May 20, 2025 —

It’s no secret that the North Country is dealing with a housing crisis. Part of the problem is the growth of short-term rentals. But it’s also that there simply aren’t enough homes available.

New initiatives in Clinton County aim to make it easier to develop new housing.

Cara ChapmanClinton County, Plattsburgh create new policies to encourage housing development

Emerson Place will soon bring 28 market-rate apartments to the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. Photo: Cara Chapman

Town of Plattsburgh officials recently held a press conference in the living room of a brand new apartment in an upcoming housing development on the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base.

“Approximately 1,000 housing units were lost during the closure of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base,” Town Supervisor Michael Cashman said. “Housing is now returning to the very place where it once stood, a full circle moment for our community.”

The development is called Emerson Place. Once completed, it’ll bring 28 new market-rate apartments to the town located within walking distance of a bank, pharmacy, grocery store and other amenities.

Developer Kerry Taylor of K&M Taylor Properties Inc. said it wasn’t an easy process to get here.

“It’s time-consuming, it’s costly, and it’s a huge deterrent for a lot of developers.”

CHAMP Law

So, the town removed some of those obstacles. Its board recently passed a law titled “Creating Housing Acceleration Measures for Plattsburgh,” CHAMP for short. 

The CHAMP law expands where multi-family housing, duplexes and infill conversions are allowed, and streamlines the site plan and permitting process for housing projects.

(From left) Kerry Taylor of K&M Taylor Properties Inc., the developer of Emerson Place, speaks at a press conference about the Town of Plattsburgh’s new housing law as Town Supervisor Michael Cashman looks on. Photo: Cara Chapman

Cashman said cutting through that red tape creates a lot of housing opportunities.

“These reforms position us to accommodate approximately 2,600 new housing units here in the town of Plattsburgh,” he said.

Jessica Kogut, one of the town’s senior planners, said the changes targeted neighborhoods that had restrictive zoning, but otherwise had key infrastructure to support more housing. 

“Water and sewer infrastructure is absolutely critical for density because the more dense a project can be, the better return on investment, which makes the project much more viable.”

Expanded county incentives

The town’s reforms match a county-level focus on housing. 

The Clinton County Industrial Development Agency recently commissioned a housing study that found the county will need more than 1,100 new units over the next five years. It also found a big gap between costs and profitability for developers. 

“I think the biggest takeaway is, we already knew that we needed housing,” said Molly Ryan, the IDA’s executive director. “This puts it into dollars and cents and actual need, and now it gives us a path forward as to how we address that need and that’s what we intend to do.”

Part of that path forward was changing the IDA’s policies. After the study came out, the agency expanded its property tax exemption policy to add new incentives for affordable, market-rate, senior and workforce housing projects.

Ryan said it’s also important for municipalities, like Plattsburgh, to chip in to make housing development easier.

“Any barriers that we can remove to be able to have more housing are going to be critical,” she said. “We want to work in conjunction with our municipalities and our developers to get that done.”

Town and county officials said they continue to push the state and federal governments for more funding and incentives for housing development. In the meantime, they’re ready to work with developers and landowners to make it happen.