BlackSwan Zine

By Nancy Dooling for press Connects

JOHNSON CITY — A proposed $10 million senior housing complex cleared one of several pending hurdles on Tuesday. The village Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a zoning change in a residential neighborhood on Anna Maria Drive, where the proposed 155-unit housing complex will be located.

Approval, however, is far from unanimous among neighbors where Affordable Senior Housing Opportunities of NY Inc. wants to build.

“The safety issues have not been addressed,” said Denise Stoughton, who has lived on Anna Maria Drive for 18 years. “This just doesn’t make any sense.”

Stoughton said having one entrance and exit into the neighborhood presents a safety issue for the residents of Anna Maria and Marian drives, Reynolds Road and for the tenants of the housing complex.

In Stoughton’s opinion, there should be two entrances and exits, or the entrance and exit should be relocated to Reynolds Road. Other concerns include traffic, icy roads, and access to emergency vehicles.

There are currently three houses and two driveways on Anna Maria Drive, Stoughton said. The neighborhood is off Reynolds Road north of the Oakdale Mall.

Earlier this month, the nonprofit housing agency asked for the zoning change from residential to planned unit development and got the thumbs-up from the village’s Planning Department.

Though the housing complex will be built with private money, a payment in lieu of taxes proposal will allow the owners to pay only a portion of their property taxes for the first 10 years. Thereafter, full tax payments would be required.

While the project is moving forward, there are additional hurdles to overcome, said Trustee Rick Balles. The proposal must meet state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, design and building plans will have to be approved and the village fire department will also have to give its OK.

A.S.H.O., of Williamsville, N.Y., wants to build 129 units, including 26 single bedroom apartments and 103 two-bedroom apartments for senior citizens.

The development is planned for 1035 and 1039 Anna Maria Drive in a neighborhood where houses are valued between $200,000 and $400,000, Stoughton said.

Plans are to market the units to seniors ages 62 and older with incomes in the $25,000 to $30,000 range. Rents will be $800 for single apartments; $900 for doubles.

[pressconnects.com]