Quick housing decision unlikely
Kingston Planning Board not expected to rule on fate of RUPCO affordable housing plan at former Alms House site at next meeting
A controversial plan to build affordable housing at the former Alms House site is unlikely to draw a decision by the Planning Board at its next session.
Planning Board Chairman Wayne Platte said RUPCO’s plan for the 300 Flatbush Ave. property will be examined by the five-member board at its April 10 meeting at City Hall.
A public hearing on the plan was held Feb. 28, but the Planning Board allots time at every meeting for people to speak on any city planning matter.
Platte said the Planning Board is not expected to make a deci-
sion on either the site plan or its impacts on the environment.
The board is expected to scrutinize the potential environmental impacts of the project, Platte said.
“We are not going to make a decision because we need to go through the (state Environmental Quality Review Act) process line by line, so we are not ready to approve or disapprove yet,” Platte said.
RUPCO, a non-profit housing agency, has asked the Common Council to change the zoning of the property, which is near East Chester Street, from “single-family residential” to “multifamily residential,” clearing the way for a $20.8 million renovation and construction project that would create 66 apartments.
Thirty-two of the units at the complex, known as Landmark Place, would be for people ages 55 and older. More than half of the total number of apartments would offer support services to a mix of homeless populations with special needs, including veterans and frail or disabled seniors, RUPCO has said.
The Common Council, which must rule on a zoning change requested for the project, decided at its Feb. 6 meeting to wait for a recommendation from the Planning Board before
taking action.
The project has drawn objection, mostly from people living around the neighborhood. It has also drawn support, mostly from advocates of the less fortunate, RUPCO officials, or agency supporters.
Supporters and opponents spoke out at a Feb. 28 public hearing. Additionally, letters from both sides have been submitted to the Planning Office. A petition objecting to the Landmark Place complex has also been submitted to City Hall.
Among other things, opponents say there are already enough affordable housing projects in Kingston. They point out that there are three such complexes in the near vicinity of the Alms House site.
Supporters say, among other things, that there is a significant need for affordable housing in Kingston.
The Alms House, built by the city in the 1870s to house the poor, currently is vacant, having most recently housed Ulster County offices.
The property is owned by the Ulster County Economic Development Agency. RUPCO wants to buy it from the agency for $950,000, but the sale is contingent on RUPCO receiving site plan approval for its project and the property being rezoned.
If approved by the city, the project would be the first new rental housing for senior citizens built in Kingston since 2009.