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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing Implementation PlanSOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD PUBLIC HEARING June 19, 2007 4:45 PM This hearing was opened at 4:56 PM COUNCILMAN WICKHAM: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the Town Board of the Town of Southold will hold a public hearing on Tnesda¥~ June 19 at 4:45 p.m. at the Southold Town Meeting Halk 53095 Main Road~ Southold~ New York~ on the adoption of the Town of Southold Housing Implementation Plan. I have a notice that this notice has appeared in the local newspaper, it has appeared on the Town Clerk's bulletin board outside. I have in front of me a copy of this, I believe it is five or six pages, five pages of this housing implementation plan, which I believe was available out there on the table just outside the door. I am just going to quote the vision statement of it. "The Town is cornmitted to supporting a socio-economically and racially diverse population to enhance its vitality. Availability of affordable housing in the Town will benefit seniors, first time home buyers, low and moderate income residents and others struggling to remain in the Town. Affordable housing should be distributed throughout the Town, accessible to shopping, employment and public transportation. Design and appearance of this affordable housing should be compatible within the community. The development and provision of affordable housing will demonstrate consistency with fair housing laws." And there follows sections about the statement of need, housing implementation plan and several goals and it is out there for the public to make comment on at this time. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Would anybody like to come up to the Town Board to address the issue of the Housing Implementation Plan? Phil Beltz? PHILIP BELTZ, SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDiNATOR: Good afternoon, Philip Beltz, Special Projects Coordinator with the Town of Southold. As the principal author of the housing implementation plan, I feel somewhat reticent to endorse it. However, I wish to share that the content of the document evolved from many months of time and labor from the Housing Advisory Commission and I want to thank them for their hard work and efforts. I strongly believe that the document is a comprehensive tool to guide the Town Board's efforts to provide affordable housing for town residents. It addresses multiple types of housing opportunities such as first time home buyers, rental housing and senior housing to name a few. In addition, it sites the importance of selecting appropriate locations for affordable housing near public transportation and shopping and efforts to garner community support. Finally, it speaks to continually monitoring the need as well as insuring a fair and transparent process to insure that all applicants can avail affordable housing. I hope that the Housing Implementation Plan will receive the Town Board's support and serve as a viable tool in providing affordable housing in the Town of Southold in the future. Thank you for your consideration. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Thank you, Philip. Would anybody else like to come up and address the Town Board on the Housing Implementation Plan? GEORGE PETER: My name is George Peter from East Marion. You mentioned the implementation information was outside? SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: The Housing Implementation Plan? MR. PETER: It is not outside. I mean, the public was looking for it and it is not there. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Mr. Copertino? JOHN COPERTINO: My name is John Copertino, I am a resident of East Marion. I was going to speak about affordable housing and make a suggestion towards some relief, so it is coincidental, I didn't know that you had that on the agenda so it fits right in. we are all aware of the fact that many of our young people are leaving Southold Town because they just can't afford to live here. The reason for this is that there are not enough well paying jobs to keep them, even if they move up island, the average home costs approximately $400,000, a cost that it is unreachable for many, for many. The Town can try to sponsor affordable housing which in the case of the Factory Avenue project overlooks the truly needy, in my opinion, the truly needy people in the needy range of housing which are, this is my opinion only, single parents, women trying to raise a couple of kids making $30,000 a year that don't qualify for the Factory Avenue mortgages, the handicapped, the disabled in other ways and blind, the elderly on fixed incomes. To me, that is affordable housing, $78,000, $80,000 is not affordable housing. The truly poor cannot afford mortgages at the Factory Avenue project. Let me go on. There is no quick remedy for the plight of the young, the Town can build for them now but tomorrow there would be more waiting for the same. You build 20 houses, it will satisfy those 20 and the teenagers will become married couples and need housing and you are going to build more housing and more housing and the tax burden on the present citizens are going to be tremendous. We have to stay away from entitlement. Because you are born here doesn't mean that the Town has to build you a house. What bothers me is that a lot of the youngsters here, I am not condemning the youth, but when I read that BOCES closed up a plumbing and electrical courses for lack of interest, which are high paying jobs as you know, just call a plumber and an electrician; only to open up a