The Westchester Housing Opportunity Commission was established by the County Board of Legislators in August of 1994. The task assigned to the commission was to enlist local civic and government support for the implementation of the County Board’s goal of 5,000 affordable housing units during the 1991–2000 decade. The commission’s tenure was extended to 2009 in order to develop and implement an Action Plan.  The plan was to create the 10,768 units identified in the 2004 Housing Needs Assessment as developed by the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University.

The Commission was specifically required to seek local acceptance of the 1993 Affordable Housing Allocation Plan, which had been adopted by the predecessor Westchester Housing Implementation Commission. The Commission is also required to help “preclude a disproportionate concentration of housing affordable to only upper levels of the income-eligibility range” and “assure that the affordable housing offered by each municipality to meet its allocation will serve County-wide as well as local needs.”

In 2005, the Commission finalized a new Allocation Plan to apportion the units identified in the 2004 Housing Needs Assessment by the year 2015. Through 1999, a total of 2,294 units were created. Since 2000, additional units have been built.

The Office Park Housing study, completed in March of 2008, demonstrates the feasibility of building housing, including affordable housing, on underutilized office park land. The study was proposed by the county's Housing Oportunities Commission in their Action Plan, and approval to conduct the study was given by the County Executive's office. The findings will be used by local governments, housing advocates, developers, planners and others interested in affordable housing, adaptive reuse of existing underutilized development and green and smart development.  It includes a model zoning ordinance that could be adopted and adapted by local governments to create the opportunity for this redevelopment.

The Westchester Housing Opportunity Commission consists of 15 members appointed by the County Executive with approval by the County Board of Legislators.  The Commission membership must include at least two residents from each of the six sub-county regions.One of the members must also be a member of the Westchester County Planning Board.

For further information, contact:
Deborah DeLong, Housing Director
Westchester County Planning Department
148 Martine Avenue, Room 414
White Plains, NY 10601
Tel:  (914) 995-6494