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Council puts hold on new homeless shelters
By Jamie Larson
The proposed county plan to lease the Hudson St. Charles Hotel for use as transitional housing for the homeless may have fizzled nearly two months ago, but fallout from the fight between Hudson and Columbia County officials over the issue still reverberated through City Hall Tuesday night.
The Hudson Common Council voted at their regular meeting to approve a new local law establishing a one-year moratorium on the expansion of existing, and the creation of new transitional housing and homeless shelters, in excess of four units, in the city.
The moratorium was proposed June 23, at a special meeting of the Common Council crammed with city residents. At that meeting citizens and officials voiced displeasure with the fact that the county could just force a facility on the city without their input. The council voted that night to begin the process to create the law.
Alderman agreed at that time that if the county, the city came to an agreement about a facility within the city before the moratorium is up they would repeal the new law. This applied directly to the city’s offer, only days before, to sell the old Charles Williams school to the county for transitional housing. Currently no decision has been made on whether or not the county will use the school and officials are looking for a nonprofit to buy it, run it and lease it back to them.
In the time since the moratorium was introduced, law dictated that it be referred to the Hudson Planning Commission and the Columbia County Planing Board for assessment and a recommendation of approval, disapproval, or modification. When the CCPB recommends disapproval or modification a vote of a majority plus one by the common council is necessary to move forward on the action.
The CCPB recommended that the proposed city law shorten the length of the moratorium in consideration of the potential impact it may have outside the city, but did not specify how much shorter they thought it should be. “The CCPB finds that this proposed action may have county-wide or inter community impacts associated with it,” the letter from CCPB chairman Timothy Stalker reads, continuing on it suggests that the city consider, “If the term may be shortened in the event that the county, the city of Hudson and other municipalities and other concerned agencies come to a mutually agreed upon solution for locating a transitional housing facility.”
The common council agreed that this recommendation was unnecessary because they had already agreed that they would repeal the moratorium if an acceptable deal for the purchase of Charles Williams came before them. The council voted unanimously to create the law Tuesday, more then exceeding the majority plus one needed to overrule the CCPB’s recommendation.
The moratorium was supported unanimously by the city planning board.
Before being signed into law by Mayor Richard Scalera the moratorium must be discussed at a public hearing, to be held Aug. 28.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com. to comment directly on this story visit www.registerstar.com.
The Hudson Common Council voted at their regular meeting to approve a new local law establishing a one-year moratorium on the expansion of existing, and the creation of new transitional housing and homeless shelters, in excess of four units, in the city.
The moratorium was proposed June 23, at a special meeting of the Common Council crammed with city residents. At that meeting citizens and officials voiced displeasure with the fact that the county could just force a facility on the city without their input. The council voted that night to begin the process to create the law.
Alderman agreed at that time that if the county, the city came to an agreement about a facility within the city before the moratorium is up they would repeal the new law. This applied directly to the city’s offer, only days before, to sell the old Charles Williams school to the county for transitional housing. Currently no decision has been made on whether or not the county will use the school and officials are looking for a nonprofit to buy it, run it and lease it back to them.
In the time since the moratorium was introduced, law dictated that it be referred to the Hudson Planning Commission and the Columbia County Planing Board for assessment and a recommendation of approval, disapproval, or modification. When the CCPB recommends disapproval or modification a vote of a majority plus one by the common council is necessary to move forward on the action.
The CCPB recommended that the proposed city law shorten the length of the moratorium in consideration of the potential impact it may have outside the city, but did not specify how much shorter they thought it should be. “The CCPB finds that this proposed action may have county-wide or inter community impacts associated with it,” the letter from CCPB chairman Timothy Stalker reads, continuing on it suggests that the city consider, “If the term may be shortened in the event that the county, the city of Hudson and other municipalities and other concerned agencies come to a mutually agreed upon solution for locating a transitional housing facility.”
The common council agreed that this recommendation was unnecessary because they had already agreed that they would repeal the moratorium if an acceptable deal for the purchase of Charles Williams came before them. The council voted unanimously to create the law Tuesday, more then exceeding the majority plus one needed to overrule the CCPB’s recommendation.
The moratorium was supported unanimously by the city planning board.
Before being signed into law by Mayor Richard Scalera the moratorium must be discussed at a public hearing, to be held Aug. 28.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com. to comment directly on this story visit www.registerstar.com.
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