Town board eases the way for affordable housing in downtown

Architect’s rendering of affordable housing at Hunts Lane, seen from the Route 120 bridge, looking north
UPDATE: June 25, 2010
by Christine Yeres

On June 22, the town board voted to amend the town code to allow multi-family, or workforce, housing in areas within a 500-foot and a 1,500-foot radius of the Chappaqua train station.

Workforce housing possibilities

The 500-foot radius captures the land on Hunts Lane just north of the Route 120 bridge, the location of the former Chappaqua Drama Group barn.  Currently the site serves as a staging area for the contractor working on the Route 120 bridge, Conti Construction.  Another radius specified in the amendment, 1,500 feet from the train station, seeks to pick up areas along North Greeley Avenue as possible multi-family housing sites.

Two years ago, the owner of the Hunts Lane property appeared before the New Castle planning board with a proposal for a market rate multi-story condominium apartment building, then one year ago with a changed proposal for multi-story affordable housing. The amendment leaves open the type of affordable housing that might interest a developer, whether units that would qualify under Westchester County’s affordable housing regulations or units that might satisfy the new “fair and affordable” housing units required by the county’s recent settlement of a lawsuit with HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

In its work session on Wednesday, June 16, the town board discussed the county planning board’s letter expressing the county’s preference that the change in local law incorporate the fair and affordable housing description and requirements that would make any such housing units qualify to be counted as “fair and affordable” under the terms of the settlement.  But board members elected to leave the amendment more broadly worded, so as not to rule out other types of affordable housing than the settlement requires. 

Pertinent excerpts from the proposed amendment regarding workforce housing

Workforce Housing

: “A dwelling unit restricted in occupancy, for a period of at least 25 years following the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, to households whose annual income does not exceed the higher of the adjusted median annual salary of persons employed by the Town of New Castle, the adjusted median annual salary of persons employed by the public school district in which such dwelling unit is located, or the adjusted Westchester County area median income (AMI).” 

Location

: “in buildings that are located in the B-R or the B-RP Districts on lots within 1,500 feet of the Chappaqua railroad station building or in principal buildings that are located in the I-G district on lots within 500 feet of the Chappaqua railroad station building.  These distances shall be measured along a straight line connecting the closest point of the Chappaqua railroad station building to the closest point of the property line of the site on which such use is proposed to be established.” 

“

Water and sewer service

.  Any dwelling unit established pursuant to this section shall be served by public water and public sewer service systems. Prior to the issuance of a building permit for any such dwelling unit, approval of the proposed method of water supply and sewage disposal shall be obtained from the Westchester County Department of Health and shall be further subject to approval by the Town Engineer, acting in consultation with the Commissioner of the Town of New Castle Department of Public Works.”

To see NCNOW.org’s collected articles on Fair and Affordable Housing, click HERE.