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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAWHC 2025-11-04 AWHC 2025-11-04 Final AFFORDABLE AND WORKFORCE HOUSING COMMITTEE November 04, 2025 Virtual (via Zoom) Present: Leonardo Vargas-Mendez (chair and Town Board), Charles Geisler, Ryan McHugh (arrived late), Michael Murphy (Village of Dryden), Martha Robertson Absent: Christina Dravis (Town Board), Miles McCarty (Village of Freeville) Staff: Ray Burger (Director of Planning), Gina Cassidy (Planning Department) The meeting was called to order at 2.00 p.m. Review and Acceptance of Minutes RESOLUTION #18 (2025) – ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 07, 2025 M Robertson offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Affordable and Workforce Housing Committee hereby accepts the meeting minutes of October 07, 2025, as written. 2nd M Murphy Roll Call Vote L Vargas-Mendez Yes C Geisler Yes M Murphy Yes M Robertson Yes ZAG Update R Burger reported that the Zoning Advisory Group (ZAG) is progressing on a multi- phase rewrite of the Town’s zoning code. The immediate focus is on completing Phase 1. The ZAG is scheduled to conduct a detailed review of all Phase 1 changes being proposed at its next meeting on Thursday night, with the goal of finalizing these changes. A point of discussion has emerged regarding changes to the conservation subdivision law (Section 240) proposed by the consultant. Some members feel these changes fall outside the agreed-upon scope of Phase 1, which was intended to be relatively non-controversial. The concern is not with the substance of the proposed changes, but with the timing. Introducing a potentially contentious topic could slow the process of advancing the core Phase 1 updates. The group will discuss on Thursday whether to proceed with the changes or defer them to Phase 2. Once the Phase 1 changes have been finalized, the ZAG can advance the proposed zoning amendments to the Town Board. This process requires a quorum of the Planning Board to be present at the ZAG meeting. Alternatively, the ZAG can wait until the next regular Planning Board meeting in order to forward a formal recommendation to the Town Board. The Town Board will then hold a public hearing to gather community input before making a final decision on the proposed law. This process typically spans two to three Town Board meetings, ensuring ample time for review and public comment. The ZAG’s next task will be to define the scope of work for Phase 2. G Cassidy has already drafted a document that uses the remainder list from the consultant’s original zoning audit to help the ZAG select priorities for the project’s second year. Phase 3 will be the final phase of the comprehensive update, addressing all remaining elements of the zoning code. AWHC 2025-11-04 Final Key Phase 1 accomplishments include a significant rework of the code’s definition section to enhance clarity and consistency and expand underdeveloped areas, as well as the development of new regulations for emerging land uses, such as battery storage facilities and data centers. A dedicated data center law was separated from the main zoning package in October to meet an urgent deadline. The Town’s 18-month moratorium on data centers is set to expire on February 3, 2026. The Town Board must either enact new regulations or extend the moratorium before this date. The proposed data center law is intentionally restrictive, designed to permit small-scale operations while preventing the negative impacts associated with disruptive large-scale facilities as seen in other regions (e.g., strained electrical grids and increased power rates). The core parameters include: Limited scale: A maximum of two data center facilities will be permitted within the Town. Size cap: Each facility will be limited to a maximum of 5,000 sq ft. Power draw restriction: A strict cap of one megawatt per facility, a draw comparable to that of a single house, will be imposed to prevent strain on the local energy grid. This draft law will be introduced by the Town Board on November 20. A public hearing will be scheduled for December 18. The Board could render a final decision on the law on the night of the hearing or at its January meeting, which will still be ahead of the moratorium expiration. Committee members largely expressed approval for the small-scale approach of the proposed data center law. A question was raised about the basis for a proposed 100-foot minimum distance to neighboring properties. It was speculated that this conservative setback was based on the minimal size and power draw of data centers that would be allowed under the new law. Another significant concern noted was that the light industrial zone designated for data centers is also an area being considered for future multi-family and other developments. This creates a potential future conflict between industrial and residential land use. C Geisler expressed skepticism that data center operations in Dryden will remain at the proposed small scale over the long term. The Committee discussed the importance of ensuring the Zoning Advisory Group is mindful of the Town’s status as a Pro-Housing Community. It was noted that state certification