Seeking a better SEQRA process 

Creating enough housing to spark the Hudson Valley’s and the state’s economy will need both a broad approach from government and business and a focused approach from individual developers and planning boards, say participants at Pattern for Progress’ annual housing conference. But progress is possible they agreed, raising ideas from far- reaching legal changes to common-sense steps.

The event began with a chuckle.“Remember the word sprawl?” Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus asked the 250 attendees at the beginning of the fourth annual Pattern housing conference, titled “A Balanced Pattern for Growth” and held at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel June 14.

“The recession made the word sprawl archaic,” noted Pattern President and CEO Jonathan Drapkin, but did nothing to alleviate the severe housing shortage in the Hudson Valley. And, he said, companies can’t move to or create facilities in locales that cannot provide housing for their employees.

Pattern has spearheaded efforts over the last year to examine and improve SEQRA, the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a 35-year-old law that outlines a process to examine proposed projects by a “lead agency” that can range from local planning boards to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The lead agency can reject projects or mandate revisions if deemed necessary for a wide ranging list of reasons.

Over the course of the conference, at various workshops and discussions, participants discussed SEQRA failings and ways to improve it.

John Cronin, director and CEO of the Beacon Institute, noted that SEQRA provides “a series of snapshots” as each project is reviewed with no one correlating the data for a big-picture overview. The failure is dramatically demonstrated, he said, in the fact that parts of New York state face water shortages. He recommended the governor appoint a commission using the academic and business expertise of the state to create a system that allows real-time access to key environmental data. This would simplify SEQRA, by reducing the number of redundant studies and data points each project produces, and ideally would allow New York to export its data-sharing system for commercial gain.

Participants who are themselves planning board members or town board members suggested developers help themselves simplify the process by holding pre-SEQRA meetings in the town where they would do a project. By hearing concerns in advance, their initial plans might face fewer surprises and quicker approval.

Completing generic environmental impact statements in areas where development would be welcomed is another proactive step that could spur development. Investment in preparing regional, countywide and municipal plans for development would help developers choose where to bring a particular project and aid efforts to attract business. Though up front funding is needed, the effort would pay off in more projects, more jobs and more businesses.

The idea of exempting affordable housing projects from SEQRA was raised, particularly in the context of putting worker housing in places already scrutinized using generic environmental review.

Enforcing existing time lines was seen as a key step to encourage developers, who may be less worried about rejection of a project than the uncertainty of a drawn out process.

And don’t be intimidated was a common theme. “Don’t let SEQRA be the obstacle let it be the vehicle,” said Ned Sullivan, president of Scenic Hudson, who said that approach would work well in conjunction with comprehensive regional planning.            

Pattern award winners

Awards for leadership in providing housing in the Hudson Valley were announced by Pattern for Progress as part of its annual Housing the Hudson Valley conference, June 14. Regan Development, a Westchester-based firm with more than 1,900 units of housing across the Hudson Valley, New Jersey and Connecticut, and Jonah Mandelbaum of MJJ Builders, who has developed more than 1,000 affordable senior housing apartments across the region, won for their work in the private sector.

John Ebert of the Orange County Office of Community Development was this year’s public sector winner.

“They  have significantly improved the quality of life in the Hudson Valley with their single-minded focus on providing an affordable place to live for people who in this economic climate would otherwise have to move from our region,” said Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of Pattern. “We call them our ‘housing heroes of the Hudson Valley.’”

Larry Regan, president of Regan Development, and his brother Ken Regan, vice president, have developed for-sale and rental communities in the Hudson Valley from Yonkers to the town of Liberty in Sullivan County.

Jonah Mandelbaum is president of MJJ Builders Corp., Orange Properties and Devon Management, and has 25 years of experience in land development, construction and property management. After building several hundred luxury homes in the region, he now specializes in affordable housing for seniors, owning and managing apartment complexes in Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties

John Ebert is a senior staff member in the Orange County Office of Community Development, where he has served as the rehabilitation planner managing affordable home ownership, Lead-Safe Orange and rental housing production programs since 1994.

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