course in radio stereo installations, that irks me. That shows very little incentive for some of the young people in this Town, who could actually make a good salary. Of course, they would have to commute to BOCES or commute to Dowling or some of the other colleges. What I am trying to say is that when does the, when does the families obligation to their children stop and when does the Town step in? My son can't live here. My son had to go to Rochester, 500 miles away because he couldn't afford to live here. There he found a house for $160,000 a year and a well paying job. The jobs are not here, they never will be here. The Town could try to get some industry in here where the people would make 3 money but that is going to be very difficult problem. The illegals are taking what jobs there are. I don't even see, I don't even see youngsters doing lawns anymore. I haven't seen a teenager mowing a lawn to make an extra buck but I see a lot of illegals mowing lawns, you know. I took out home equity loans to help my children. The kids that need homes now say that they are in their 20's. Where are their parents? Their parents must have lived here for 20 years and must own their homes. Why aren't they helping their children? Why aren't they taking out home equity loans? Reverse mortgages? Why is that the duty of the Town? Why is it a burden on the tax payers, rather than their burden? But anyway, I have a solution for part of the problem and let me explain it. Keeping our young here is a great concern. Like I said, I wish I could have kept my son here. But in my opinion the greatest concern of those young group is keeping our first responders here. Our young heroes of our fire department and our EMS service. I have a suggestion to retain our fire fighting youngsters in East Marion. As you know, the East Marion fire district encompasses several acres of land, that would be a perfect place to build affordable, low rent, low rent garden apartments, for our young fire fighters and their families. There are approximately 42 fire fighters in East Marion, on the fire department. The average age is 55 but they do have young people that are living in Greenport. We want them living in East Marion. We want them near the fire house, if possible. By building four to six, four to six, building four to six villas or garden apartments on the property of the fire district, we will be able to house 10 to 15 pement of the active members of the fire department, which is a pretty good percentage. That is only four garden apartments. Four two bedroom apartments. Four. Or six depending on the architecture, the zoning, the population of each unit etc. I am not familiar with this, it is just an idea. My plan would provide young families in the department the ability to pay low rents, possibly the mortgage. Possibly we could it be floating a bond. Maybe we can get county help to help us. I know that Executive Levy, six months or so ago, mentioned in a newspaper article that, that he wanted to finance volunteer fire department. He stipulated five years on the job to qualify. Qualifications could be made by the fire districts themselves. Let me go on, ! understand that now a few of them, the youngsters, have to live in Greenport while serving East Marion. That shouldn't be happening. A requirement for rental could be a certain amount of time devoted to the fire district, to be decided by the Town or the district. The rents could go to paying the mortgages of the property, thereby reliving the Town and the citizenry of the cost burden of this project. Paying off part of the mortgage. The apartments can have a maximum lease term to allow the upcoming applicants to displace the occupants after a pre-determined time. It will give the young families time to save money and maybe buy a home. Maybe a two or three or four year lease, as long as they still qualify as firemen. They make X amount of calls. Pre-determined. It is just an idea. The intricacies aren't here. The Town has committed itself to build a three and a half million dollar animal shelter, which they should have built, surely young firefighters are as important as the animals that will be provided in the shelter. We probably can build these apartments for a lot less than the shelter. It is just going to be cinder block or whatever concrete block and air conditioner, heating and so forth. I and the people of East Marion ask you and all your staff, Supervisor Russell, to investigate this suggestion and use it as a top priority. We have to keep our young firemen here in East Marion. That should be our priority. Of all the youngsters that we are talking about in affordable housing. We need our firefighters, our 4 EMS personnel. Who is more important to the community than our first responders? We cannot afford to lose them because of the greed of landlords who care more about making a buck than helping out young people. Mr. Russell, I know that your incentive on accessory apartments has been a positive steps towards helping young and old alike stay in East Marion. You are helping the elderly pensioners by expanding the rules on accessory apartments. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Well, we have talked about it but we haven't had any legislative changes. MR. COPERT1NO: Right. The incentive is there, though. The property is there, it is unused. I am talking about the property around the fire district. It is at the fire house, where they are in case they should be called. It has ease of entering and exiting, without causing a major traffic problem. And most of all, garden apartments or villas or duplexes or fourplexes, whatever your design is is an excellent way to provide for our young firefighters and their families. It will provide a wholesome atmosphere for these young people while they work and save for the American dream of home buying. But most of all, it will show them how much they truly appreciate the sacrifice that these young heroes make to our hamlet. To the hamlet of East Marion. So I wish you would consider that. I talked to Walter Gaipa about it and he is going to pass it through the fire commissioners. