ULSTER STRONG HOSTS FIRST THOUGHT LEADERSHIP SUMMIT ON NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT - HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL CHALLENGES TO ADDRESSING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
On September 26th Ulster Strong hosted the first of its Thought Leadership Series covering the topic of new housing development in Ulster County. Titled “Ulster Strong Housing Summit: Can New Housing Be Built In Ulster County”, the event was held at the Senate Garage in Uptown Kingston, NY.
Panelists included Ulster Savings Bank President & CEO William Calderara, Director of Ulster County Planning & Ulster County Transportation Council Dennis Doyle, Partner & Director of Construction at D&A Companies James McCormick, President & CEO of MGI Construction + Consulting Susan Wright, and Dan Ahouse, President of Stockade Strategies. Moderated by Adam Bosch, President and CEO of Pattern for Progress, the event started by referencing Pattern’s latest report titled “Out of Reach” outlining the current housing affordability crises. Bosch noted that housing affordability and low supply directly impact our local economic development efforts by making recruitment and retention increasingly difficult. According to Bosch, “We’ve been great at attracting jobs to the region, new companies, new businesses, expanding businesses,” but “we have not been great at understanding that our production of housing needs to keep pace with economic development.”
Panelists raised a number of challenges developers face in building new local housing. These include accessing predictable and responsive grant sources for public-private partnerships, especially for affordable housing solutions. Another issue raised was the unclear zoning codes and unpredictable planning processes at the local level. D&A Companies McCormick noted that the local planning process too often includes a late-stage discretionary vote by a planning board or town board based on subjective criteria. "Too often these votes take place after the developer has completed a lengthy and expensive state mandated environmental review,” said McCormick.
Public education was another issue, raised by panelist Susan Wright of MGI Construction + Consulting. Wright said there was a need for developers to do a better job of community engagement and education. “There are many people who just operate out of fear….fear of who will be in my backyard,” said Wright. “And I think a lot of it could be addressed by education.”
The Ulster Strong Housing Summit may be viewed online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNQTOUoxIhk&t=19s
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About Ulster Strong
Ulster Strong is a non-profit that works to build a better community for all by advancing sustainable growth and broad economic opportunity throughout Ulster County.
For more information visit www.ulsterstrong.com