Documents

environmental 4 pages

Also attached to this agenda item: DRAFT FEAF PART II - 1 Croton Point Ave Incomplete Draft Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Report Environmental Noise Study and Facade Glazing... Insite Preliminary Wastewater Engineering Report dated... Insite Preliminary Water Engineering Report dated July... Insite Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan dated July... Insite engineering and landscape architecture plans... LWRP Lot A - Last Revised 10.16.24 Letter from Kimley Horn dated September 16%2C 2024... Letter from NYSDOT consenting to the Board of Trustees... Letter from the Division for Historic Preservation... Memo from AKRF dated November 4%2C 2024

Housing Proposals and Progress in Croton-on-Hudson Special Report and Update to the Board of Trustees and Residents Bryan Healy, Village Manager September 18, 2024 Introduction Given the range of housing topics the Village Board has addressed over the last few months, the Mayor believes it would be helpful for me to provide the Board of Trustees and the public with this Special Report on housing progress and proposals in the Village. This document provides information on: (1) background on Croton-on-Hudson’s comprehensive plan and housing needs (2) housing approved by the Village regulatory process; (3) Croton’s status as a New York State Pro-Housing Community; (4) the recent proposal for the 1 Half Moon Bay project; and (5) the Lot A proposal currently under review by the Board. Croton-on-Hudson’s Comprehensive Plan and Housing Needs Over the years, Croton-on-Hudson has had a long-standing commitment to creating new housing opportunities. In previous decades, new subdivisions were approved (Westwind, River Landing, Arrowcrest), new condominium complexes were constructed along the waterfront (Half Moon Bay) and single-family homes have been built throughout the Village on vacant parcels. In the 2017 Comprehensive Plan Update, the need for new multifamily housing was explicitly recognized: Adapting housing, transit, recreation and buildings and public spaces will help a vibrant and engaged senior population to securely age in place and contribute to a vibrant community…[T]he Village must provide the services and quality of life that will attract...the new…younger workforce needed to replace a labor force that is shrinking as the population ages…Recent development in the Village has provided needed additional housing units in the Village…these developments have provided mainly single-family homes…At the same time, the demand for appropriately‐sized, affordable housing for aging Croton‐on‐Hudson residents, young couples without children, and Village personnel is growing. The Village’s vacancy rate has been found to be 2% or less in recent years and data from Westchester County has shown that more than 10% of households in the Village spend half or more of their income on housing costs. To address these challenges, the Village Board established a Housing Task Force in 2019. That task force issued a report in 2021. Over the years, the Board has enacted some of the report’s recommendations, including expanding coverage for the Emergency Tenant Protection Act and reforming the Accessory Dwelling Unit law. Among the recommendations of the Housing Task Force’s report is the redevelopment of Lot A. Lot A is the village-owned overflow parking lot located at 1 Croton Point Avenue. In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, use of the train station parking lot has averaged around 65% of capacity. Because of the removal of the old DPW garage in 2020, even if Lot A were to be redeveloped, there is more parking at the station today than there was in 2019. Housing Approved by the Village Regulatory Process Four multi-family housing projects have been approved by the Village’s regulatory process in the last four years. These include: (1) Maple Commons at 43-45 Maple Street, 33 apartments, all affordable and soon to be fully occupied; (2) 25 South Riverside, 39 apartments, 35 market rate, four affordable, currently under construction, but not likely to be occupied until 2026; (3) 1380 Albany Post Road, 29 apartments, 26 market rate and three affordable, whose ownership has not yet sought a building permit, therefore placing its completion some years into the future; and (4) 352 South Riverside, 5 apartments, all market rate, whose ownership, like the project above, has not yet sought a building permit, therefore placing its completion some years into the future. To date, 106 apartments have regulatory approval from the Village following special permit authorization by the Village Board and site plan approval by the Planning Board under the Village Code (66 of them market rate, 40 of affordable). However, it will be some years into the future, perhaps 2026 or later, before most are completed and occupied. Croton As A Pro-Housing Community The Village of Croton-on-Hudson was certified as a New York State Pro-Housing Community in February 2024. The New York State Pro-Housing Communities program is a voluntary, incentive- based approach to housing that allows municipalities to add homes to their communities in a way that best fits their local situation. Being a Pro-Housing Community is required for a community to have access to $650M in state funds. As of this writing there are more than 100 certified Pro-Housing Communities, and hundreds more with applications to the program under review. A municipality is eligible to