Village of Dryden receives Pro-housing designation; Ithaca's application to follow

*UPDATE: This story was updated to include comment from Dryden Village Mayor Michael Murphy.

State officials announced the certification of New York’s first Pro-Housing Communities on Wednesday as a part of a long-term housing strategy launched by Gov. Kathy Hochul last year in response to the major influx of migrants into New York City and throughout the state.

Hochul’s executive order to increase the housing supply also established the Pro-Housing Community Program, which recognizes, and awards municipalities working to unlock their housing potential and encourage others to follow suit.

Through the program, localities with large housing growth potential, or communities committed to taking important steps to support housing — like streamlining permitting and adopting pro-housing policies — and that have applied and submitted critical housing and zoning data to the state, would receive Pro-housing certification through state offices if selected.

A certification from the state office of Homes and Community Renewal would award a given municipality priority in future housing funding selections made by the state: up to $650 million in state discretionary funding through many state programs, including the Department of State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward programs.

Some confusion

The village of Dryden reportedly received the designation, according to Ithaca Area Economic Development President, Heather McDaniel, although the statement from Hochul’s office reported that it was the town of Dryden seeking a pro-housing designation.

“This is the first program of this type we have seen in NY State,” McDaniel said in an email Thursday. “The state recognizes that housing development is one of the key ingredients to attracting and retaining companies all over the state. They are trying to be proactive in engaging with municipalities to ensure that policies are in place to support more housing development.”

The city of Ithaca also has an application in the works, and several other nearby municipalities are looking into applying, she said.

How a pro-housing designation can help NY communities, alongside other initiatives

“Every little bit helps when it comes to housing,” McDaniel said. “The county has done a needs assessment and a housing snapshot that identifies need at nearly every price point and type of housing here.”

To McDaniel, this is just one piece of the housing puzzle. She said state and federal funding leverages private funding which in turn creates good jobs and could increase Ithaca’s tax base.

The business community is deeply engaged in this issue because a large number of employees who work here, in Tompkins, live in other counties, but would move here if there were more affordable housing," Village of Dryden Mayor Michael Murphy said in an email Friday.

He said that about 30 percent of the county's work force lives in other counties, which can make it difficult to attract new business here in Tompkins County.

"The fact that 30 percent of our county’s work force lives in other counties makes it hard to attract new business here," he said. "I therefore applaud the town of Dryden for helping the village secure a local apartment developer, Ezra Village Incorporated, to start building 48 safe, efficient, market value apartments this year."

Beyond this year, the village has entered an agreement with the developer to build new apartments each year for the next 15 years until the 42 acre complex is completed with an estimated total of nearly 750 apartments.

Streamlining zoning and the approval processes, water and sewer infrastructure investment, tax credits and other incentives for affordable housing, along with other innovative programs like the County's Community Housing Development Fund together may pave the way for more development.

The fund, established in 2009, helps communities and organizations throughout Tompkins County respond to the housing needs of county residents, an effort that could not be successful without collaboration, according to Murphy.

Eligible uses of the fund, according to the county include the cost of land, construction, or any development costs that will reduce the cost of new or newly rehabilitated non-student housing units developed, provided these housing units remain permanently affordable by using a mechanism such as the Community Housing Trust, a program that helps people with modest incomes buy their first homes.

"The effort is massive – including every municipality; every level of local government; the Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Authority (the INHS); the Ithaca Area Economic Development board; non-profit organizations; and the Tompkins’s Chamber of Commerce," Murphy said.

The fund has been used in conjunction with state funds for several projects around Tompkins County in recent years, having awarded up to $360,000 to just under 50 projects since its founding in 2009.

This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Village of Dryden receives Pro-housing designation