The weekend was long, the hamlets were packed, and tempers were frayed. In contrast, Tuesday’s meeting of the East Hampton Town Board was brief, sparsely attended, and marked by pleas for patience and the civility of an apparently bygone era.
Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said that the language is being finalized for a Nov. 8 referendum that will ask voters whether or not to approve a .5-percent real estate transfer tax to be allocated to a community housing fund, which would be in addition to the 2-percent transfer tax for the community preservation fund.
The Peconic Bay Region Community Housing Act, signed into law last year, authorizes the five East End towns to establish community housing funds. Should the referendum pass, the fund would become operational in January 2023.
If voters say “yes” to the referendum, buyers of a property would pay the .5-percent transfer tax, with the first $400,000 exempt up to $2 million, beyond which the full purchase price would be taxable. First-time home buyers would be exempt.
Money from a community housing fund could be spent in myriad ways, from buying land and buildings to town-led or public-private construction projects for sale or rent, rehabilitation of existing buildings, down payment and other financial assistance to buyers, loans to construct accessory dwelling units, creation of housing for employees of local businesses, purchase of individual units within existing multiunit housing complexes, and housing counseling.
“We know that we have a crisis here,” Mr. Van Scoyoc said. “It’s critically important that we have a means of addressing, in a meaningful way, the housing shortage for working people, longtime residents, to be able to stay in the community to provide first responder services.”
Volunteer emergency services personnel “had an extremely busy weekend,” he said. “These are very dedicated local individuals who give up their time on holidays to keep us safe and provide services in an emergency. But we’re going to be in sad shape if they have nowhere to live in town, and the same is true for any working person that helps support our community.”
The committee working on the legislation was to meet again this week. A public hearing on the creation of a community housing fund will happen on July 21.
Councilwoman Cate Rogers announced that the temporary “cell on wheels” is now at Gann Road in Springs, is connected to the town’s emergency services network, and is operational. The installation — communications equipment mounted on a trailer that is also known as a COW — will be on site until a permanent emergency communications tower is designed and constructed as part of the overhaul of the town’s emergency communications system that started in 2017.
A permanent, 185-foot tower for Springs is to be erected at Camp Blue Bay on Flaggy Hole Road, owned by the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. Until that happens, “we do have emergency communications improvement for first responders in Springs,” Ms. Rogers said.
She also announced “Electric Vehicles: Everything You Need to Know,” a free, in-person, and virtual forum that will happen on Monday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at LTV Studios in Wainscott. Registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance, which will be via Zoom video conference. Those wishing to participate have been asked to register at bit.ly/3yKaICm. Registrants will receive an email confirmation, reminder, and link to join the event.
The board also got a brief presentation on the Amagansett Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station.