be considered a Pro- Housing Community in the downstate area (which includes Croton-on-Hudson) if they can show one of the following: • Permits increasing their housing stock by 1% over the past year; • Permits increasing their housing stock by 3% over the past three years; or • A commitment to achieving one of the above goals; At the time the Board adopted the resolution applying to the Pro-Housing Communities program, the Village had met both of these goals. However, an analysis of the units currently authorized, along with the proposed units at Lot A, showed that the Village would dip below the 1% annual growth rate over the next ten years. The Village has applied for, or is applying for, over $7M in New York State funding, including through the Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund, the Consolidated Funding Application and the NY Forward program, where Pro-Housing status is a requirement. The award of these state grants would fund significant improvements to Croton’s infrastructure and amenities without requiring revenue from local taxpayers. 1 Half Moon Bay Drive The Village received a zoning petition in July from the new owners of 1 Half Moon Bay Drive to enable development of a six-story multifamily building with 280 apartments. Their zoning petition requested that the Village Code be amended to raise the allowable building height and alter the Village’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) definition. All the information on this proposal is available on the Project Page at www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/1HMBDrive. The Village Board declared themselves as the lead agency required for state environmental review so the project could be assessed before making any decisions. As part of this process, the Village Board sought the views of the Westchester County Planning Board and subsequently received a letter from the County Planning Board which questioned the project’s height and was skeptical of the expansion of the TOD definition. The Board reached a consensus that the current 1 Half Moon Bay proposal was neither viable nor a good fit for the Croton community and, therefore, should not advance. At this time, the Board retains jurisdiction over this matter and can review an amended proposal if one is submitted. The Lot A Proposal Following public review and study in 2021, the Village Board amended the Village Code in 2022 to permit Transit-Oriented Development on Light Industrial parcels on Croton Point Avenue, west of Route 9, with a maximum height of five stories. The entirety of the area where TOD uses would be permitted represents less than 1% of all land in the Village. In 2023, based on post-pandemic commuting changes, a citizen task force prepared a Request for Proposals (RFP) to use the overflow train station parking lot for multi-family housing under the new zoning. In 2024, WBP Development LLC was chosen to develop Lot A and also agreed to purchase the neighboring lot. This four-year public process can be viewed at the Project Page at www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/LotA. The RFP required that a minimum of 20% of units be set aside as affordable units. WBP submitted a proposal for all-affordable condominiums, presently numbering 100 (comprised of 46 1-bedrooms and 54 2-bedrooms). WBP and the Village Board agreed, as part of the adopted term sheet, that funding would be sought from Westchester County and New York State to make this affordable home ownership development possible. If the funding from the state and county does not come to fruition, the project would likely become a rental development with 80% of the units being market-rate and 20% being affordable units. Affordability and maximum income levels would be set consistent with HUD Income, Sale and Rent limits for Westchester County. AKRF, Inc., a planning and engineering firm, was retained by the Village Board, at the applicant’s expense, and has been analyzing potential impacts of the project through multiple lenses (State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP), the Village Code, etc.). AKRF has provided its initial review memorandum, which has been posted to the Project Page. There is a public hearing on September 18th and residents are encouraged to share their views with the Board. The Village Board has received a memorandum from the Village Planning Board regarding the Lot A proposal. A number of the concerns raised by the Planning Board, such as adequate fire protection and traffic, are being reviewed by AKRF and that information will be provided to both the Village Board and the public as soon as it is available. Additional information has been submitted in recent days by WBP, such as a fiscal analysis and public school-age children analysis, and that information will also be reviewed by AKRF in the coming days. Once the Village Board has completed its review, it will make a determination of significance under SEQRA as well as a statement of consistency with the Village’s LWRP. Following those decisions, the Board will vote on the issuance of a Special Permit, allowing WBP to work with the Village Planning Board on the Site Plan approval required for a building permit. If approved, WBP would pay the Village $2.3 million for the land. The parcel would also be added back to the tax rolls, paying Village, School District and Town property taxes. If the project receives all its approvals, it is likely to be 2027 or later before its completion.