The Westchester Housing Opportunity Commission (HOC) was established by the County Board of Legislators (BOL) in August of 1994. The legislators adopted updated provisions for the HOC in 2010. The commission meets six times a year and is charged with educating, advocating and advising on the topic of the need for fair and affordable housing in Westchester County.
The HOC currently consists of 11 members appointed by the County Executive with approval by the County BOL. The commission must include at least one resident from each of the five county Planning Regions. One of the members must also be a member of the Westchester County Planning Board. The HOC is chaired by Lindsay Carden.
Studies completed with HOC involvement include:
The Office Park Housing study, completed in March of 2008 and re-issued in September 2010, demonstrates the feasibility of building housing, including fair and affordable housing, on underutilized office park land. It includes a model zoning ordinance that could be adopted and adapted by local governments to create the opportunity for this redevelopment.
The 2005 Affordable Housing Allocation Plan, which finalized the allocation of the units identified in the Westchester County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment by the year 2015.
The Housing Needs Assessment, developed by the Center for Urban Policy Research (CUPR) at Rutgers University, released in 1991, established the goal to build 5,000 low and moderate income housing units during the 1991–2000 decade.
In 1992, the Housing Implementation Commission (HIC) was charged with developing a 1995 Affordable Housing Allocation Plan which allocated 5,000 units among each of Westchester municipalities.
For further information, contact:
Blanca P. Lopez, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Planning
Westchester County Planning Department
148 Martine Avenue, Room 416
White Plains, NY 10601
Tel: (914) 995-4007
E-mail: