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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAWHC 2025-06-04 att AWHC 2025-06-04 Final 1 AFFORDABLE AND WORKFORCE HOUSING COMMITTEE June 04, 2025 Virtual (via Zoom) Present: Leonardo Vargas-Mendez (chair and Town Board), Ray Burger (Director of Planning), Gina Cassidy (Planning Department), Charles Geisler (arrived late), Miles McCarty (Village of Freeville), Michael Murphy (Village of Dryden) (arrived late), Martha Robertson Absent: Christina Dravis (Town Board) Staff: Loren Sparling (Deputy Town Clerk) Guest: Tony Salerno (Planning Board) The meeting was called to order at 2:04 p.m. Review and Acceptance of Minutes RESOLUTION #11 (2025) – ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM MAY 07, 2025 L Vargas-Mendez offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Affordable and Workforce Housing Committee hereby accepts the meeting minutes of May 07, 2025, as written. 2nd M Robertson Roll Call Vote L Vargas-Mendez Yes R Burger Yes G Cassidy Yes M McCarty Yes M Robertson Yes Application for a $10,000 County Housing Affordability and Supportive Infrastructure Grant (HASIG) M Robertson recapped a meeting that she and R Burger had with Kate de la Garza (Executive Director) and Delia Yarrow (Director of Homeownership) of INHS. Initial discussions regarding the Leonardo parcel indicate that 100 acres is too big for them to manage alone. INHS would rather partner with a master developer, which is a common model. M Murphy joined the meeting at 2:07 p.m. R Burger added that the biggest inhibitor to development of the Leonardo parcel is the lack of sewer and water. It would take at least a couple of years to build out that infrastructure. INHS further indicated that, for their Trumansburg development (31 acres), they themselves had to spend $2 million on infrastructure. They would prefer not to incur the infrastructure costs on new projects. Their ideal project size is 5 acres and 55 units. The current water and sewer lines stop at the northeast corner of the NYSEG property, south of Route 13. The sewer line should optimally be on the north side of the property due to the slope. Utility easements exist along the Rail Trail corridor, which could facilitate infrastructure extension. The effort to bring water and sewer to the border of the Leonardo parcel was placed at about $3 million, though TG Miller still has to refresh the numbers. C Geisler joined the meeting at 2:09 p.m. AWHC 2025-06-04 Final 2 INHS has a minor repair program, as well as an emergency repair program for seniors, for manufactured homes in Dryden. They might be willing to enter into an MOU for future rounds of HOME funding, but probably not this year. Governor Hochul has set aside $50 million in the state budget for infrastructure construction in pro-housing communities, though the managing agency was unknown. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) also has infrastructure money and is actively looking for projects to fund. R Burger will further investigate the criteria for this money, beyond the Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program, to see if anything aligns with the needs of the Leonardo parcel or infrastructure extensions. In addition, the State’s Pro-Housing Supply Fund, mentioned in the most recent Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) resource book, offers up to $100 million, with a minimum award amount of $2.5 million. It is a 50/50 grant, implying that a project would have at least $5 million to work with. To meet the $5 million minimum for the Pro-Housing Supply Fund, R Burger is exploring the possibility of combining projects, e.g., the Hanshaw Village and Varna extensions. The NYSEG extension could be an alternative; however, the TG Miller study for the NYSEG extension may not be enough to do a grant application, as some grant programs require a map plan report with real specifics (e.g., pipe size and alignment), which the TG Miller study may lack. In contrast, the Hanshaw Village project has a detailed engineering report that relates exactly what size and alignment of pipe they need, but just for sewer, as they are currently pursuing CDBG funding for this. The Pro-Housing Supply Fund could cover both sewer and water for this project. The INHS project in Varna (5 & 9 Freese Rd) is already in the works. A small component of this project involves the extension of extant infrastructure. This could potentially cost $500,000 to $1 million and could be combined with other projects to meet funding minimums. The sewer extension project from Peregrine Way to Snyder Hill Court only requires sewer to be extended to serve existing homes and not for new housing supply. The County will not be interested in adding sewer where there are existing homes. Returning to the topic of the Leonardo parcel, R Burger noted that a major hurdle is the unclear title of the land, as the owner, Giselle Leonardo, is still involved in the courts trying to clarify title. Despite this, there is optimism, as G Leonardo