City Explores Sustainable Saratoga Housing Proposal

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A decade-old proposal that supporters say would assure the implementation of affordable housing strategies across Saratoga Springs is being dusted off and re-visited by the city. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to send the plan to both the city and county planning boards to gauge whether the proposal has merit for further review. The proposal, which was initiated in 2006 and currently counts Sustainable Saratoga as an advocate, would require new development projects in all districts across Saratoga Springs to include a proportion of housing units be made affordable to residents with lower to middle incomes. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines “affordable housing” as housing for which occupants pay no more than 30 percent of their income for gross housing costs, including utilities. According to the 2010-14 American Community Survey Report of the U.S. Census Bureau, one-third of residents in the city of Saratoga Springs are paying more than that 30 percent of income guideline. Of those residents, about 24 percent are homeowners, and 44 percent are renters. According to Sustainable Saratoga, more than 20 local agencies provide housing opportunities for low-income households and special needs populations, but not nearly as much is being done for middle-income groups. Typically, law enforcement, teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public-service personnel fall in the middle-income group, as well as business entrepreneurs, among others. According to the Saratoga Springs City Police Department, the residency requirement was lifted, in part, because the cost of housing within city limits was not affordable to new officers. Sustainable Saratoga estimates the council’s adoption of such an ordinance – which could take place before the end of the calendar year – would result in the construction of 20 to 30 new units of affordable housing annually. The 2006 inclusionary zoning proposal was drafted in the wake of a year’s worth of committee meetings, but never made it to the City Council table for a vote. The proposal has its detractors. “It was so strongly rejected by the public, it didn’t even come to the council for a vote,” local resident Bonnie Sellers told the council during Tuesday night’s public comment period. The proposal would result in more building density, the need to increase staff at City Hall and subsequent associated costs, and the potential for higher taxes, Sellers argued. City resident Dave Morris, an affordable housing advocate and a host of the Facebook group “Saratogians for Sustainable Housing” is also opposed to the proposal. While the plan stipulates developers would receive a density bonus - or a right to build additional units on the same site to offset costs incurred by providing affordable units - Morris said current city zoning laws and building-height restrictions offer no such opportunity for builders. “The problem is in the numbers. Developers are not going to take jobs where they lose money. If they’re going to lose money, they’ll just go somewhere else. The numbers don’t work,” Morris said. The area median income for a family of four in Saratoga County is $82,000, according to HUD. It is not currently known what the income limit requirements would be should the ordinance be locally adopted. HUD estimates define “low-income” provisions as 80 percent of the median family income for the area, or $65,000 earned income for a family of four in Saratoga. More than 400 communities in 17 states currently have some kind of Inclusionary Zoning in place. Regarding the Saratoga Springs plan, a study is being conducted by GAR Associates, of Amherst, and is expected to provide updated data regarding the proposal when completed in late September. The potential ordinance would apply to both rental and owner-occupied housing and current city residents would have first opportunity to apply for affordable housing units. “I think we are obviously going to look at this closely,” city Mayor Joanne Yepsen said Tuesday. “This is hopefully going to be a partnership when it’s all said and done. I’d like to see it benefitting the builders and developers through various incentives. I think it would be very refreshing to have developers partner with the city as we move forward with the specific language of this proposal.”