Potential roadblock for affordable housing

Millerton — Who makes the next move is a question on many minds when it comes to the affordable housing issue in the village of Millerton. That’s because the proposed Millerton Overlook 20-unit workforce and senior housing complex has long been in the works — it was proposed in 2005, after the town of North East was awarded a $108,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the county the year before to purchase the 3.7-acre lot on North Elm Street. The purpose was strictly for building affordable housing.

That was then. Today, the application is somewhat tainted by a history of long delays, inadequate escrow funds, environmental concerns, drainage and septic issues, anticipated stress on emergency services and, of course, community outcry. That last one is part and parcel of what prompted the Town Board to contact the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development, which administers block grants, as well as Housing Resources of Columbia County, Inc. (HRCC), the applicant behind Millerton Overlook, to set up a meeting. HRCC has since suggested “some other folks might wish to be involved,� according to North East town Supervisor Dave Sherman.

“Our purposes are to talk about reasonable time frames for performance bonds relevant to the provisions of the Community Development Block Grant agreement, and subsequent agreements with Housing Resources,� Sherman said. “Certainly we’ve had people come to speak to us at board meetings from the public. And I think as the matter has been explained to the board when first discussing this that there was an aspect of the agreement we have that the Town Board has to consider, and what counsel said to the board repeatedly is to either extend the agreement or to find the project in default.�

Housing Resources Executive Director Kevin O’Neill responded to Sherman’s move in an April 5 press release.

“Housing Resources has taken the unprecedented step of requesting a meeting between town officials and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to discuss the fair housing implications of the actions currently under consideration by the town of North East,� he stated. “Based upon their receipt of CDBG funds, both the town and the village have a legal obligation to affirmatively further fair housing goals. While several courageous officials have taken this obligation seriously, too many others have not, thus we have little choice but to take this unfortunate step.�

O’Neill went on to say that his group’s plans have been all but derailed throughout the years by the “opposition,� which has used tactics including “circulating anonymous letters filled with spurious claims and repeating false assertions that the project will pay no taxes, house undesirable individuals and have dire environmental consequences.�

A group that refers to itself as “Concerned Citizens of Millerton-Northeast� has been handing out flyers throughout the village and at the post office.

“Many residents of the village of Millerton and the town of North East have been opposed to the Millerton Overlook project since its inception,� it states. “Every day, more residents are becoming aware of the devastating environmental, financial and social consequences this project would have for our local area. Most of us do not oppose the concept of affordable housing, but oppose this particular project because it threatens the health, safety and general well-being of our community in so many ways.�

The flyer then lists possible dangers the group fears would accompany the construction and completion of Millerton Overlook, including the complex’s proximity to the aquifer, its predicted strain on the public water system, the unsuitable location and inadequate size of the site, environmental impacts including wetland buffers and endangered bog turtles, an influx of convicted sex offenders as residents and delinquent bills left unpaid by Housing Resources.

Housing Resources attorney Scott Longstreet said it’s not just the Concerned Citizens of Millerton-Northeast that’s been problematic; in a letter addressed to Attorney to the Town of North East Warren Replansky he said the village of Millerton itself has presented some hurdles.

“My client Housing Resources of Columbia County, Inc., has over the last five years invested more than $700,000 in an effort to develop this project, but has been held up by delays created by the village of Millerton with respect to the approvals necessary to permit the construction to proceed,� he wrote. “We understand that the town may be planning to call the mortgage supporting the CDBG grant in default due to the inability of HRCC to meet the construction timetable originally envisioned. In light of the unjustified opposition of the village of Millerton to this development that has created these unnecessary delays, any action taken by the town that would undermine the continued viability of this affordable housing development for low-income households would constitute a failure of the town to meet its obligations under the CDBG program and under the fair housing laws.�

Longstreet continues on to state that while not wanting to pursue litigation, Housing Resources may engage a HUD program and compliance official to help address “the barriers created by the village of Millerton.â€� He also informed the town he  has contacted an attorney with the Empire Justice Center to assist in the matter.

The original agreement was set for construction of Millerton Overlook to be completed by 2007.  O’Neill had submitted a request to extend that date in December 2009, but a month later rescinded it. Sherman said that numerous deadline dates have come and gone, and that it’s time to decide how to treat this application once and for all.

“It’s been a long time, for sure,� he said. “Things have to be evaluated … and we have to decide one way or the other.�

Sherman said he’s anticipating a public meeting on the issue, although it will probably not be on the Town Board’s agenda for the April 8 meeting. Once planned, notice of the meeting will be published.

Meanwhile, at Tuesday’s April 5 Village Board meeting, it was announced that Millerton Overlook will not be on the village Planning Board’s April 14 agenda as previously planned. That change is due to the fact that Housing Resources has not fulfilled its escrow requirements, which demand a monthly balance of at least $5,000 in the escrow account.

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