has expressed to R Burger that she might be interested in being a partner in development. The group acknowledged that these things take time, indicating that preliminary work (to determine if the site is a good candidate for infrastructure development) can proceed in parallel with the clarification of ownership. Tompkins County conducted a study of Route 13 in 2008 (“NYS Route 13/366 Corridor Management Plan”) that produced some sketch diagrams (attached), but this should not be considered a concept study as it lacked detail on feasibility or ground conditions. There is a strong recommendation by Committee members to pursue a concept study for 50 acres of the Leonardo property, a more manageable scope for initial focus. The County’s Housing Affordability and Supportive Infrastructure Grant (HASIG) of up to $10,000 (with a 10% match from the Town, amounting to $1,000 at most) is being targeted for this study. This study would serve as the basis for an RFP to seek a master developer and incorporate the existing TG Miller study as baseline information. Useful information would include some kind of feasibility analysis, some kind of market study, and a closer look at the ground to ensure that there is no physical obstacle to development (which would include assessing the soils and wetlands on site). Intellectual and infrastructural investment in the Leonardo parcel could create a real neighborhood, as its location offers numerous benefits: AWHC 2025-06-04 Final 3 • Proximity to Rail Trail. The Dryden Rail Trail, a commuter and recreational corridor on its northern boundary, is a significant amenity, enhancing the site’s development potential, particularly for residential use. A bridge across the NYSEG washout on the trail, west of the parcel, is scheduled for construction this fall. • Accessibility. The site is already on a major traffic route of the County, so it would not bring more traffic through a neighborhood. It is also seen as a perfect location for a park and ride. • Flat Terrain. The parcel is relatively flat. • Mixed-Use Potential. A blend of mixed-income residential housing and commercial development (e.g., childcare, retail, office, and/or entrepreneurial space) is possible. INHS has experience incorporating Head Start, nursery schools, and daycare programs. R Burger identified the basic question as determining what are the highest and best uses of the land. • Affordable Housing. The site presents an opportunity to integrate affordable housing from the outset, rather than retrofit an existing site. Presumably, this will make it a lot easier to build affordable housing into the Town’s vision for its future, Any pushback will be negligible as there aren’t any nearby neighbors who will have their woodland viewshed obscured or other objections. M Robertson will work on a first draft of this application, with subsequent input from R Burger and G Cassidy. Asked what she perceived to be the leading question, she outlined her thoughts as follows: Tompkins County has for 25 years now identified the NYSEG area as a future node. In support of that, the County did a study (published in 2008) that included such and such conclusions. The County supported an infrastructure study to evaluate what it would take to bring water and sewer (there). Given those things and the fact that ownership is looking promising for the first time, we would like to do a feasibility study. R Burger suggested that Shawna Stevenson, who coordinates the HASIG applications for the County, also be sent a draft in order to gain further input. It was clarified that the T.G. Miller study only pertained to extending water and sewer to the edge of the Leonardo parcel. Any developer of the parcel would have to develop infrastructure on the property themselves. R Burger noted that there are a lot of ways this project could proceed. Public water could be extended to the opposite end of the Leonardo property, running the entire length of the parcel along Route 13; this could be extended further in the future. Public sewer could also be extended along the property via the Rail Trail (for which there are utility easements). He added that grant funds could be used to pay for the feasibility study, as well as grant writers and/or the identification of best possible funding sources. Committee members hope to inform the Town Board of their grant application by June 19, the date of the Town Board’s second meeting of the month. Committee members were also reminded that, due to the Independence Day holiday, their next meeting will occur on Wednesday, July 9. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Loren Sparling Deputy Town Clerk Figure 16 –NYSEG Development Lands September,2007 Figure 17 –NYSEG Development Lands Aerial September,2007 Figure 18 –NYSEG Land Use Concept September,2007 September 2007 Examples of Possible Commercial Character R Legend Industrial Buildings Multi-Family Residential Buildings Figure 19 - NYSEG Mixed Use Concept Commercial Buildings Existing Buildings Single-family Residential Buildings