Residents Blast Town Board over Green at Somers
Members of the League of Women Voters of Somers and the head of the town’s Affordable Housing Board last week blasted the Somers Town Board for not approving a zoning change to allow for the potential approval of a major mixed use development that would have included affordable housing.
Also at the June 6 meeting, residents criticized a majority of the town board for not stating their opinion on not hold a vote on the rezoning for The Green at Somers project.
National GolfWorx had proposed the mixed use development on a 11-acre parcel on Route 6, which would have included about 37 affordable units. Since the parcel is zoned NS (neighborhood shopping), a zoning change would be required to allow for residential construction.
League of Women Voters of Somers Vice President Carol Sturtz said having additional affordable housing constructed in town has been a priority for her organization for the past eight years. The zoning change for The Green at Somers was unanimously recommended by the planning board, but the town board has not decided to act on the recommendation without an explanation, she said. If town does not make “a good faith effort” to attract enough new affordable units the town could lose up to $2 million that Westchester County gave the town for the project to preserve the Angle Fly Preserve, she said.
None of the town board members responded to Sturtz.
Another League member, Carol Fox, asked the town board why it did not approve the zoning changes. Councilman Richard Clinchy said he supported the zoning changes. “My position hasn’t changed,” he told Fox. None of the other town board members replied to Fox.
Barry Singer, chairman of the town Affordable Housing Board, expressed his anger over the board’s decision not to vote on the zoning change and not explain its reasoning. “I’m ashamed of you,” Singer told the board.
While Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy did not address the issue during last week’s public comment period, she did provide a short comment in an interview following the meeting. “The board decided not to act on it,” she said, without elaborating.
