No one turned out for the April 9 village Planning Board public hearing for the 42-unit Country Meadows senior and affordable housing project proposed for North St.
Planning Board chair George Lewandowski said the board would continue to take written comments from the public until its next meeting May 14, when the board will vote on the application.
This is the same project that two years ago drew dozens of angry residents to meetings, who argued at the time that there was a glut of low-income rental units in Saugerties and Country Meadows would just add to it.
Country Meadows’ principal Patrick Simmons and his team of experts said they were “pleasantly surprised” by the lack of opposition this time around.
The project is before the board for the fourth time because time had expired on the board’s last approval for the plan more than a year ago. One of the key components to making the project a reality is funding from the New York State Homes & Community Renewal Program, which provides low interest loans and tax credits to developers of low-income housing. With a new round of funding coming up in the fall, Simmons and company are back, hopeful that this fourth incarnation will be the charm.
The last project called for 55 low-income units divided between senior housing and so-called workforce housing. The new plan has been downsized to 42 units with 23 working family units and 18 senior citizen age-restricted units. Eight units will be set aside for those with special needs. Simmons is working with the Dutchess County-based Anderson Center for Autism to house some of the center’s clients.
The next meeting on the project will be held at 7 p.m., May 14 and at that time the board is expected to grant its approval.
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