The Town of Colonie is located in the northern part of Albany County and constitutes a significant portion of the triangular area between the City of Schenectady at the western corner; the City of Albany at the southeastern corner; and the City of Troy to the northeast. The Town includes the incorporated Villages of Colonie and Menands and is approximately 59 square miles.
The Community Development Department is the lead agency for the Town of Colonie portion of the Colonie Schenectady Troy Consortium Consolidated Plan. The purpose of this Plan is to detail the steps the Town of Colonie will take to further develop partnerships among government agencies and between government and private groups in order to marshal government and private resources to achieve intended public purposes. It includes a One-Year Action Plan which lists the activities the Town will undertake to address priority needs and local objectives with anticipated program funds received during the next program year under the HOME Investment Partnership and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Programs.
The Action Plan will be carried out by the Community Development Department working with the Village of Colonie, the Village Menands, outside agencies, consultants, and other Town departments. The bringing together of these groups to help deliver comprehensive and efficient services to the residents is an ongoing process and may be considered the department's greatest strength. Contracts have been established between several departments and agencies to provide space and services.
Community Development objectives for the Town of Colonie were determined through public notices, public hearings, and Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee meetings. In addition, citizens' input was obtained by telephone calls, office visits, and at various Town and other meetings. The stabilization of essentially sound residential areas and the upgrading of declining areas will be accomplished through residential rehabilitation and public improvements. Special attention will be given to the needs of handicapped children by the provision of a summer day camp, to the needs of lower income families by providing scholarships to child care program, and to a first time homebuyer down payment and closing cost assistance program.
The purpose of the Town of Colonie Citizen Participation Plan is to promote citizen participation in all phases of the Consolidated Plan and develop local priority needs and objectives for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG).
All citizens, especially low- and moderate-income persons, members of minority groups, non-English speaking persons, persons with disabilities, residents of areas where a significant amount of CDBG activity is proposed or ongoing, and residents of public and assisted housing are encouraged to participate in the development of the Community Development process including the Consolidated Plan, any amendments to the plan, and the performance report.
A Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee will be established to ensure broad participation in the process. Membership of the Citizen Advisory Committee shall be drawn from all areas of the Town and shall include, to the extent possible, very low- and low-income persons, members of minority groups, non-English speaking persons, the elderly, persons with mobility, visual or hearing impairments, residents of areas where a significant amount of activity is proposed or ongoing, the business community, and civic groups that are concerned with the Community Development program.
This Committee shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Community Development Department in providing adequate and timely information on the Consolidated Plan to the general citizenry of the Town and, as appropriate, units of local government.
Hearings and meetings will be held at times and locations convenient to
potential and actual beneficiaries and with accommodations for persons with
disabilities.
The Town of Colonie is located in eastern New York State along the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. It is the center of what is known as the Capital District, which is made up of the three major cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. According to the 1990 census, the population of the Town was 76,494. The Town is approximately 59 square miles and includes the incorporated Villages of Colonie and Menands and the hamlets of Latham, Maplewood, Newtonville, Roessleville, Stanford Heights, Verdoy, Boght Corners, West Albany, Mansville, Loudonville, Maywood, Schuyler Heights, and Lishakill.
The natural environment plays an important role in the environmental well- being of the Town and should be recognized and protected. It must be realized that growth can be appropriate as long as consideration is given to environmental tolerances and physical constraints. Destroying natural resources unnecessarily will inevitably have an adverse impact on the overall quality of life in the Town. It is a goal that must be achieved if the qualify of life in the Town is to be preserved and enhanced.
The primary environment in which man lives is one of his own making expressed in terms of land use. It results from the interaction of many factors, including natural characteristics, but is mainly generated by man-made forces. The most important of these include the economic, social, and public interest forces which must be recognized for their roles in creating current land use and in shaping future land use patterns.
The purpose of community planning is to maintain and improve the living
environment for the present and future residents. Population analysis enables
the community to better assess future needs based on past population growth, the
existing situation and future trends. The Town has a residential population of
approximately 76,000 and is host to approximately 250,000 transients each day.
Twenty eight percent of the population of the Town of Colonie is under 21 years
of age. In 1980, 33% of the population fell within this age group. Although
this percentage has dropped, it still represents a significant portion of the
Town's population. Senior citizens comprise approximately 16% of the population
of the Town. Although the Town's population grew by only 3% between 1980 and
1990, the senior population grew by 33%.
The Town of Colonie offers a broad base of existing businesses, including retail, service, and public administration. The Town is fortunate in that it does not rely on one particular industry for its economic well-being. In the 1990 census the Town of Colonie unemployment rate was reported as 2.8 percent which is well below the state and national averages.
Approximately 544 acres or 1.77 percent of the total land area of the Town is designated for multi-family residential uses. Of this 544 acres, 65 percent are developed with multi-family uses. In the Town of Colonie 51 percent of the tax base is residential and 49 percent is non-residential.
