Housing Forum Feb 25 recast as special board meeting

At its regular monthly meeting Feb 16, the Town Board voted to turn a previously scheduled Housing Forum on Feb 25 into a special Town Board meeting to underscore the importance of this session.

The forum will be Saturday Feb 25, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Tri-Village Fire Company, on Rte 13. In Old Chatham.

Called by the Comprehensive Plan update committee to hear from outside experts on housing in towns like Chatham, as well as residents, the forum will provide more data for the update committee to use in finalizing its draft plan.

Data will also be passed on to the Town Board’s new Housing Committee.

Work to be done includes quantifying housing needs in Chatham, considering strategies employed in other towns on comparable needs, considering housing types available to Chatham, and discussing needs for water and sewerage.

Panelists at the Housing Forum will include:

Elka Gotfryd: Director of the Center for Housing Solutions for the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.

Kate Stryker: Senior Research Planner for Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.

Al Bellenchia: Executive Director for Columbia County Habitat for Humanity.

Eric Ooms: Vice President of the New York Farm Bureau.

Chris Brown: Housing Development Coordinator for the Columbia Economic Development Corporation.