A proposed 80-unit apartment complex behind the Montgomery Shop Rite that has already earned the support of the Montgomery Town Board, is now before the town’s planning board.

Developer Jonah Mandelbaum is proposing to build a Veterans and Senior Citizen apartment complex on a 3.77-acre parcel of land with access from Hawkins Drive and frontage on Old Neeleytown Road and Goodwill Roads. The plan calls for 73 one-bedroom, six two-bedroom and one three-bedroom apartment for a caretaker and family.

The town board, last month adopted a resolution to amend the town’s zoning map to apply an “affordable supportive and Veterans supporting” floating housing zone on the property. The local law provides only for site plan review.

“I don’t believe this matter (site plan review) has gone to a public hearing,” said Planning Board Attorney Richard Hoyt. “In our comment letter to the Town Board of June 1, we said that we feel we need to do our normal review and include a public hearing on the site plan, which is optional as you know, and I would assume that’s what the board would want to do.”

(The town board did conduct a hearing prior to adopting the floating zone.)

Hoyt suggested a couple of issues for the planning board to consider.

“A floor plan, I think would be important. There are 73 one bedroom units and six two bedroom? I don’t know how the town keeps track of that unless there’s a floor plan,” Hoyt said. “The other issue is, and this is more of a question for the applicant. How do we ensure that the occupancy stays with the target groups in perpetuity? Don’t forget, this whole concept is affordable veterans. It’s not your run of the mill rental project. And my question is, what mechanisms are there to make sure it stays servicing the target group? And I think the applicant has a lot of experience doing this, and maybe it’s more of an education for this board and for me to understand because these projects have happened elsewhere in Orange County.

Mandelbaum, who has a similar project in the Village of Montgomery, said affordability is dictated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“Every year HUD decides what’s the median income for each county,” Mandelbaum said. “And, based on that number, we have applications based on income of each individual who can move in, and the State of New York also decides what the rent will be based on construction, affordability and how much mortgage should we take.”

He said rents in Montgomery range from $538 to $1038 per month.

Some towns, he added, will also require a verification of eligibility every year.

“You can’t give names and income but you can give age. The town could require that as a condition of approval,” he said. “ We can tell you if they are veterans, seniors, special needs and workforce. We can do that, but that’s up to you guys. You can add that to the site plan as part of your request.”

Hoyt asked if a Veteran has to meet a certain income requirement.

“They do,” Mandelbaum said. “They get a priority. They go to the top of the list.”

Mandelbaum said his company manages 3,000 apartments in the area with a full-time manager and full-time supervisor on the site.

“We do a little more than most people,” he said, adding that small pets are allowed in his places.

The proposal drew one just one comment from the public. Joan Buck Smith argued that Hawkins drive should be reserved for retail development, not housing.

“The water and sewer that are on that road are made for retail so that we can get taxes paid,” she said.
The Planning Board is expected to review the plans have have further comments at a future meeting.