Woodstock has become the latest to join a new county housing initiative, opening the door to a wide range of resources to address the lack affordable housing crisis in the town. In a resolution unanimously adopted at the November 1 Town Board meeting, Woodstock declared itself to be part of The Housing Smart Communities Initiative.
“It’s essentially a certification and capacity building program that provides guidance, technical support and incentives for all the municipalities in the county who are working to solve the housing crisis that we are all in,” said Kai Lord-Farmer, senior planner for the Ulster County Planning Department, at a recent presentation to the Town Board. In the program, communities are certified at different levels including bronze, silver, gold and platinum, based on the number of smart actions adopted.
“Woodstock is in many ways leading the way for the more rural communities on doing good housing policy,” Lord-Farmer said.
Woodstock prices are well above the target affordability for rent and mortgage payments, which are around 30 percent of one’s income.
“Here in Woodstock, 70 percent of homeowners and 85 percent of renters are spending more than half of their monthly income,” he said. “…that’s what we call severely cost-burdened. So we know there’s a problem.”
Woodstock has already completed many of the steps necessary to participate.
Communities that join the program must appoint a coordinator to serve as a liaison between the municipality and the Housing Smart Communities program staff, form a housing task force, register for the program, establish a community outreach campaign and commit to implementing actions in the program.
For more information, visit hsci.ulstercountyny.gov.
Join the family! 
