WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. April 14, 2004. (EDITED): The Affordable Housing Needs Assessment report, commisioned by Westchester County from the Center for urban Policy Research), released this week, concludes, the county needs about 18,000 units of affordable housing, of which about 8,300 would be met by the private sector. The remaining number, about 10,000 – or 673 units a year – would have to be produced with the help of government subsidy.
This will become the focus of an “action plan” that will be developed by the Westchester County Housing Opportunities Commission.
Under County Executive Andy Spano’s tenure, the average annual number of affordable housing units being rehabilitated or being created through new construction has doubled from the prior administration. To a great extent this was accomplished by changing the focus of housing policies to allow the county to assist with the acquisition of land by developers. The county has also been aggressive and creative using a variety of county, state and federal resources.
· Since 2000, Westchester County government has been involved in the completion of 369 units of new affordable housing. Another 253 units are now under construction, with an additional 193 approved but not yet under construction. This year alone, 201 affordable housing units are expected to be completed and available.
· In addition, another 1,300 units are pending or in the pipeline.
· The county has actively sought to help rehabilitate existing deteriorated housing. Since 2000, the county has helped “rehab” 597 units, with another 100 expected for 2004.
Unlike the original Rutgers housing report done in 1991, this latest one does not include recommendations of what new housing each municipality should take responsibility for.
“While some communities met or exceeded their ‘allocation,’ this was never easy. We recognize that without appropriate infrastructure such as transportation and sewers it’s more difficult for certain parts of the county to create these housing opportunities,” Spano said.
Some highlights of the report:
- To document the need for affordable housing, the study focused on those housing units lacking complete kitchen and bathroom facilities, were occupied by households paying more than 30 percent of the income toward their rent or more than 50 percent of their income toward their homeownership unit; homeless households living in emergency shelter units; and households living in overcrowded conditions. About 10,000 such units were found and in need of being replaced.
- CUPR calculated a future demand of about 8,600 new low and moderate income households, to meet the needs of people who move to the county.
- CUPR expects that with current market trends the private sector will build about 8,300 units of affordable housing, leaving an unmet need of about 10,000 units between 2000 and 2015.
The Board of Legislators created the Housing Opportunities Commission charging this citizen board with the role of furthering community acceptance of affordable housing in general and providing vital citizen participation in the County’s efforts to develop adequate affordable housing for its residents.
The Housing Needs Assessment is available on-line on the County Planning Department’s website at www.westchestergov.com/planning.
County Executive Andy Spano commented on the report: “Affordable housing has been and continues to be one of the most intractable problems county leaders have faced for decades.There are no easy answers. But a study such as this is a tool. We must continue to encourage municipalities and developers to build a healthy mix of housing -- housing for every level of affordability because people at all these levels provide valuable services that contribute toward our quality of life. In the meantime, at the county level we will build on what we have done in the past.”
Commented George Raymond, executive director of the non-profit Housing Opportunities Commission, “The HOC, in cooperation with the county Planning Department, has accepted the responsibility of developing an action plan that will advance the cause of affordable housing throughout the county.”
