Something we need in Woodbury ?

Thanks to the Affordable Housing Committee and the Town Board, affordable housing will be a reality in Goshen within 1 ½-2 years. Affordable housing is mandated in certain areas of Town by the new zoning code and there are development applications now before the Town’s Planning Board that include affordable housing units. It is only a matter of time before they are approved.

In order to guide both the developers and the Planning Board through the approval process and allocation of these units, an Affordable Housing Committee, which has been meeting every two weeks for almost six months, presented its recommendations to the Town Board last week. A public hearing on the issue has been set for July 14, 2005, at 7:30 pm at Town Hall.

The proposed law describes as eligible those households that earn between 60%-150% of the median income for Orange County (currently set at $68,150.00), as determined by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”)

The affordable housing units must be interspersed throughout the development and are required, on their exteriors, to be similar to the market units. Only the interiors may be different, although they may not be substantially smaller than the market units and granite countertops and other expensive finishings may be excluded.

Once a household is determined to be income-eligible, preference points are given to volunteer and paid emergency services personnel, current and former Goshen residents, school district employees, healthcare workers, veterans, and senior citizens. If there are more takers than there are units, a lottery system will determine the allocation. An outside agency will be employed by the Town to administer the program to insure professionalism and continuity in the selection process and to protect that process from any taint of bias. The resale of the units shall be restricted to the purchase price, plus the cost of the consumer price index (CPI) and approved capital improvements. The deed will contain a notation that the property is restricted as affordable housing to alert future purchasers (who must qualify as eligible before closing on the property) and lenders.

Affordable housing programs, similar to that proposed in Goshen, are not new. The Deputy Commissioner of Housing & Community Development for Westchester County, spoke to the Affordable Housing Committee and shared the trials and tribulations of that area’s 20-year affordable housing policy. Except for a few glitches early in the program, which have since been corrected, the Westchester experience has been positive and there are now more than 3500 affordable units there.

Affordable housing mandates were included in the Goshen Zoning Code for several reasons, not the least of which, was to enable our families to remain in Goshen. We also do not want to lose our police, fire and ambulance workers to distant, more affordable areas, with the result that volunteers no longer exist or paid employees are less invested in our community and have longer commutes. Westchester discovered that there was a teacher shortage in their schools because teachers could not afford to live where they worked, moved away, and then chose not to commute long distances. It is the hope of the Town Board and the Affordable Housing Committee that Goshen will be able to avoid the flight of personnel needed for the health, safety and general welfare of our community and will remain diverse in its socio-economic base.

Much thanks to the Affordable Housing Committee, which worked at breakneck speed to meet its June deadline: Tom Boxman, Donna Case-McAleer, Ronnie Degnan, Alice Dickinson, Tom Fay, Neal Halloran (Chairman),George Lyons, Rolland Peacock, Jim Thornton, Mike Wilson and Town Attorney, John Cappello.

The proposed law is available for review by the public in the Town Clerk’s Office and all are, of course, welcome to the public hearing on July 14.