housing Resources calls for keeping the housing complex “affordable� for 30 years.

“The intent was so the property would not get developed and sold or transferred to a profit-making venture,� Sherman said. “That’s pretty much the focus of the restrictions.�

Seniors, meanwhile, may apply for residency if they are 55 or older. There are to be nine senior apartments, all handicapped accessible, in the complex. The remaining 11 will be family units.

“We’ve had a limited amount of development occurring in the village here. Mostly folks bought land and built their own houses,� he said. “Few rental units added to the inventory of housing in the community’s center. But when it comes to handicapped accessible or housing for the elderly, really nothing has been purposefully built to accommodate the needs of that population.�

The supervisor added that at this time, with the troubled economy, it’s hard to gauge basic housing needs, which he said could possibly be relieved by a project like Millerton Overlook. The appreciation, he continued, must go to the block grant program.

“We’ve been able to benefit and have better quality of life in our community because of these things [block grants],� Sherman said. “And whatever is being done, the housing project is being done at no cost to local taxpayers, and that was one of the things being pointed out to municipalities in Dutchess County as a way to make housing more affordable. [That’s important] because it was becoming economically difficult for anything new to be constructed for people who wanted to live or work in our community.