Still unhappy with the pace at which new accessory dwelling units are being built in East Hampton Town, a committee charged with keeping tabs on them made four recommendations to the town board Tuesday that it hopes will spur some construction action.
“Bluntly, if we are serious about addressing the housing issue as a whole, this delivers,” said Councilman Tom Flight, an ex-officio member of the committee, as he introduced the topic to the board. “This is not to say there are going to be A.D.U.s everywhere. It’s about allowing more people to do A.D.U.s.” He said that the lack of affordable housing is related to many other problems faced by the town, including traffic and litter issues. Still, even if everyone rushed to the town’s offices to get permission to build an A.D.U., only 40 are allowed per hamlet, with a maximum of 200 townwide.
A year after the rules were last relaxed in an effort to encourage more people to build the units, only 34 of the 200 available permits are being used.
Chief among the committee’s recommendations was cutting in half the minimum lot size needed to build an accessory dwelling unit, from 20,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. If ultimately approved, this will be the third time the lot size has been shaved from the original 40,000 square feet required when the program was in its infancy in 2016.
Using data gleaned from the New York State Plus One A.D.U. program, which accepted applications between August and October, Eric Schantz, the town’s director of housing, said 40 percent of the applications had to be tossed immediately because they did not meet the lot size requirement. Most of the inquiries, 39, came from Springs, but only 23 were on lots over 20,000 square feet. “Those are real numbers of individuals who came to the town and right off the bat, 40 percent were excluded,” he said.
Another recommendation was to remove the “primary legal residence” requirement, and allow second-home owners to build A.D.U.s. According to Mr. Schantz, for the last 40 to 50 years, about 60 percent of housing units in the town were second, seasonal homes. “So, right away you’re removing 60 percent of properties from having an A.D.U.,” he said, even though “those individuals often have more resources to build.” The intent of the rule to require a homeowner on the parcel was to remove the “potential for an absentee landlord situation.”
“For me the bigger concern is that these A.D.U.s can be used as a second rental on the property,” said Councilwoman Cate Rogers.
“That’s a great point,” said Mr. Schantz, who explained that the code already restricted someone from “double dipping” by having the house rented through the rental registry and additionally having an A.D.U.
The committee also felt the application was arduous, and that preapproved building plans might help speed the process for both homeowners and the Building Department. “A lot of time, applicants just don’t know where to start,” said Mr. Schantz. His fourth recommendation related to cost, which he acknowledged might be “the biggest impediment.” He urged the board to launch the town’s A.D.U. construction assistance program, which has been held up because of confusion about tax implications. Resident concerns about property reassessment, post construction, and triggering the need for new septic systems also needed to be assuaged, as they were potentially scaring applicants away, he said. However, he applauded the response to the state program. “With close to 90 responses, there is certainly interest,” he said.
One consideration offered would be a five-year exemption from reassessment. “I was taken aback for what you can charge in rent,” said Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. “I’m not sure I’m in agreement that reassessment should be waived.” Apart from generating income for the homeowner, she said additional density puts burdens on the community. Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte, who is the board’s liaison to the assessor’s office, said, “You would be assessed only on that structure. They’re not going to come and look at your whole property.”
Supervisor Burke-Gonzalez, picking up a point raised earlier by Councilman David Lys, questioned whether houses owned by limited liability companies should be forced to list their principals if they participate in the program. “You’re taking funding from the town; you need to lift that corporate veil.”
Once the board works out the details on any updates to the program guidelines, the recommendations would be sent to the planning board for review, after which draft code language would be discussed at a subsequent town board meeting. Once they agree on legislation, an environmental assessment would be conducted, and a public hearing held.
One resident decided not to wait for a public hearing to comment. “The town and the committee doesn’t seem to get it. If the A.D.U. program is not successful, the solution is not to radically reduce the minimum lot area from 20,000 to 10,000,” said David Buda of Springs, who called during the public portion of the meeting. “I will remind you that not long ago it was 30,000 square feet. The possibility of reducing it to 10,000 square feet when our townwide minimum single family residential zoning size is 20,000 is really abhorrent.”
Instead, he argued, it was time for the town to think of a “radically different approach” by allowing multifamily houses in zoning created for that purpose in Wainscott, Amagansett, and Montauk, where A.D.U. demand is lowest. “The areas that need them are not the ones that are asking for it and are not the ones that are building them.”
“Eric mentioned multiple residence and so did a caller today,” said Councilman Calder-Piedmonte, referencing Mr. Buda’s comment, during his liaison report at the end of the meeting. “As liaison to the Housing Department, this is something that Eric and I have been discussing. I hope in the near future to bring that issue to the town board about how we might look at multiple-residence zoning, or use. Like all changes, it will be complicated, but the sooner we get talking about it, and the more input from the public, the better.”
