Peekskill Enacts Affordable Housing Ordinance

PEEKSKILL, NY — The Peekskill Common Council voted recently to adopt an affordable housing ordinance.

The Jan. 24 vote, which passed unanimously, created the city's first affordable housing ordinance for various income groups.

Mayor Vivian McKenzie said she was pleased to adopt the legislation and thanked the planning department and the Housing Action Council for the dedication and countless hours it took to create the law and present it to the council.

"This ordinance will help increase access to affordable housing for low- to moderate-income households, allowing our City to be a place where all can reside," she said, in a prepared statement.

The affordable housing ordinance will make certain all future market-rate developments set aside 10 percent of units as workforce or affordable housing, according to a city spokesperson.

Families must learn less than 80 percent of the Westchester County annual median income to be eligible for workforce housing. In order to be eligible for affordable housing, families must earn less than 60 percent of the annual median income.

Officials said the new law will allow for city residents to receive preferred access and provides for an application process with the developer paying the program administration costs.

Also, all dedicated workforce and affordable rental house units must remain affordable for a minimum of 50 years from the original lease, with workforce for-sale units to remain affordable for a minimum of 10 years from the original sale date.

The passage of the affordable housing ordinance will also create an affordable housing fund managed by the city, which will be used for property improvement assistance and the promotion of affordable housing in the city.