State’s PRO Housing Program vote expected 

If there was some reluctance about applying for PRO Housing certification that would allow Shelter Island to seek grants to increase the Town’s housing supply, a recent presentation addressed those issues. Town officials weren’t uninterested in gaining grant money. But there were concerns about whether the Island’s home rule would be compromised.

Before they could sign on the bottom line, they had questions about what commitments to the State program initiated by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) would require. At the April 14 Town Board work session, Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams heard from New York State Homes and Community Renewable Deputy Chief of Staff Karis Rasmussen.

Prior to the pandemic, which struck in 2020, there were 1.2 million jobs added in a five-year period in the state. But during the same period, there were only 403,000 houses created, Ms. Rasmussen said, calling it “obviously a big imbalance.”

Recognizing a serious issue, the governor established the PRO Housing (Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing) program to provide money to municipalities for more housing. But at the outset, the covenant with the program was an early understanding that for a municipality to become certified it would have to sign a letter exactly as it was provided, seemingly with no changes in wording. That gave rise to concerns about control and hesitation about applying for PRO Housing status.

Board members agreed to put a resolution on the April 27 Town Board agenda for a vote. How it will fare with residents, some of whom have expressed doubts about pursuing PRO Housing status, remains to be seen.

Resident Pam Demarest has concerns about whether the Town would have to lay out money and await reimbursements from grants. She prefers a completion of the Town’s facilities master plan before jumping on the State bandwagon, adding that pushing ahead with the PRO Housing designation could be “putting the cart before the horse.”

Councilman Benjamin Dyett has also questioned moving ahead with the program; he wasn’t at the April 14 meeting, so he may have questions prior to voting on the April 27 resolution.

Ms. Rasmussen assured the Town Board there was not a need to agree to all aspects of the letter. There is recognition that not all municipalities are alike and what works for some may not work for others, she said.

PRO Housing is designed to reward communities for growing their housing stock or committing themselves to doing so, Ms. Rasmussen said. To evaluate an application to become a PRO Housing Community, the Town must submit data, including its zoning map, its zoning code and information over the past five years about housing that demonstrates why housing has increased or decreased over that period.

If the Town Board moves ahead, it would take a few months for its application to be evaluated.

As for potential grants, Ms. Rasmussen explained that the money her department administers in technical aid is committed for 2026, but she’s hoping another tranche of money will be forthcoming when the State budget is completed. That would be for grants awarded in 2027. Based on this year’s grant recipients, she outlined types of grants that could be available next year.

Her office administers technical grants providing 100% of project costs to those municipalities that receive money. Many grant programs require some money from recipients that is often between 25 to 50% of the project cost. Those grants are held to fair housing requirements for any projects receiving money and projects would be evaluated on zoning changes that could be needed. 

There are other grants dedicated to site development and permitting analyses, downtown revitalization initiatives and New York Forward grants for municipalities with smaller downtown areas. The focus would be on renovations and upper-story housing administered by the New York State Department of State.

Still others are involved with transportation and modernization. There are capital programs with grants through Market New York funding and two Long Island-specific grants, Ms. Rasmussen said. One is an investment fund and the other a Long Island Forward fund.

With a housing needs survey being partially funded through a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) the Town has been awarded, Ms. Brach-Williams asked if grant money could close a gap between the CDBG grant and the full cost of the study. Ms. Rasmussen said a grant could help fund the study, but since she is awaiting funding from the State for technical grants, the Town should move forward with its needs study, since she doesn’t yet know about funding that would be available.

As the session wound down, Councilwoman Liz Hanley, who chaired the Community Housing Board prior to her election to the Town Board, asked both of her colleagues if their questions about PRO Housing certification had been answered by Ms. Rasmussen. Both answered in the affirmative.

Much of the data for the application was compiled by CHB members and the supervisor said she wants to look at whether the data needs updating.