Smaller Apartments Could Lead to Big Problems

The Harrison Planning Board is considering a proposal that would make smaller apartments legal in two-family homes.

The proposal, scheduled to be heard Thursday evening, would allow a 900 square foot space to support a second tenant. Currently, 1,200 square feet are required for any legal apartment in Harrison.

The 300-foot decrease might not appear to be a major change at face value, but the results of changing the code would be disastrous and I'll explain why.

No matter where you live in Harrison, you have probably become aware of parking problems, infrastructure issues and school overcrowding. Our children are being educated in temporary classrooms in some of our schools. Sanitation workers cite grossly increased work with decreased workers. The police chief recently proposed a requirement for  overnight because of the overcrowding issues.

Try to get a parking spot downtown during the day, or in West Harrison at night, and you are soon aware that the town has infrastructure issues that desperately need resolution.

While the proposed zoning change would not allow for the addition of a third family in these two-family zoned areas, it will enable landlords in B-zones to add rental apartments to properties that could not previously support them.

So just how—apart from arguing that it will make more money for developers and potential landlords—would you ever back up a request for such a proposal?

Some property owners have cited FEMA flood map restrictions being onerous, and say that since one of the apartments is required to remain at 1,200 square feet, such a change will work to promote owner-occupied homes where only rental properties exist now. There is, however, no evidence to support this.

Landlords have also argued that these smaller apartments would keep seniors in town, although most would be up or down stairs and would be neither rent-controlled nor senior-only enforceable. Both arguments have been used to support previous developments and led to overcrowding issues in the past. When will we learn?

The bottom line is that creating more legal apartments will only exacerbate the issues that areas like Brentwood and Silver Lake have been struggling with for years. There would be more cars, more people, more kids in school, more infrastructure strain, more overcrowding.

Simply put—there will be more problems.

The line between suburban and urban is a thin one, and has to be walked carefully. We need to look at the issues faced by larger communities like Mt Vernon, Yonkers and the Bronx and learn from them instead of rushing to join the chaos. We have to look at solving the serious issues we have at hand instead of exacerbating them without any solution in sight.

This decision will be critical to our daily life and to the future well being of our town. 

The Harrison Residents Committee and individual residents across town are watching the Planning and Town Board’s decisions closely. Let’s hope they make decisions that will protect the needs of the majority, as opposed to the financial wants of a few.