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I would recommend that that is something that should be vetted by the stakeholders, of which we put you on, and the fire district to talk about the possibility. You know, there is no silver here and if that idea has merit, it sounds good on paper, that is the kind that you could work out the details with as a stakeholder group and as a fire district. MR. COPERTINO: It should be our top priority. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Absolutely. MR. COPERTINO: And it should be a town, well, I know you have got a lot of priorities but it should be one of your things that you should look into the legalities, how you could apply it properly. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I can't speak for the fire district, they own that property outright. They are a governing agency. If the fire district is interested in having the Town do some work for them, they can certainly contact me. I am happy, you know, talk to the Town Attorney about what is feasible there but I haven't heard from the fire district yet so what you need to do is to sit down with the tim district and have them contact me about whether that is something, an idea they want to pursue. MR. COPERTINO: Well, I think he is going to arrange a meeting between us and then we can discuss it. I don't know the legalities of it. I don't know who owns the property, 5 I know that the taxes that they pay, you know, actually it is public property but I don't know... SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Taxing districts are generally wholly exempt unless they are leasing out to a third party. MR. COPERT1NO: Exactly. That is why it makes it more feasible because you really don't have pay, you shouldn't have to pay a lot of money. Maybe the county could chip in to buy or build it. You know. And the rents could go towards the mortgage. And this way, nobody owns it and as they move on a new fire family could move into it. Four to six is 10 to 15 percent of that district. That is a pretty good shot. Ten to fifteen percent right on the job. Not having to drive from Greenport to a fire or a rescue in East Marion. I thank you. Please consider it. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Thank you. Would anybody like to address the Town on the public heating for the Housing Implementation Plan? Who is next? RHONA SMITH: My name is Rhona Smith and I am a member of the Housing Advisory Commission. And I worked on the Housing Implementation Plan, as everybody in our group did with Philip Beltz' help. And I would just say that essentially we understand that every proposal, whether it is from East Marion or anywhere else is going to have to go through the ordinary course of events with permitting and density issues and all of that. So what this plan is really about is just to set out some principals, some guidelines in terms of overall generalizations that would suit the building of affordable housing in the Town. And the key think that we looked for in writing this was to try to create a document that would be very flexible because no two projects are going to be identical, so that is what we tried to present you with. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Thank you. Mrs. Egan? JOAN EGAN: Joan Egan, East Marion. My understanding (inaudible) I don't have the stupid paper that was given out, was that affordable housing would have to also encompass stores and the like. One of my neighbors came to me in the post office, I live in East Marion where we have, well, most of us get our mail in the post office and he said, you know, it doesn't seem fair that if the affordable housing, what was presented to us would be done because of, he lives up off Rocky Point Road and he doesn't get Suffolk Water because Suffolk Water doesn't go up that far as his house and he says, that would mean that I would be paying for the people who are in the affordable houses, part of their water and I am not getting it myself. I think we all agree that we need affordable housing, I don't know that the rent thing would ever work out because who would own it and blah, blah, blah. But I think you are going to have to be very careful that you don't take people's rights away. Each town, here in Mattituck you had stores, you had schools, you had public transportation. So it didn't, there wasn't an awful lot of conflict. But where I live, there isn't that and I think you have to move very slowly and very carefully that you don't take our rights away. Affordable housing, I don't know whether it will really ever work out properly but certainly I would move very slowly and very carefully, that we are not paying for somebody else who doesn't want to do the job themselves. Thank you. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Thank you. Linda? L1NDA GOLDSMITH: I am Linda Goldsmith from East Marion. I want to talk a little bit about affordable housing. I wasn't prepared to really speak on it today but since it is on the agenda, I will do so. I am not sure that, I agree that the Town needs to assist people in living in the Town. I am not so sure it is our responsibility to provide a vehicle for home ownership. You can't legislate lifestyle. I have two children, one owns a home in East Marion and one will probably never own her own home and they make the same amount of money. They are a different lifestyle. Each child has a different life style. But as far as rentals, I have long thought maybe the Town should bite the bullet and put a series of townhouses in each hamlet, Orient, East Marion, Greenport, Peconic, Southold. And make them really, really, really affordable. I am not talking $1,500 a month like East Hampton has done. I am talking about $600 a month and lease them for probably five to seven years and if people can save some money and they should be able to in that amount of time, the homeownership route would be open to them. If they can't ,then perhaps they don't really want to. Perhaps they would rather have a timeshare, three or four vacations and a couple ofjetskis. I am sorry, but like I said I have children, they are both very different. I just don't necessarily think that homeownership is something that we have to provide. A roof over the head for the workers, perhaps. The teachers in East Marion don't even have a starting salary of $40,000. They don't even qualify for affordable housing. So, that... SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: The housing implementation plan, that is a broad document.. MS. GOLDSMITH: Mmhmm. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: That would cover things like your suggestion of the townhouses and I have to be honest, anybody who knows me knows I am not the most strident affordable housing proponent around. Those stepping stones that you talked about, those townhouses, I would like to see a Town focus more on creating those stepping stones, not necessarily guaranteeing that you reach the top of the hill in home ownership but providing stepping stones so you have the vehicle to get there. MS. GOLDSMITH: Exactly. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: But the housing implementation plan would offer all of that. It is a broad document that is, I think, structured to look at all those options. MS. GOLDSMITH: Things like the Mattituck project, where I will be honest, one of my children applied for that project but things like the Mattituck project I think 30 years down the road and I think well, what happens when they become elderly? Can they apply for a reverse mortgage? Can they take out a home equity to help their own children in those houses? Or are we expecting them to have their houses for ten years, keep them affordable and more on? I am not sure what the expectation is. But I just don't think that home ownership is necessarily the Town's responsibility. A place to live, yes but the ownership ora home? I don't necessarily think so. COUNCILMAN W1CKHAM: I think that is an important point and this statement does include rental properties as part of the Town's overall housing plan. MS. GOLDSMITH: I see that. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: The days of Levittown are over. We just can't build our way out of problems and issues. And you have to be more creative. MS. GOLDSMITH: You are right. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: The housing, the rental issues; all of those things have to be on the table. I think that is the idea of the housing implementation plan, is to incorporate all of those different opportunities. And to have a town goal in trying to pursue those as best we can. MS. GOLDSMITH: And lastly, I just want to caution that $1,500 a month is not affordable. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: That is true. MS. GOLDSMITH: It is not affordable sometimes as a mortgage. If you have two young people out of college both of them working first year as teachers and you have a $1,500 a month mortgage and a mess of student loans, it is not affordable for you. maybe we have to actually as a town, bite the bullet, build some houses that are really, really, really or I am sorry, apartments or townhouses, that and I mean really affordable and have... SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I understand what you are saying. MS. GOLDSMITH: And have a finite lease. Five to seven years and save your money. Thank you. COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: Thank you. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Thank you, Linda. Would anybody else like to address the Town Board on this housing implementation plan? How many times have I had to say that word tonight? Implementation plan? We couldn't have called it a housing vision plan? JENNIE GOULD: Hi, my name is Jennie Gould. Like Rhona, I spent the last 20 months as a member of the housing advisory commission and I just want to stress to everyone here that is concerned about new home ownership, as Scott has said, that is just one small thing that we focused on. If you really want to know what we focused on, we were focusing on the needs, we see the need for rentals. Re-adaptive use of existing buildings. Mr. Copertino came up with a great suggestion. This is the kind of goals that we have in this plan. It is a very broad based plan, it is like a foot path or foot prints to spark your thoughts about what we could do. Linda came up with a great idea and this is the kind of thing that this plan is supposed to do. Not say that we are going to paper the Town with houses because that is not what we need. We need rents in this Town. Whether you work for the fire department or Peconic Landing, all our entry level jobs. Everyone who has grown up here or has moved here and worked here know that the salaries are low. Twenty years ago that wasn't a problem because the