focuses primarily on demonstrating growth and avoiding exclusionary regulations, rather than imposing specific zoning mandates. R McHugh joined the meeting at 2:24 p.m. Cornell Land near Hanshaw Rd R Burger related that he intends to resume communication with Jeremy Thomas (Cornell Real Estate Office) before the end of the year. Last contact with him involved the submission of maps that identifed Cornell-owned properties in the Town that are potentially suitable for housing development. The Committee plans to share the draft data center law with him, as it impacts a light industrial zone adjacent to Cornell-owned property on Hanshaw Rd. HASIG RFP Update AWHC 2025-11-04 Final The Town has an open Request for Proposals (RFP) for consulting services related to its housing and planning efforts, with a submission deadline of December 1, 2025. One consultant has already responded with questions, indicating active interest. Pre-Approved Housing and HCR’s MOVE-IN NY Program G Cassidy reported on an October 10 presentation given by Strong Towns (advocacy nonprofit) as part of Tompkins County’s weekly Local Motion lecture series to increase affordable housing stock in its member municipalities. The presentation focused on the concept of pre-approved housing plans, about which the County is trying to gauge interest. This initiative involves a municipality creating a menu of pre-approved housing designs (up to 9). Developers can then purchase these plans for an expedited permitting process. The municipality bears the upfront cost of commissioning or acquiring the architectural plans. It can then recoup this investment over time by charging developers a fee to use the plans. M Murphy suggested that perhaps modular home fabricators may already have sets of pre-designed plans that could be modified for use in Dryden. There was debate about the program’s local utility. R Burger expressed that he would like to see some early involvement with developers to see if they would have an interest in this. He questioned the need, stating that the Town’s permit review process is already prompt, and suggested builders are trending toward manufactured housing over stick-built projects. (Those owners who opt for a stick-built project will probably not want a cookie-cutter house.) Others argued that pre-approved plans could be valuable for developing lower-cost, affordable housing units. The goal is to get more houses, not necessarily to do something for developers. The Committee will consider discussing next steps with the County’s housing representative (David West); R Burger will send him an invitation to next month’s meeting. G Cassidy also attended a webinar hosted by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), and identified its MOVE-IN New York CrossMod Expansion program (https://hcr.ny.gov/MoveInNY)] as a particularly compelling opportunity. This initiative provides interest-free, non-amortizing, partially forgivable loans to municipalities, land banks, or non-profits to site and sell a minimum of ten (10) CrossMod homes. These are factory-built, single-family residences (on average 3-bed, 2-bath, 1500 sq ft) that cost approximately half the price of a comparable site-built home and can be installed in under six months. The program is designed to cost the municipality no money out of pocket. The HCR loan covers home purchase, delivery, site preparation, utility connections, permitting, and a 6% developer fee for project management. The loan is repaid as the homes are sold. The municipality must provide building sites ready within five months of the award, pass a Town Board resolution of support, conduct a market analysis, and ensure local code does not impose special permitting requirements. Buyers must meet income eligibility (70%-130% of Area Median Income). A 10-year restrictive covenant is placed on resale to prevent speculation. The Committee immediately identified the primary obstacle for Dryden as the municipal requirement to provide the building sites. The Town does not currently have a land bank or suitable publicly-owned parcels to meet this requirement. A partnership with Cornell University was proposed as the most viable solution. The Committee will investigate the feasibility of this by asking HCR three key questions (if these have not already been addressed in the prospectus): 1. Can the municipality partner with a non-profit entity, such as Cornell, that retains land ownership? (It was noted that, as a non-profit, Cornell could also submit an application to this program.) AWHC 2025-11-04 Final 2. Is a partnership with Cornell permissible, given its standard practice of leasing rather than selling land? 3. Can the municipality partner with a private landowner to provide the required building sites? (In this case, a certain price increase would not be exceeded for 10 years.) The possibility of applying through a land bank administered by Tompkins Co was also suggested, but conversations with David West indicate that the County would be a poor candidate for a land bank due to real estate costs being so high. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:24 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Loren Sparling Deputy Town Clerk