The housing needs identified as high priorities during the consolidated planning process were a rehabilitation program for owner-occupied units and a down payment and closing cost assistance program to enable households to purchase homes in the Town of Colonie. Furthermore, the need for senior housing is great. Many seniors can no longer manage to stay in their homes either because the maintenance is more than they can handle or the financial burden has become too great. Finally, the need for rental assistance continues to grow as is demonstrated by the 490 households currently on the Section 8 waiting list.
Colonie's housing stock could be characterized as relatively new, sound, and predominately single family. In 1990, all year-round housing units located in the Town totaled 29,634 units. Renters accounted for 7,874 units while owner occupied units accounted for 20,704. Four hundred and six units were classified as vacant producing a vacancy rate of less than 3.6 percent, certainly not an easy housing market, particularly for low- and moderate-income families.
Of a total of 28,578 occupied units in the Town, 1056 or 3.8 percent of all units were classified as needing rehabilitation by the 1980 Census. This low rate of units needing rehabilitation is applied equally to owner and renter occupied units and is a result of the newness of housing in Colonie as well as the diligence of the Town's Building Department.
Since 1980, Colonie has added a total of 2,958 additional units to its housing stock, according to building permit records. Of these units, 2,644 were single family and 315 were multi-family. These figures, which show that during the eighties approximately 8.5 single family units were built for every multi-family unit, contrast sharply with figures at the start of the decade when there was 2.8 single family units for every multi-family unit. The construction of multi-family units in the Town has been less than would have been expected during the eighties, and thus has maintained a low vacancy rate and a shortage of affordably priced apartments for low- and moderate-income persons.
Experience in the Colonie Section 8 Rental Assistance program adds credence to the notion of a shortage of adequate affordable rental housing in the Town. Certificate holders looking for a two-bedroom apartment where rent including utilities is limited to the Fair Market Rent structure of $586 per month will often come up empty-handed. Exchange the certificate for a voucher and eliminate the Fair Market Rent cap, and that same family will be able to afford rental housing in the Town. Although that family will have to pay 40 to 50 percent of their gross income for their housing, they will be able to find suitable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing within a reasonable period of time, and once they are moved in, will tend to stay in the housing longer than certificate holders.
At the present time there is no evidence of homelessness within the Town of Colonie and no shelters exist for the homeless in the Town. Consequently, there is no demand for supportive housing for the homeless.
The need for supportive housing for the elderly in the Town of Colonie is documented by the 1993 Annual Report of the Town of Colonie Senior Citizen Services Department (Senior Resources Department), the Annual Report of the Town Nurse, as well as by reports and information from other agencies dealing with the elderly.
There is a need for supportive housing for the elderly in the Town of Colonie based on the actual services presently being provided by the Department to elderly Town residents.
An extensive assessment of barriers to affordable housing has recently been conducted. Various individuals and organizations were consulted to assist in the assessment of barriers to affordable housing. The barriers identified in this assessment are the 1) the high cost of vacant land, 2) the high cost to develop vacant land i.e. water, sewer, roadways, utilities, and 3) the lack of developer contributions or county foreclosed land.
As part of its public education and support strategy, the Town of Colonie will provide fair housing assistance to all income and population groups. This assistance will be aimed at informing tenants, landlords, and homeowners of their rights and responsibilities. Such assistance, already available in the Town through the Community Development Department, will also be provided through many of the housing programs currently operating in the Town, as well as those expected to operate in the Town in the future.
Sufficient information is not available to estimate the number of housing units in the Town of Colonie that are occupied by low- and very low-income families that may contain lead-based paint hazards. However, all participants in the Town of Colonie Residential Rehabilitation Program and Section 8 Certificate, Voucher, and Moderate Rehabilitation Programs are given information concerning lead-based paint hazards and told where to obtain blood screening programs to test their children. The Town's lead-based paint hazard prevention program is coordinated with the Albany County Health Department.
Providing jobs is necessary. A community's whole existence is based on people working, and therefore, it is recognized that there is a need to strengthen and expand business and employment in the Town of Colonie in cooperation with regional economic development resources. The Town of Colonie works closely with the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce on economic development issues. Employment and training services are offered to dislocated workers, veterans, and long-term unemployed individuals. Funding for this program is provided through grants from the New York State Department of Labor and the federal government.
Although the Town is fortunate because it does not rely on one particular industry for its economic well-being, a large percentage of employment is in the retail industry and consists of part-time, low-paying, nonbenefit jobs. This change in retail employment is one of the most important shifts in the Town's economy and could eventually prove harmful. The Town must give up its reliance on retail employment and concentrate on developing other areas of its economy. Jobs in other industries must be created in order to support this growing retail industry. If this is not done, any reduction in the work force would seriously hurt the area's economy. (See Minority and Unemployment Concentration Map)
To compliment the housing effort, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or installation of public facilities is needed. Water lines, sanitary sewer systems, and storm drainage systems should be modernized through selective replacement and new construction with the primary effort concentrated in lower income areas of the Town. As necessary, highways and sidewalks should be constructed and rehabilitated. Additional park and recreation facilities should be constructed in those areas lacking such facilities, and existing recreational facilities throughout the lower income areas of the Town will need to be improved.