houses cost $100,000 or even less. When I came 27 years ago, so that if I was making $7 an hour, guess what? I still could afford a mortgage with my husband. That is not the case anymore. The houses are costing $400. Four hundred thousand dollars in this Town and they are wrecks at $400,000. So we have to have something in between. Building houses isn't the answer, it is partially the answer but we really need to do something about our rental stock and get the rents down because the fact is, the rents are $1,500 a month for the young people in this Town. That is what they can get because there aren't enough apartments. So hopefully this plan will get us all thinking together, no matter what our view is on building houses for people and subsidizing home ownership. This addresses much, much more than that. Because the community really has a great need and if we are going to stay a viable community, we have to keep young people here, they cannot, whether they are the young people that grew up here or other young people that are going to take their place and do the jobs that need to be done in this town. Thank you. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Would anybody else like to come up and address the Board on the Housing and the last time I am going to say the word, Implementation Plan? (No response) Move we close the hearing. This hearing was closed at 5:24 PM Southold Town Clerk Southold Town Board - Letter Board ~f June 19, 2007 RESOLUTION 2007-566 ADOPTED Item # 33 DOC ID: 2986 THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION NO. 2007-566 WAS ADOPTED AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD ON JUNE 19, 2007: RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby adopts the Housing Implementation Plan dated May 29, 2007. Elizabeth A. Neville Southoid Town Clerk RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Albert Krupski Jr., Councilman SECONDER: William P. Edwards, Councilman AYES: Krupski .Ir., Edwards, Ross, Wickham, Evans, Russell Generated July 2, 2007 Page 46 Southold Town Board - Letter Board Meeting oPJune 19, 2007 RESOLUTION 2007-565 ADOPTED Item # 32 DOC ID: 2985 THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION NO. 2007-565 WAS ADOPTED AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD ON JUNE 19, 2007: RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby finds that the adoption of the "Town of Southold Housing Implementation Plan" is classified as a Type II Action pursuant to SEQRA Rules and Regulations, 6 NYCRR Section 617.5, and is not subject to review under SEQRA. Elizabeth A. Neville Southold Town Clerk RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Louisa P. Evans, Justice SECONDER: Thomas H. Wickham, Councilman AYES: Krupski Jr., Edwards, Ross, Wickham, Evans, Russell Generated July 2, 2007 Page 45 Housing Implementation Plan Vision Statement: The Town of Southold is committed to supporting a socio- economically and racially diverse population to enhance its vitality. The availability of affordable housing within the Town will benefit seniors, first-time homebuyers, Iow and moderate-income residents and others struggling to remain in the Town. Affordable housing should be distributed throughout the Town, accessible to shopping, employment and public transportation. The design and appearance of affordable housing shall be compatible within the community. The development and provision of affordable housing will demonstrate consistency with Fair Housing Laws. Overview: The goal of the Town's Affordable Housing program is to provide affordable housing assistance (rental apartments and home ownership opportunities) for local residents with a demonstrated need based on income. In addition, the programs are designed to retain an inventory of affordable housing that will continue to provide housing below the market rate for future generations. The development and availability of affordable housing will be fostered through several initiatives. The Town will partner with the Suffolk County's Department of Economic Development and Workforce Housing to obtain funding towards the purchase of land and/or the improvement of infrastructure. This will be done in concert with regional non-profit housing providers as well as for-profit housing developers. Due to the high cost of land, affordable housing will most likely result from clustered housing such as townhouses or through increased zoning density for single-family dwellings. The Town has adopted several pieces of legislation that will enable the development of affordable housing (creation of a Housing Fund, Affordable Housing District zoning modifications and inclusionary Subdivision regulations requiring the development of affordable housing). In addition, several recent studies (2005 Town of Southold Hamlet Study, 2003 Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement Southold Comprehensive Implementation Strategy, etc.) present findings consistent with promoting affordable housing opportunities. While the Town has successfully developed affordable housing in the past, it now mandates that covenants and restrictions impose a limit on resale value promoting perpetual affordability. Statement of Need: In June 2005, the Town Board adopted a Housing Needs Assessment as documentation to support efforts to enhance affordable housing policies and programs. This document (see appendices) also articulated the Town's historical accomplishments in creating affordable housing. The assessment indicated that the median price of single-family housing in the Town was $440,000 for the year 2004, representing an increase of 129.1% over the period of five