Affordable housing project cleared to move on to ZBA 

A proposal to convert the Putnam Housing Corp.'s former Carmel offices into three affordable, handicapped-accessible apartments cleared its latest hurdle before the Planning Board last week, but not before applicants faced pointed questioning and learned the project still requires nine variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals. 

After nearly 15 minutes of discussion at its July 9 meeting, the Planning Board agreed to allow the application to move to the ZBA, where the nonprofit must obtain relief from multiple provisions of the town's new zoning code before returning to the Planning Board for final special permit approval.  

The decision keeps the project alive but also underscores how a zoning overhaul adopted last year has complicated what the applicant says is little more than the adaptive reuse of an existing building. 

"We'd like to get the process moving," said architect Joel Greenberg, who represents the applicant and serves as president of the Putnam Housing Corp. Board of Directors. "We're a nonprofit, obviously, and the problem is if we get the grants, we have to be shovel ready. If we're not shovel ready, we lose the grant." 

The proposal would convert the agency's former first-floor offices at 11 Seminary Hill Road into three one-bedroom apartments that would be fully accessible and rented below market rates. The building already contains four apartments on the second floor, bringing the total to seven units. Greenberg stressed that no expansion of the building is planned, with nearly all of the work taking place inside the existing structure.  

Town planning consultant Pat Cleary said the project has become entangled in regulations created under the new Hamlet Mixed-Use Center zoning district. 

"The building that exists today ... was constructed under the prior zoning," Cleary explained. "The property has subsequently been rezoned to the new HMC zoning district." 

Under the current code, only two dwelling units would be permitted on the site, while the proposal calls for seven (the existing four, plus the proposed additional three). The project also falls short of several parking, setback and open-space requirements, requiring what Greenberg described as "a bucket of variances." 

Assistant Building Inspector Ed Spadaro outlined the list of deficiencies, including parking dimensions, side-yard setbacks, lot coverage and the number of required parking spaces. Additional variances are also needed to satisfy the special permit standards contained in the new zoning code.  

The tone of the discussion differed noticeably from the board's previous meeting in June, when members generally praised the public benefit of the affordable housing proposal while expressing concern that the recently adopted zoning code may not adequately address the conversion of existing buildings. 

This time, board members questioned whether the site was simply too small to accommodate seven apartments. 

Planning Board Chairman Craig Paeprer noted the lack of outdoor space. 

"There's not even ... room for a barbecue or a bicycle rack, never mind a basketball hoop," he said. 

Greenberg appeared surprised by the shift in the board's concerns. 

"I don't know," he responded. "It seemed that at the last meeting most of the board members seemed to think that we were doing something good for the community. I disagree with you." 

Paeprer replied that the board was not questioning the value of affordable housing, but whether the proposal represented the right intensity of development for the property. 

"I don't think we disagree with you trying to do something for the community," he said. "That's absolutely needed and we want that. It's just whether or not it's the right fit and the right amount, right use of the space." 

Putnam Housing Corp. Executive Director Suzanne Brought also defended the proposal after questions arose about the lack of recreational amenities. 

"I know that you're saying basketball courts and there's not enough areas for picnic tables," she said. "These apartments are going to be meant for seniors and disabled people, not those who have children and are running around." 

Brought said the apartments would rent for roughly $950 per month, with rents tied to affordability standards based on 80 percent of the area's median income. She said the nonprofit's ability to pursue grant funding depends on obtaining the necessary approvals. 

"When I write the grant, yes, those stipulations are in those grants," she said. 

The Planning Board also discussed ensuring the apartments remain affordable permanently. Greenberg said the organization has no objection to making affordability a condition of approval, even if the property changes hands in the future. 

"If, God forbid, we have to sell it, that would be part of the condition that it remains that way," Greenberg said. 

The board also requested a water and wastewater report and a formal lighting plan, although Cleary advised that those items should not delay the applicant from seeking ZBA approval because they are unrelated to the requested variances. 

"I'm personally in favor of sending it to the ZBA as long as the file is complete," Paeprer said. 

Spadaro told Mahopac News that he met with Greenberg on July 14 and said that the architect has completed the paperwork necessary to file the nine variance applications with the Zoning Board of Appeals. 

If the variances are granted, the proposed plan will return to the Planning Board for final consideration of the required special use permit.