» Articles from July 2007
Affordable Housing Program
Gives Double Dip to Developers
I sent the following letter to Pine Plains Supervisor Gregg Pulver, urging his board to eliminate generous incentives to developers in the town’s proposed new zoning law.
Supervisor Pulver,
As your Town Board reviews the many controversial land use policies proposed in the Draft Zoning Law, there is one issue that all quarters of the community seem to agree on: a desire to promote more affordable housing for the benefit of Pine Plains residents who would otherwise be unable to buy a home in the town.
But the proposed ordinance, rather than devising a system that offers economic help to deserving residents, instead transfers most of the benefits to large-scale developers through so-called “density bonus” Read more
A Tale of Two Towns
Two country neighbors, the towns of Gallatin and Taghkanic in southern Columbia County, have a lot in common: rolling vistas of wooded, sparsely populated hills, abundant farms, and little commercial activity or road traffic to disturb the tranquil surroundings. But beneath their rustic setting, in the realm of budget discipline and financial health, the two adjacent towns are worlds apart. Read more