Exclusive: County's Housing Plan Rejected...Again

Without being rude, or pushy, the federal government walloped Westchester Tuesday, rejecting the county government's second attempt at a court-mandated affordable housing program.

The county turned in their revision on the first plan on Friday with the hopes of fulfilling the $62.5 million court settlement from August 2009. The county agreed to enact a plan to desegregate housing and offer new opportunities for affordability in what are now predominantly white census blocks.

The first attempt was rejected by the federal monitor, James Johnson, last month. He was appointed by the courts and charged with reporting progress to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Johnson determined that the earlier plan was lacking specific timetables or processes for the 750 homes the county is to develop and market to minorities over seven years. Another criticism was that the plan did not charge a person or government agency with the job of putting the $51.6 million the county will spend on housing into use.

Tuesday HUD made it clear that the newest version was equally incomplete:

"We have seen two versions of the implementation plan and, while the County has worked to improve it, there is still work to be done to set a clear strategy for promoting diverse, inclusive communities," read the press release, which appeared Tuesday on the HUD Web site.

"The County must explain how it will utilize the full range of tools available to ensure the development of 750 new affordable homes in eligible high-opportunity communities and to overcome any anticipated barriers."

"It is again time for us all to work to ensure the County meets its fair housing obligations under the settlement and promotes inclusive, diverse communities throughout Westchester," read the release.

According to the 20th paragraph of the original settlement, section d, the monitor – if he, like HUD, determines the submission is insufficient – may now order revisions that the county must incorporate into the implementation plan.

To read more about the penalties for non-payment and non-compliance, see paragraph 34 on page 28 of the settlement.

In Scarsdale, recent discussions related to the updating of the Village Comprehensive Plan were impacted by the August 2009 court decision. Ultimately, although the Planning Board had recommended it initially, the Board of Trustees decided to drop any reference to "workforce housing" from the comprehensive plan.

Tara L. Martin, press secretary to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, said she hadn't yet seen the release.

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