years. This trend continues as Suffolk Research Service, Inc. recently reported that in April 2007, the median sales price of single-family housing in the Town of Southold as $510,000. This represents an increase of 16% in over two years, not quite the fervent pace of previous years but still well beyond the financial means of most local residents. Within the Housing Needs Assessment, a statistical sampling of home sales from the Tax Assessors' Office indicated that more than 75% of homebuyers had addresses that were not from the Town of Southold; most homebuyers' addresses were from metropolitan New York City. Due to its scenic vistas, rural farms, and preponderance of beaches, the Town of Southold is a very desirable destination for second homeowners, whose incomes are significantly higher than local residents. The affordable housing crisis is due to limited land that is available for development coupled with a demand for housing from outside the Town. The Census of 2000 reported that $49,898 represented the median household income for the Town. Local residents in need of housing cannot compete with second homeowners' wages and they are priced out of the market because the rise in housing costs outpaces increases in their incomes. Housing Implementation Plan: The primary function of the Housing Implementation Plan (HIP) is to ensure that an efficient, cost effective and well-designed affordable housing supply is created and maintained to address the on-going housing needs of local citizens. The Housing Advisory Commission, established within the Housing Fund legislation, is charged with the task of creating the HIP. The Town shall implement the Plan by accomplishing the following goals and objectives to ensure that affordable housing opportunities exist. Goal: · Promote a diversity of housing stock of rentals and home ownership to address the need for affordable housing throughout the Town of Southold. o New construction o Rehabilitation of existing housing stock o Adaptive re-use of non-residential structures o Pre-built housing o Accessory apartments o Multi-family housing o Intergenerational shared housing o Rental housing for seasonal workers Goal: · Identify potential locations for affordable housing sites within existing buildings and unimproved lots for new construction. o Work with hamlet stakeholders to determine appropriate sites o Utilize maps from Planning Department's HALO zones 3 o Encourage development in areas where infrastructure exists (i.e. parking, public water, etc.) o Select sites near public transportation, employment and shopping Goal: · Assess and monitor the need of affordable housing. o Target income levels as evidenced within Housing Registry waiting list (100%, 80%, 60%, etc.) o Address households with special needs (i.e. wheelchair accessible, etc.) o Target demographic indices, such as housing for senior citizens, families, etc. o Facilitate focus groups with households on the waiting list to further determine housing needs Goal: · Encourage the implementation of design standards for affordable housing that will foster energy efficiency. o Mandate the provision of Energy Star rated appliances o Encourage the implementation of design standards for affordable housing that will yield energy efficiency and incorporate universal design principles Goal: · Ensure that a fair and transparent process determines the selection of qualified participants to avail of affordable housing opportunities o Strictly enforce Town guidelines and policies concerning income limits, priority population eligibility, etc. o Work with experienced and qualified organizations to facilitate lotteries for selection of qualified participants o Establish waiting lists in accordance with the aforementioned processes o Provide a venue for participants to voice concerns about decisions regarding selection process (e.g. ad hoc committee of Town Board and Housing Advisory Commission) Goal: · Foster successful and stable housing tenure through education to landlords, tenants and first-time homebuyers. 4 o Coordinate with housing agencies to provide mandatory classes that include financial counseling and screening, rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, etc. o Consult with mediation specialists on ad hoc basis (e.g. rental disputes) Goal: · Engender support of Town government and the community at large by soliciting input and feedback of proposed affordable housing sites through establishing dialogue with housing sponsors and the following: o Affordable Housing Welcoming Committee (Supervisor, Town Attorney, Planning Director and Special Projects Coordinator) o Planning Board o Town Board o Hamlet stakeholders o School Boards o Communities where sites are proposed o Housing Advisory Commission Goal: · Advance legislative initiatives to further affordable housing o Amend legislation to encourage legal owner-occupied accessory apartments and detached accessory apartments Goal: · Ensure that all affordable housing remains perpetually affordable o Monitor financial gains from permanent fixed home improvements o Monitor financial gains at resale of Consumer Price Index guidelines and recommend alternative formulas for resale if warranted /HIP 05.29.07 Draft.doc 5 #8397 STATE OF NEW YORK) ) SS: COUNTY OF SUFFOLK) Dina Mac Donald of Mattituck, in said county, being duly sworn, says that he/she is Principal clerk of THE SUFFOLK TIMES, a weekly newspaper, published at Mattituck, in the Town of Southold, County of Suffolk and State of New York, and that the Notice of which the annexed is a printed copy, has been regularly published in said Newspaper once each week for 1 .week(s), successively, commencing on the 7th day of June, 2007. Principal Clerk Sworn to before me this 2007 LEGAL N(FrlC~ NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the Town Board of the Town of Southold will held a ~ublie hea~n_e NOTAPV pUBLIC-STATE OF NEW YORK N'a O t -VO6105050 ~)uotmed !n Suffolk Courlty NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the Town Board of the Town of Southold will hold a public hearing on Tuesda¥~ June 19 at 4:45 p.m. at the Southold Town Meeting Hall~ 53095 Main Road~ Southold~ New York~ on the adoption of the Town of Southold Housing Implementation Plan. Dated: May 22, 2007 BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF SOUTHOLD Elizabeth Neville Town Clerk PLEASE PUBLISH ON JUNE 7, 2007~ AND FORWARD ONE (1) AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION TO ELIZABETH NEVILLE, TOWN CLERK, TOWN HALL, PO BOX 1179, SOUTHOLD, NY 11971. Copies to the following: The Suffolk Times Town Board Members Town Attomey Town Clerk's Bulletin Board Phillip Beltz STATE OF NEW YORK ) SS: COUNTY OF SUFFOLK) ELIZABETH A. NEVILLE, Town Clerk of the Town of Southold, New York being duly sworn, says that on the ~.~l day of ~ ,2007, she affixed a notice of which the annexed printed notice is a tree cot~), in a proper and substantial manner, in a most public place in the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, to wit: Town Clerk's Bulletin Board, 53095 Main Road, Southold, New York. PH Housing Implementation Plan 6/19/07 4:45 t~izal~eth A. Neville Southold Town Clerk Swom before me this ~r.~day of ~ 200~. "'/~ -lqotary Public LYNDA M. BOHN NOTARY PUBLIC, State of NewYo~ No. 01 BO6020932 Qualified in Suffolk CountF Term Expires March 8, 20.~ Southold Town Board - Leafier Bo~l~Meeting of May 22, 2007 RESOLUTION 2007-496 ADOPTED Item # 32 DOC ID: 2919 THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION NO. 2007-496 WAS ADOPTED AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD ON MAY 22, 2007: RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby sets June 19~ 2007~ at 4:45 p.m.~ located at Town Hall~ 53095 Main Road~ Southold~ New York~ as the time and place for a public hearing on the adoption of the Town of Southold Housing Implementation Plan, and directs the Town Clerk to provide the public with notice of such hearing. Elizabeth A. Neville Southold Town Clerk RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Thomas H. Wickham, Councilman SECONDER: William P. Edwards, Councilman AYES: Krupski Jr., Edwards, Ross, Wickham, Evans, Russell Generated May 24, 2007 Page 48 11:30 a.m. - Phillip Beltz May 22, 2007 For Discussion · Housing Implementation Plan · Adjustment of home sales price/rentals for 2007 · Affordable housing legislative changes Woodhull, Ruthanne From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Beltz, Phillip Thursday, May 17, 2007 11:12 AM Finnegan, Patricia; Corcoran, Kieran; Al Krupski Jr. (E-mail); Bill Edwards (E-mail); Dan Ross (E-mail); Louisa Evans; Scott Russell (E-mail); Tom Wickham (E-mail) Terry, Mark; Woodhull, Ruthanne MAY 22ND TB WORK SESSION HIP 05.17.07 DRAFT.doc The Housing Fund legislation adopted in 2004 requires that the Housing Advisory Commission develop a Housing Implementation Plan to assist with the creation of affordable housing. This document will be set for a public hearing and adopted by the Town Board. I have been working with the HAC for many months towards finalizing a draft. Please read the attached draft before Tuesday's meeting for discussion. In addition, Mark Terry and I will discuss proposed changes to the existing affordable housing legislation. We have been meeting with Supervisor Russell, Councilman Edwards and the Town Attorney over the past several months in formulating ideas for proposed changes. Finally, I will discuss recommendations for establishing the 2007 apadment rental and home sales prices based upon the HIP 05.~.7.07 )RAFT. doc (122 KB., revised 2007 HUD income guidelines. Thank you. DRAFT 05/17~07 Housin.q Implementation Plan Vision Statement: The Town of Southold is committed to supporting a socio- economically and racially diverse population to enhance its vitality. The availability of affordable housing within the Town will benefit seniors, first-time homebuyers, Iow and moderate-income residents and others struggling to remain in the Town. Affordable housing should be distributed throughout the Town, accessible to shopping, employment and public transportation. The design and appearance of affordable housing shall be compatible within the community. The development and provision of affordable housing will demonstrate consistency with Fair Housing Laws. Overview: The goal of the Town's Affordable Housing program is to provide affordable housing assistance (rental apartments and home ownership opportunities) for local residents with a demonstrated need based on income. In addition, the programs are designed to retain an inventory of affordable housing that will continue to provide housing below the market rate for future generations. The development and availability of affordable housing will be fostered through several initiatives. The Town will partner with the Suffolk County's Department of Economic Development and Workforce Housing to obtain funding towards the purchase of land and/or the improvement of infrastructure. This will be done in concert with regional non-profit housing providers as well as for-profit housing developers. Due to the high cost of land, affordable housing will most likely result from clustered housing such as townhouses or through increased zoning density for single-family dwellings. The Town has adopted several