Senior overlay district gets another look



NEW SCOTLAND – A proposed overlay district for senior housing generated discussion at last Tuesday’s planning board meeting. The town board backed off adopting it after concerns were raised at two public hearings, and sent it to the planning board for review.

The plan would allow developer Charles Carrow to build 15 duplexes behind a medical complex he built on Route 85. The 6.9-acre site has the potential for both town sewer and water, unlike much of New Scotland. Because the site is zoned for commercial use, residential development would not be allowed without the floating zone for senior housing. Robert Baron, husband of Councilwoman Deborah Baron, would act as the project contractor for the development if the plans are approved. Councilwoman Baron has said she will recuse herself from discussion and voting on the bill because of the conflict of interest.

The major debate about the document has been with how much flexibility it should have. Some residents and town officials have criticized the proposal for lacking standards to accommodate the needs of the elderly. Others say flexibility is desirable so as not to discourage potential developers.

Projects will all be subject to the normal planning process — including public hearings — and can be denied, if the board deems them inappropriate.

The senior housing district is part of a project that Councilman Richard Reilly, along with zoning administrator Paul Cantlin, and planning-board Chairman Robert Stapf, have been working on since the town enacted a moratorium on large-scale development in the Northeast Quadrant over a year ago.

Reilly has made recommendations to the town board about changes to the zoning law that would affect the Northeast Quadrant, and the town. The senior housing zone is among them. [For related stories go to altamontenterprise.com, under archives in New Scotland for the following dates: Aug. 16, Aug. 30, and Sept. 20, in 2007.]

Reilly and Baron were re-elected on Nov. 6 for their town board seats.
"I think we all recognize the need for senior housing," Reilly said at a public hearing on the proposal in August, in response to a question as to why he is proposing a floating zone, which would allow senior housing to be constructed anywhere in town. "I would rather provide the flexibility," he said.
"We’ve got to do something," said Stapf at last week’s meeting. He said that he had reviewed senior housing ordinances from other municipalities such as the village of Voorheesville, and the towns of Bethlehem, Guilderland, Colonie, and Beacon.

Some of the ordinances, he said, have a section on suggested features that are not mandated, such as storage space, first-floor bathrooms, and wheelchair accessibility.

Jo Ann Davies, an alternate to the planning board who was filling in because Cynthia Elliott and Charles Voss were absent, suggested that universal design elements be used as a guideline for developers. A few considerations, she said, are motion detectors, entrances without steps, and doorways with awnings.
"Overall," said Stapf, "I think it works for me, and for the town," he said of the document.
"You have to have flexibility as a board to deny or accept a proposal," said the attorney for the planning board, Louis Neri. "I don’t know that this ordinance is set up to micromanage projects," Neri said.

Supervisor-elect Thomas Dolin asked about incentives for affordable housing.

Mandating affordable housing doesn’t seem to work well, said Stapf. Incentives such as increasing density for developers who build affordable housing is more successful, he said.
The problem, Stapf said, is what happens when a person moves from a home deemed affordable. Will the home then be sold to seniors at an affordable price"

Stapf went on to say that he would like to see incentives for affordable housing for all types of lodging and not just senior housing.
The town has been contacted by several organizations that are interested in developing senior housing, said Stapf. "I think we need to get something going," he said.

Davies asked if the board had considered incentives for making homes energy efficient.
The town would need to have someone to enforce it, said Stapf. "Are we going to make the building department bigger"" Stapf asked. "It takes employees to enforce these things, and to manage these things," he said.
"We have to have a starting point," Neri said of the proposed district. "If you have a basic outline, you can always amend it, and improve it," he said.

Senior housing is advantageous to the town because it minimizes the impact to the school district, as most seniors don’t have school-aged children, said Stapf.
The intent is for a "senior living area," he said.
"We are discriminating based on age," said board member Kevin Kroencke, who thought that the age of 55, which is defined in the proposal to be the minimum age for eligibility in senior housing, "seems a bit young."
You can, legally, discriminate based on age, said Reilly, "as long as it’s above 55."

Davies asked if the proposal would go back through a public-hearing process. She also expressed concern over getting input from the town’s elderly.
"I certainly think it should go back to a public hearing," Reilly said. He asked if Davies might want to seek out seniors for their feedback on the proposal. She agreed.
"This is just an ordinance to expedite senior housing. We’re not enabling or creating some new housing," said Neri, who reminded everyone that units that may be built "aren’t necessarily going to be occupied by current residents of the town."
"Is it perfect"" asked Stapf, about the draft law. "No, but it’s something."
"It’s a start," echoed planning-board member, Elizabeth Stewart.

Reilly will work on tweaking the draft, keeping in mind the suggestions made by the planning board, and the town board will then schedule another public hearing.