Public services need coordination to ensure comprehensive coverage and to eliminate wasted resources through overlapping functions.
Special attention should be given to the needs of the elderly. Five critical nonhousing needs of the elderly have been identified. These needs are 1) adult day care, 2) congregate meals, 3) transportation, 4) senior facilities, and 5) home care services.
Special attention should also be given to the needs of lower income families by the provision of scholarships for child care programs.
The Community Development Department is the lead agency for the Town of Colonie portion of the Colonie Schenectady Troy Consortium.
The Town of Colonie works extensively with the two incorporated villages within the Town and has entered into cooperation agreements with the Villages of Colonie and Menands for the purpose of qualifying as an entitlement Community Development Block Grant.
The Consolidated Plan will be carried out by the Community Development
Department working with outside agencies, consultants, and other Town
departments. The bringing together of these groups to help deliver
comprehensive and efficient services to the residents is an ongoing process and
may be considered the department's greatest strength. Contracts have been
established between several departments and agencies to provide space and
services.
The Town of Colonie will continue its emphasis on housing, infrastructure improvement, and meeting the special needs of the population. In the aggregate, 100 percent of the Town's Community Development Block Grant Program funds will be used for activities that benefit low-and moderate-income persons. In the past few years, the housing and nonhousing needs of this community have far outweighed the resources this department has at its disposal. It is hoped that sufficient federal funds will be provided to not only meet these needs but to also address potential problem areas before they reach the epic proportion of the problems now facing this area's surrounding cities.
The Town of Colonie, Village of Colonie, and Village of Menands have cooperatively participated in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant Program since 1978. During that time, the major emphasis of the programs pursued has been to preserve the housing that exists; replace, repair, and improve public facilities; provide rental assistance and affordable new housing for individuals and families with moderate income or special needs; and extend supportive services aimed at improving the quality of life and self sufficiency of those individuals and families that could benefit from such services. Over the next five years this same emphasis is expected to continue, and broaden somewhat, to meet the needs anticipated in the decade of the nineties.
Priorities for affordable housing include assisting low-and moderate-income households maintain their homes in a decent, safe, sanitary condition; providing a subsidy (down payment and closing assistance) allowing low-and moderate-income households to purchase a home; and providing rental assistance to low income households so that they will be able to afford rental housing in the Town.
Priorities for non-housing community development activities include public improvements (flood drain, water, street, sidewalk, and sewer systems); public service provisions (services for senior citizens, handicapped persons, youth, and childcare); accessibility provisions (handicapped rest rooms and ramping); historic preservation provisions; economic development provisions (employment training and business loan programs); and planning.
The goals, programs, and policies for reducing the number of households with incomes below the poverty level in the Town of Colonie is centered in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program operated as part of the Town's Rental Assistance Program. Currently in its initial stages of implementation, the program will provide supportive services to 40 families participating in the Rental Assistance Program over the next year.
The main resources for housing will come from Community Development Block Grant, HOME, Section 8, and Section 202 funds. Applications will also be supported for New York State housing funds. Minimal funds will come from the private sector for housing assistance.
The Town of Colonie will continue to provide the major portion of the money spent on infrastructure installation and replacement with minimal money coming from CDBG and New York State.
The private sector and the Town share the burden of the funding for public services with support from CDBG Program funds and state and county funding.
The Community Development Department is the lead agency for the Town of Colonie portion of the Colonie Schenectady Troy Consortium Consolidated Plan.
The Town of Colonie works extensively with the two incorporated villages within the Town and has entered into cooperation agreements with the Villages of Colonie and Menands for the purpose of qualifying as an entitlement Community Development Block Grant.
The Consolidated Plan will be carried out by the Community Development
Department working with outside agencies, consultants, and other Town
departments. The bringing together of these groups to help deliver
comprehensive and efficient services to the residents is an ongoing process and
may be considered the department's greatest strength. Contracts have been
established between several departments and agencies to provide space and
services. Because this Community Development Department is a small agency,
direct contact with both those providing and receiving services is possible.
This direct communication allows this office to carefully monitor all projects.
The action plan for the 1995 fiscal year follows the programs and priorities listed above. The Town of Colonie One-Year Action Plan outlines the proposed use of the $602,750 in CDBG and HOME Program funds. These funds will be spent mainly on housing and nonhousing activities, including:
Each of the geographic areas in the town selected for CDBG program funds are similar in that they are older neighborhoods and exhibit signs of aging infrastructure, streets, housing, and park facilities. These neighborhoods suffer from problems that can be improved when funds are strategically applied.
The Town of Colonie Community Development Department acts as the lead agency for all projects listed in the One-Year Action Plan.
It is the goal of the Town of Colonie Community Development Department to assist 33 qualified low-and moderate-income households in the Town to rehabilitate their owner occupied single family dwelling units and provide a subsidy allowing 7 low- and moderate-income households to purchase homes in the Town of Colonie.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point.
TABLE (without associated map) provides information about the project(s).
Ann Marie Sheehy
PH: (518) 783-2718
