Sugarloaf School workforce housing proposal gets task force green light

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

After a rocky start that pitted Monroe County School Board member Andy Griffiths against school Superintendent Mark Porter, a tentative agreement to build affordable housing on school-owned property behind Sugarloaf School has been hammered out.

The board, at its Jan. 30 meeting, heard a report from a six-member task force created by Porter to explore the feasibility of building affordable rental housing for school personnel on the vacant land that abuts the school at Mile Marker 19. The good news? The task force reported that between 10 and 20 units could be built on a two-acre portion of the property. The bad news? It will be at least two years before any teachers or other school staff can likely move in.

“This is due in part to the time required for the Small Comprehensive Plan amendment, though the Request for Proposal [to developers] may be issued before this process is complete,” the task force report read.

Because the land is not zoned for development, the county would have to amend current zoning regulations, a process that can take up to a year. The task force report estimated that another eight to ten months are needed to write and receive responses to an RFP, with a two-month review after that to assess the bids. Construction will take another eight months.

As for whether there will be 10 or 20 units built, Porter said he wanted to ramp up slowly to ensure there were enough school personnel interested in renting the one- or two-bedroom apartments. A two-bedroom unit would have an estimated rent of $1,500 or lower. But task force members had surveyed school staff as part of their research and concluded that there is “sufficient” interest to support the project.

“This is critical in order to maintain the ‘Monroe County School District employee-only’ expectation of the project,” the report stated.

School board members were encouraged by the report. The next step will be for Porter to meet with school board Attorney Dirk Smits to assess land use regulations and building permit requirements.  

“My perspective is the more you can do, the better. And the quicker you can do it, the better,” said school board Chair Bobby Highsmith.

School board member Griffiths, who sparred with Porter at an Oct. 24 meeting over whether and how quickly housing could be built on the property, said he was “delighted” with the task force’s recommendation, although not with the time it will take to begin housing school district employees.

“I’m not happy with the two years. But with the bureaucracy and such, you kind of think about making these compromises,” Griffiths said, adding he would like to see the school district partner with Habitat for Humanity as the developer.

The empty land next to the school is larger than the two acres suitable for a building. However, the task force learned there is a conservation easement that precludes any development on a portion of the land. In addition, another portion is protected wetlands.

As for how to pay for the housing complex, task force members said there may be restrictions on using current revenue sources specifically for employee housing, including the half-cent sales tax revenue and the .5 mill capital revenue. As a result, the task force recommended a partnership between the school district, which would provide the land, and a private developer.

“Private funding may also provide the best alternative for maintaining a restriction of ‘MCSD employee housing only’.  Use of public revenue sources could make such a restriction untenable,” according to the task force report.

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