Committee approves state infrastructure grants for two housing projects; members debate affordability, electrification and foreclosures

The Chautauqua County Planning and Economic Development Committee on Sept. 17 voted to authorize the county to accept Empire State Development funds and pass them through to two housing projects: $200,000 for the Homesteads at Dunkirk Landing and $800,000 for the Welch Building in Westfield.

The grant acceptance resolution was presented by Rebecca Wurster, planning coordinator for the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development, who said the awards are intended to support infrastructure related to housing and placemaking and that the projects together would provide 124 housing units (78 in Dunkirk and 46 in Westfield). "These are two projects that have 78 housing units in Dunkirk, and then the 46 new housing units proposed in Westfield," Wurster said.

The grant funding is a pass-through from Empire State Development; Wurster said projects must be implemented within two years to meet the program’s requirements. Mark Geist, deputy county executive for economic development, urged members to view housing as central to economic growth. "You can't…