After a public hearing in September the East Hampton Town Board has yet to pass legislation that would allow parcels as small as half an acre to be designated affordable housing overlay districts. At present that designation may be applied to lots that are three acres or larger.
Because of changes to the draft legislation made in the wake of public comment that would further encourage the construction of the units, it appears a second hearing will be necessary.
The draft legislation discussed at the public hearing on Sept. 18 wasn’t clear about the possibility of a homeowner occupying one of the units. That will now be made explicit.
Another proposed change would allow the affordable units to be in separate buildings on the property, like a detached affordable dwelling unit. The original draft legislation had them all within one house, like apartments.
If passed, the legislation could enable a homeowner to age in place, essentially, staying in their residence but applying to build another on their property, which could bring them income while simultaneously providing affordable housing.
“We wouldn’t require multiple units in each of the buildings,” Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte said at last Thursday’s town board meeting.
“The idea being, if somebody has a small house on a one-acre lot and wants to develop affordable multiple residence, they could live in their house and then develop that in the back, as opposed to having to rework the entire site. So those are two relatively minor changes, but I do think it’ll require a new hearing.”