pieces of legislation that will enable the development of affordable housing (creation of a Housing Fund, Affordable Housing District zoning modifications and inclusionary Subdivision regulations requiring the development of affordable housing). In addition, several recent studies (2005 Town of Southold Hamlet Study, 2003 Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement Southold Comprehensive Implementation Strategy, etc.) present findings consistent with promoting affordable housing opportunities. While the Town has successfully developed affordable housing in the past, it now mandates that covenants and restrictions impose a limit on resale value promoting perpetual affordability. Statement of Need: In June 2005, the Town Board adopted a Housing Needs Assessment as documentation to support efforts to enhance affordable housing policies and programs. This document (see appendices) also articulated the Town's historical accomplishments creating affordable housing. in The assessment indicated that the median price of single-family housing in the Town was $440,000 for the year 2004, representing an increase of 129.1% over the period of five years. This trend continues as Suffolk Reseamh Service, Inc. recently reported that in April 2006, the median sales price of single-family housing in the Town of Southold as $540,000. This represents an increase of 23% in 16 months. Within the Housing Needs Assessment, a statistical sampling of home sales from the Tax Assessors' Office indicated that more than 75% of homebuyers had addresses that were not from the Town of Southold; most homebuyers' addresses were from metropolitan New York City. Due to its scenic vistas, rural farms, and preponderance of beaches, the Town of Southold is a very desirable destination for second homeowners, whose incomes are significantly higher than local residents. 2 The affordable housing crisis is due to limited land that is available for development coupled with a demand for housing from outside the Town. The Census of 2000 reported that $49,898 represented the median household income for the Town. Local residents in need of housing cannot compete with second homeowners' wages and they are priced out of the market because the rise in housing costs outpaces increases in their incomes. Housin,q Implementation Plan: The primary function of the Housing Implementation Plan (HIP) is to ensure efficient, cost effective and well-designed affordable housing is created and maintained to address the on-going housing needs of local citizens. The Housing Advisory Commission, established within the Housing Fund legislation, is charged with the task of creating the HIP. The Town shall implement the Plan by accomplishing the following goals and objectives to ensure that affordable housing opportunities exist. Goal: · Promote a diversity of housing stock of apartment rentals and home ownership to address the need for affordable housing throughout the Town of Southold. o New construction o Rehabilitation of existing housing stock o Adaptive re-use of non-residential structures o Pre-built housing o Accessory apartments o Multi-family housing o Intergenerational shared housing o Rental housing for seasonal workers Goal: · Identify potential locations for affordable housing sites within existing buildings and unimproved lots for new construction. o Work with hamlet stakeholders to determine appropriate sites o Utilize maps from Planning Department's HALO zones 3 o Encourage development in areas where infrastructure exists (i.e. parking, public water, etc.) o Select sites near public transportation, employment and shopping Goal: · Assess and monitor the need of affordable housing. o Target income levels as evidenced within Housing Registry waiting list (100%, 80%, 60%, etc.) o Address households with special needs (i.e. wheelchair accessible, etc.) o Target demographic indices, such as housing for senior citizens, families, etc. o Facilitate focus groups with households on the waiting list to further determine housing needs Goal: · Encourage the implementation of design standards for affordable housing that will foster energy efficiency. o Mandate the provision of Energy Star rated appliances o Encourage the implementation of design standards for affordable housing that will yield energy efficiency and incorporate universal design principles Goal.~ · Foster successful and stable housing tenure through education to landlords, tenants and first-time homebuyers. o Coordinate with housing agencies to provide mandatory classes that include financial counseling and screening, rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, etc. o Consult with mediation specialists on ad hoc basis (e.g. rental disputes) Goal: · Engender support of Town government and the community at large by soliciting input and feedback of proposed affordable housing sites through establishing dialogue with housing sponsors and the following: 4 o Affordable Housing Welcoming Committee (Supervisor, Town Attorney, Planning Director and Special Projects Coordinator) o Planning Board o Town Board o Hamlet stakeholders o School Boards o Communities where sites are proposed o Housing Advisory Commission Goal: · Advance legislative initiatives to further affordable housing o Amend legislation to encourage legal owner-occupied accessory apartments and detached accessory apartments Goal: · Ensure that all housing remains perpetually affordable o Monitor financial gains from permanent fixed home improvements o Monitor financial gains at resale of Consumer Price Index guidelines and recommend alternative formulas for resale if warranted /HIP 05.17.07 Draft.doc 5