Saugerties Village Board members were clear: The village has no room for additional housing, so an Ulster County plan to increase the amount of reasonably priced rentals is not relevant to the village.
Two trustees were more interested in the program, which was presented by Ulster County Planning Department director Dennis Doyle and senior planner Kai Lord Farmer at a Village Board meeting on Monday, August 7. Trustee Andrew Zink agreed that there is a crisis in housing in both Ulster County and Saugerties, and favored the village’s membership in the Housing Smart Communities Program. Trustee Jeanine Mayer noted that joining the program would cost the village nothing, so it would pay to see what the program could offer the village.
Mayor Bill Murphy said that the program seemed more appropriate for the Town of Saugerties, which has vacant land on which more affordable housing, such as apartments, could be built. The town is already a member of Housing Smart Communities. At the close of nearly an hour of discussion, he assigned Zink to be the village’s contact to the town program, and to keep the board informed of developments in the program.
Action to increase the stock of affordable housing is necessary because housing costs have increased dramatically, while incomes have not, Doyle said. The county planners concluded that “We need to plan for getting more housing, both on the affordable side and more housing generally.” One of the problems the county has identified is “the missing middle,” Doyle said, referring to the choice of buildings to construct either high-income housing or tax credit housing for poorer people that would be subsidized. Housing for middle-income residents draws fewer builders, he said. Other factors affecting the availability of housing include the purchase of second homes by city people and the conversion of houses to bed-and-breakfast operations, Doyle added.
One solution is based on the Climate Smart Program, which focuses on the environment and climate change, encouraging people to use resources in more sustainable ways. The Housing Smart Program likewise offers communities a variety of ways to improve housing stock, with communities and/or homeowners selecting the actions with which they feel comfortable.
Kai Farmer described the program in detail, explaining that municipalities could select from a list of elements. The program offers technical planning help, training and education in how to implement smart housing policies, model regulations, housing policies and planning tools for participating communities, as well as consultants to help develop policies.
Farmer discussed a number of actions communities can take, all of which are listed in a handout of more than 20 pages. The actions range from community outreach and education to changing regulations on rental property, short-term and vacation rentals, support for building accessory units (so called “granny flats”) to creating innovative housing solutions. Proposals also include tax policies that encourage building or adding rental units and mandating a percentage of affordable units in new developments.
The program was launched in 2022, and so far, eleven communities have joined, Farmer said. The demand for housing has grown over the past 20 years, with a spike during the pandemic, when people left the city in the hope of escaping it. At the same time, construction costs have increased, Farmer said. “When I talk to business owners, big and small, what they are telling us is that they can’t hire employees or they can’t expand their businesses because the price of housing is getting so high, they can’t attract new employees.”
“In Saugerties, average rents have increased about 40 percent over the last ten years, while wages have remained stagnant,” Farmer continued. “About 10 percent of owners and 27 percent of renters in Saugerties spend more than half of their monthly income on housing.”
Since the Town of Saugerties has already joined the program, Farmer argued, the town and village could coordinate their programs. Murphy responded that the village and town should work together on housing, not develop separate programs.
Regarding the suggestion that municipalities can increase their housing stock by allowing residents to put second buildings on their property, Murphy said that lot sizes in the village are too small for that method. For new housing, the village does not have open space for new developments. There is only one lot currently open for development. “We’re a different landscape than the town is,” he said. “The one thing that caught my eye, which I like, is to join or establish a housing rehabilitation program. We do have derelict properties in the village, and that could be advantageous to people who own those buildings.” He asked whether funding would be available for property owners who want to rehabilitate their buildings.
Increasing housing stock does not always require new construction, Doyle said. Many of the large Victorian houses in Saugerties could be converted to include a rental unit. He noted that there is state funding for community renewal, which is run through Ulster County’s “scattered site” program. The village is also eligible to apply by itself for those funds. “We would help you apply.”
Deputy mayor Jeannine Mayer asked about GAP financing, and how owners can apply. Doyle said that applications for this funding go through RUPCO (Rural Ulster Preservation Company). The village would be eligible for its own funding, but it would be easier through the county, Doyle said.
Suzanne LeBlanc, a former trustee, asked what the benefit of the program would be for the average resident. Providing housing for people of varying incomes leads to more diverse communities, and in general a more diverse community better meets the needs of all its residents, Doyle said. In addition, providing affordable housing reduces the problems of homelessness, and emergency housing for the homeless is often far more expensive than providing housing for all the town’s residents. Finally, he reiterated the problem that businesses have finding employees if they can’t afford to live here.
LeBlanc said that about 70 percent of the housing in Saugerties is now rental. “We can’t put any more people in this village; where are the lots?” she asked. She asserted that village lots are small, and that there is no space for accessory buildings. “I don’t think many people would give up their garages,” she said. She also noted that many residents have already broken up large houses into rental units, “so we are way ahead of you guys.”
Trustee Terry Parisian noted that income in Ulster County is about 80 percent tourism and hospitality, a low-wage sector of the economy. “You say people can’t afford housing in Ulster County; look at the jobs,” he said. Businesses pay hospitality workers minimum wage, and often hire them part-time. “You can’t put the burden on taxpayers when the businesses should be stepping up to the plate, or the county should be asking, how do we get businesses here other than hospitality?” Parisian said.
Special Projects coordinator Alex Wade, a former village building inspector, said that in the 32 years he has been involved with the building department, he has seen the village go “from unoccupied, derelict buildings to a pretty comprehensive, well-formed housing stock. Unfortunately, we are built up. We have one project they just got a building permit for this afternoon, on North Street, without to my knowledge any help from the county. And that, except for a rock cliff and a section that has inadequate street access, we don’t have any place to put multiple developments.”
While the county program provides some good benefits, “They don’t apply to the Village of Saugerties,” Wade said. “They apply to larger communities.” In his written report to the Village Board, he notes that the town’s committee has good people working on this program, and he would be happy to continue working with them, but added, “I don’t think we should be forced to sign an agreement with Ulster County.”
Murphy agreed that the town program is working well, and the village should be represented, “but I don’t see that we should be involved personally, individually.” He noted that 25 of the 27 full-time village employees live in the town.
“When you have development in a small village like this, and you switch a garage to an apartment or put an addition on your house, you have to deal with parking,” trustee Don Hackett said. “Parking is one of the biggest issues, along with water and wastewater.” Homeowners must pay for upgrading these facilities through their taxes, which will increase, he said.
Murphy summarized the advantages and disadvantages of joining the program, and said that the trustees would need to work through them. He then thanked Doyle and Farmer and said that the board would continue with the regular meeting.