POUGHKEEPSIE – An emergency housing law was proposed at Monday’s council meeting by 2nd ward councilman Evan Menist and was met with some resistance by Council Chairperson Sarah Salem. Menist had emailed his fellow lawmakers a copy of the initiative on Friday afternoon.
The Emergency Tenant Housing and Inclusionary Construction Strategy Act, nicknamed the Poughkeepsie ETHICS act, is a local law that would require property owners or developers that are seeking approval to build or renovate multi-family dwellings of five units or more set aside 10% of those units to be considered affordable housing.
In explaining the proposed law, Menist said “This local law is sorely needed here as we continue to see a housing boom, despite the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic. We need a robust Inclusionary Zoning plan, but that can’t happen until we have a new comprehensive plan, a new housing vacancy study, and a feasibility plan for implementation. This is a concrete step we can take right now to ensure the availability of affordable, accessible housing for our residents for years to come.” Councilmember Sarah Brannen has been working on an inclusionary zoning plan for the city since 2019, with no proposal introduced yet.
The Menist proposal suggests using the Dutchess County Area Median Income (AMI) data to determine the threshold for the new rent-controlled units. Salem balked at the idea, saying that the income data for the city is much lower than the county. She said the bill “leaves a lot to be desired” as it is currently written. Councilmember Natasha Cherry was receptive to the ETHICS plan but intimated that work needs to be done to make the entire city inclusionary, noting that there is a lack of low-income housing on the south side of Poughkeepsie.
The lawmakers will continue to discuss the proposal at their January 2021 meeting.
