The numbers underscore the urgency of the problem: East Hampton Town has a waiting list of more than 450 people seeking affordable senior citizen housing but only 127 apartments, all of which are generally occupied by other tenants. Town officials are considering a change to the zoning code that could help ease the pressure and the anxiety of aging members of the community who would want to remain here in their old age.
A proposal to allow 12 housing units per acre, if approved by the town board, might increase the current supply by a third. The current local maximum is eight units per acre. County health regulations would not be an impediment. Members of the East Hampton Town Board were enthusiastic about the prospect during a recent meeting, so much so that they asked the Planning Department to go further and consider allowing 12 units per acre for all-ages affordable housing as well. Unfortunately, given the entrenched opposition that such projects have met with in the past, notably in Amagansett and Wainscott, going all-in now would be a strategic mistake, one with political consequences.
Instead, the board and staff should decouple the senior citizens proposal from the larger goal of affordable and worker housing. Helping provide places to live for all who need them is a worthy goal. But a quick solution to the problems facing older people in East Hampton Town should not get hung up in a broader debate about changing the zoning code.