East Hampton Town Board members voted last Thursday to double the cost to residents or brokers to sign on to the East Hampton Rental Registry.
Since 2016, when the registry was created, the fee has been $100 per two-year term. It will now double, both for an initial registration and for renewal, though there will be no charge to simply update information about a property.
Councilman David Lys said the increased fees will bring East Hampton in line with what other municipalities charge. The increase was also driven, he said, by the popularity of short-term rental sites such as VRBO, which has meant that more staff are needed to enforce and keep track of the rentals already on the town’s radar.
In other real estate-related news this week, the board voted to pay up to $1,250 to Clark & Marshall, appraisers, to determine the value of the house and land, and the land alone, of property at 139 Middle Highway in Whalebone Woods. The board has the property in its sights as a possible candidate for an affordable housing set-aside, which members indicated was the plan when the house was constructed.
The resolution authorizing the appraisal noted that the town “is considering the acquisition of a home previously constructed under the town’s affordable housing program located at 139 Middle Highway in East Hampton for the purpose of maintaining affordable housing.”
A review of multiple online real estate records indicates that the house, with an accessory apartment attached, has been recently valued at between $825,000 and $1.4 million.
The town board also signed off this week on the purchase, via the Community Preservation Fund, of a two-acre vacant parcel at 106 Red Dirt Road in Springs, whose owner, Caryn Halbrecht, had signaled a willingness to sell. The board resolved last Thursday to purchase the parcel for $1.5 million, noting that “this property is in proximity to a significant number of preserved acres held by the Town and Peconic Land Trust. The property has an active trail along its edge, and preservation may allow a trail re-route.”
The parcel also hit an environmental trifecta: 106 Red Dirt Road is located in a special groundwater protection area, a water recharge overlay district, and the Pine Barrens.
