Home News Southold Town Government Supervisor on need for affordable housing: ‘Young people are Southold’s number one...

Supervisor on need for affordable housing: ‘Young people are Southold’s number one export’

With a dearth of affordable housing in Southold one of the town’s most critical issues, a forum has been planned for next month to help share ideas and information.

Members of the towns Housing Advisory Commission came before the town board to discuss the forum, which is scheduled for March 11 at 6 p.m. at the Peconic Lane Community Center, according to Daniel Sarnowski of the HAC.

The goal, he said, is to “dispel myths and fears” about affordable housing in the area, share information on what’s needed to qualify, and how the process moves forward for qualified applicants.

The HAC and town board also discussed affordable housing projects over past years, most recently the Cottages in Mattituck and a new Habitat for Humanity home in Orient, where a wall raising is slated to take place this week.

Also to be discussed at the forum are the financial guidelines used to determine eligibility for affordable housing in Southold Town.

The need is dire, commission members said. With the median home price in Southold Town now $550,000, young people are either living too long in their parents’ homes or are part of mass “exodus” out of town.

“Southold Town’s biggest export is young people,” Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said.

In addition, a swelling senior population looking to downsize have few options to do so, commission members added.

Reflecting on recent affordable housing proposals in Southold Town, in an email after the meeting, Russell said one had been proposed for Mattituck, with 75 apartments on about 20 acres to be rented with rents being consistent with affordable housing guidelines. That proposal was taken off the table, Russell said.

Southold Town, he said, currently mandates that whether it is in the form of rentals or homes, affordable housing be held for residents of Southold Town who meet certain income criteria.

“The town has issued requests for proposals in the past that would address the need for affordable housing by providing affordable apartments,” he said. “The Southold Town Affordable Housing Commission has identified rentals as the principal need in Southold.”

Recently, Russell said, a proposal for 20 units in Southold was presented, “a nice plan and met the goals of the RFP. It had been reviewed by the planning board and the commission and everybody seemed to agree that it was a very good plan. Unfortunately the developer pulled out of the proposal because of litigation that is pending in Oyster Bay.”

In Oyster Bay, the town is facing litigation because of affordable housing requirements, Russell said. “Like Southold, that town requires that all affordable housing being developed be for town residents.”

That mandate, he said, “is being challenged as unconstitutional and the basis of the litigation is that such projects should be for all who meet the criteria, not just town residents. In that case, the plaintiffs are not just suing the town but the developer as well.”

Threats of litigation pose challenges to an already difficult situation, Russell said. “Affordable housing proposals are developed on a very narrow margin to begin with, so delays in construction and legal costs as a result of litigation simply makes these proposals unworkable for the developer.”

In addition, he added, “Southold has an additional challenge. Our RFP looked for proposals that would create 20 to 40 apartments in each of the hamlets. The board’s goal was to not have them all built in one hamlet but to scatter them throughout the town. We have had several developers approach us with ideas but, because Southold lacks the infrastructure such as sewers, the costs of these projects exceeds viability for the developer.”

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story stated that the affordable housing forum would be held at Town Hall. It will be held on March 11 at 6 p.m. at the Peconic Lane Community Center. SoutholdLOCAL regrets the confusion.

 

SHARE