Applicants could receive up to $125K for dwelling units
Beacon and seven other municipalities in Dutchess County have been awarded $6 million from a state program to help low- and moderate-income residents construct or upgrade accessory dwelling units.
Applications for the funding from Plus One ADU should be available later this year, after the Poughkeepsie nonprofit that will administer the program locally finalizes contracts with the state and municipalities.
Single-family homeowners who qualify will be able to apply for up to $125,000 per project. The other Dutchess municipalities awarded this funding are the towns of Amenia, North East, Pine Plains, Poughkeepsie, Stanford, Union Vale and the Village of Rhinebeck.
On Wednesday (Feb. 26), City Administrator Chris White said he was unsure whether the state or the nonprofit, Hudson River Housing, would evaluate applications. The city’s role will be to promote the program, he said.
The $6 million award, announced Feb. 14, is part of the third round of funding for the Plus One program; the state allocated $85 million in the 2022-23 budget. Applicants who receive funding will be required to confirm for 10 years or longer that the ADU is being used as housing and not short-term rentals, with site visits every two years.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has supported ADUs as a relatively easy way to create affordable housing. They are often used to house an older relative but can provide income if used as long-term rentals.
The City Council on Monday began a discussion of ways to further simplify Beacon’s ADU approval process. In 2022, the council approved zoning-code amendments to streamline the lengthy Planning Board review that had been required for ADUs, but permits have been issued for only four units since then. Twenty-nine were approved in the three decades after the city began allowing ADUs in 1989.
“We are not seeing the uptake of ADUs that was maybe thought [would happen] when these regulations were originally developed,” said Natalie Quinn, the city’s planning consultant. “I think there was a thought that it would be hugely popular and there would be one on every other lot.” Because of the low participation, many municipalities are trying to make approvals easier, she said.
Monday’s meeting gave council members the opportunity to weigh in on several questions about regulations and ways to simplify them. The council seemed inclined to allow ADUs on any lot with a single-family structure. Currently, accessory units are not allowed in the Linkage or Fishkill Creek Development zones, among other areas.
Council members appeared OK with keeping a requirement that the property owner must live in the primary structure or the ADU. They agreed to lower the minimum accessory apartment size from 200 square feet to match the state building code, which is 150 square feet. The city’s current maximum is 1,000 square feet.
The council also seemed to agree that some applications — for example, those for ADUs above a certain size or requiring a new structure rather than a renovation — should require Planning Board review.
Council members leaned toward eliminating the requirement of one parking space per unit but said that, if an application must go to the Planning Board, a parking requirement should be considered. Finally, they agreed to continue requiring a $750 application fee and $3,000 escrow payment for Planning Board applications to cover the time of city attorneys and planning and engineering consultants.
Despite those restrictions, by streamlining the process so that the building inspector can review and approve most applications, “you’re removing the application fee, the escrow and engineering fees” for applicants, noted City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis. “That’s where you’re getting your most significant savings.”
Ward-Willis said he would bring a draft law to the next council workshop on March 10. If the council approves, it would schedule a public hearing for feedback before voting.
East Main rezoning
The council could rezone the mixed-use building at 1 East Main St. from Light Industrial to the adjacent Central Main Street zone. The change was recommended by former building inspector Bruce Flower, who left this month for a job with the Town of Poughkeepsie. Flower noted in a memo that restaurants and coffeehouses, such as Trax Coffee Roasters, are permitted in the Main Street zone but not Light Industrial.
In addition, he wrote, the condos at 1 East Main are “more in line with multifamily dwellings,” which are not permitted in Light Industrial, than artist live/work spaces, which are allowed.
If the proposed conversion of the dormant railroad line to a trail proceeds, businesses along its path would become better connected to Main Street under new zoning, Flower said. The railroad right-of-way in the area is already zoned Central Main Street.
Building inspector
The council is expected to vote Monday on whether to hire Bryan Murphy as building inspector. He has been the building and fire inspector for the Village of Wappingers Falls for 12 years and owned a construction company for 14 years. He is the best-qualified candidate on a list provided by Dutchess County of people who passed the required civil-service exam, wrote Human Resources Director Sara Morris in a memo to the council.
