Housing Task Force

Housing Task Force Meeting #15 Thursday, July 11, 2024 7pm Village of Port Chester Conference Room Attendants: Arley Arno, Monica Fonseca, Jane Lippman, Kathy Pandekakes, Catrina Shivers, Andrew Weiss, Ursula Winchell, Aldo Vitagliano. Absent: Margaret Adamson, Lisa Cordasco, Chester Edwards, Luis Yumbla Guest Speakers: Blanca Lopez, Westchester Commissioner of Planning Leonard Leonard Gruenfeld, Program Director for Community Development Meeting started at 7:05pm Minutes from June 27, 2024 were approved by a motion from Andrew Weiss, and seconded by Jane Lippman. Brief history was given on both speakers and their backgrounds. Goal of Planning is to have a continuum of housing, for a community to be able to support varied types of housing structures. Westchester Planning plays that role through capital programs with two traditional funding programs for affordable housing development: the New Homes Land Acquisition Program (NHLA) and Housing Implementation Fund (HIF). The County has dedicated approximately $100 million for the Housing Flex-fund program, which funds affordable housing development and also funding from HUD called the Emergency Solutions Grant Funds for homeless and eviction prevention funds. The County releases RFP and Non- profits can apply for funding that is then vetting by the County. Funding from HUD is for Community Development Block Grant Program which goes to communities like Port Chester in the Urban County Consortium. Leonard Gruenfeld discussed the housing programs that he administers. Main County Affordable Housing Programs. New Homes Land Acquisition Program: The County buys a property from seller and conveys the property to the affordable housing developer for $1 with a declaration of restrictive convenance, restricting the use for affordable housing for minimum of 50 years. This fund is mainly used for larger affordable housing projects. Housing Implementation Fund aids in infrastructure related to the affordable housing, like parking, sidewalks, curbs, etc. This fund is also used for larger projects. Must be average of 60% AMI. Home Funds (1 million from Federal government) for 31 communities in the Urban consortium. It is often used for smaller development projects. Housing Flex Fund is a temporary fund where the money has to be used by 2026. This program aids the timeframe by taking funds out of the state pipeline to move projects along. This fund is restricted to 65% of AMI and most are rental units. There’s a new state program called Affordable Home Ownership Opportunity program that allows you to go to 100% AMI for income level but the sale price is set at 80% AMI. There is also some limited Home ARPA funding geared toward the homeless population. What kind of oversight is needed with regard to affordability requirements initially and in the future? Port Chester’s zoning code requires 10% set-aside for affordable units. Who will monitor those units to be sure that requirements are met and tenants meet affordability guidelines? The County does not monitor Inclusionary units built into Port Chester’s zoning code. They only monitor units that have received Westchester County funding. The village must have an agreement with either the County’s marketing consultant, Westchester Residential Opportunities, or Housing Action Council, which New Rochelle opted to use, in order to monitor future eligibility checks. The non-profit will market units, address lottery requirements, and review applicants to be sure they are income eligibility and conduct ongoing monitoring. When the Fair Housing Lawsuit happened, Port Chester was not one of the communities to be found discriminatory. As a result, we were not held to the same standard of continuing affordability for housing, as those involved in lawsuit. Is Port Chester liable to follow the standard of the 31 communities involved in the lawsuit if the Village received CDBG money from the Westchester County? The discretionary funding policy was created in response to the settlement directly for the 31 communities involved in the lawsuit. It is not necessarily applicable to Port Chester because they were not part of the lawsuit and also in review of housing ordinances that Port Chester already abided by the standard. A community may apply for funding but there is discretionary funding language that requires abiding by the County’s Fair Housing Plan, which requires marketing to the 9 county region. The same requirement and language exists for those communities that are part of the Urban Consortium, whereby Port Chester is a member. Is Port Chester obligated to market to the 9 county region because we have accepted CDBG funding? Whenever the County provides funding for affordable housing, it must be marketed to the 9 county region. If the requirement is to market the affordable units to the 9 county region, why is the AMI 60% Westchester County AMI and not the AMI of the 9 county region combined? The 60% County AMI requirement is mandated by HUD. Our zoning requires 10% affordable units, if the developer does not take County or State funding, are those units required to be marketed to the 9 county region? Unless it becomes a Fair Housing Violation if the State wants to do that. The state would have to approve the developers Fair Housing Plan. If that Fair Housing Plan only marketed to Port Chester the State could reject it. How do we protect those being displaced in order to facilitate new projects being built? It depends on whether the village has an anti-displacement policy built into their code? Is it better to concentrate on rental units vs ownership units? It is harder to get financing for ownership units, which have made rental housing more enticing. Traditionally, there has also been less funding for ownership. As a followup to the question of future monitoring of affordability, does that cost fall on the building owner and/or management company? Where is the enforcement if they fail to abide by it? The County would be willing to speak to the Village regarding that. There should be a monitor, and a contract with the County or a non-profit. The IDA should also have protections built into their funding, requiring the affordable units be monitored and enforced. Have you seen overlay zones that offer incentives for smaller land owners to achieve greater density? Yes, there are communities that have density bonuses built into their zoning codes for smaller plots of land. When discussing making recommendations for changes to the zoning code, we would need assistance and are considering asking the Village to hire a consultant. Do you have any recommendations as to where to look for those consultants? The County may be able to provide technical assistance and most planning consultants are knowledgeable on zoning changes with regard to affordable housing. Are there incentives for existing landlords/home owners to create more affordable units on existing properties? ADU’s (accessory dwelling units) are one way. There are a number municipalities that have allowed ADU with specific requirements, like parking for example. Perhaps the state has programs, but the County does not. The County is finishing up the Landlord Tenant Assistance Program which provides up to $25,000 for property improvements provided the units are kept affordable. Home Funds could possibly be used for smaller projects. Is there a model community that incorporate displacement obligations, and enforcement rules written into their code for us to use as an example? Are there communities that we could study, who are doing all they can to really push affordable housing? There’s a mix of elements adopted in different communities but there’s not one community that has adopted them all. Are there many office buildings and/or churches being converted to residential units and have they been successful? We are started to see some conversion projects in larger more urban areas. White Plains Berkley College has a developer who’s working to convert to a mix of condos and apartments. Do you think that it makes sense for our group to request a consultant to assist us on our task? Yes. The Meeting concluded at 8:00 pm on a motion from Kathy Pandekakes and seconded by Monica Fonseca. Next Meeting: Thursday, August 8, 2024 7pm at the Village Conference Room Greg Cutler (Port Chester Director of Planning) and Curt Lavalla (Asst. Director of Planning) are the scheduled guest speakers.