With housing at a premium and little to no vacant land left in East Hampton Village, residents and officials alike have identified housing as a top concern for the future. But last week, it seems one of those plans had been quashed and another championed in a draft comprehensive plan.
During a public workshop on the comprehensive plan on Friday, Kirby Marcantonio, a developer who had previously been in talks with the village and the town to build affordable housing on both Accabonac Highway and Pantigo Road, spoke about the village’s need for work-force housing. He approached the village in November, suggesting 10 work-force housing units on the Accabonac Highway property that is home to the village’s Department of Public Works.
That night was the third and final public workshop on the East Hampton Village comprehensive plan. It was standing room only at the village’s Emergency Services Building while Noah Levine and Emily Tolbert of BFJ Planning in Manhattan, the firm tasked with creating the plan, read from a PowerPoint presentation outlining the issues faced by the village and their proposed solutions.
That Accabonac Highway plan appeared to be quashed; Mr. Levine said the village is planning to keep that property in its current state as the headquarters of the Department of Public Works. In an email on Monday, Mr. Marcantonio said the plan with the village is on hold for now, but added that there could be one more property to discuss at a later date.
Focus seems to have shifted to the eventual development of the area known as the Gingerbread District along Gingerbread Lane, King Street, Race Lane, and Railroad Avenue, which has been identified as a potential area for housing and business expansion.
At present, the area is zoned for manufacturing, allowing for the uses supported there already — an auto parts and lighting store, a PSEG storage facility, and possibly most notably, the Riverhead Building Supply and lumber yard. Mr. Levine said the area had already been identified in the 2002 comprehensive plan for a commercial district study.
According to BFJ, a master plan should be created to address the Gingerbread Lane area with a goal of mixed uses including residential and commercial, which would have to be backed by a sewer infrastructure. A sewerage system could be built, or development rights to other, less dense uses could be transferred to lots requiring more septic flow like residences or “wet-use” retail spaces like restaurants.
He additionally recommended that the village adopt the Long Island Workforce Housing Act, which requires housing developers to set aside 10 percent of their housing units as affordable housing in approved developments with five or more units in exchange for local government authorization to exceed existing residential density levels. Developers can build the affordable housing units or they can choose to pay a fee in lieu of constructing the affordable units. These fees are then used by the local government to construct affordable work-force housing, acquire land for the purpose of providing affordable work-force housing, or rehabilitate structures for the purpose of providing that affordable housing.
In his presentation last week, Mr. Levine said the village should consider prioritizing “locally serving retail uses.”
At the last public comment session on the comprehensive plan in May, some residents of the village said there was little desire to expand the village’s commercial district. However, Mayor Jerry told The Star at that time, referring to the 2002 comprehensive plan, that “Housing wasn’t an issue last time, but this time it’s one of the biggest issues. What if we rezoned the lumber yards and made them a housing area? The old plan said we didn’t want to expand the commercial district, but we’re sort of expanding up Newtown. At this point, shopping on Main Street isn’t affordable. Mom and pop can’t afford the rent there either. If we move a commercial district up towards the train station, that could be a more affordable place for year-round residents to shop.”
Mr. Marcantonio said the ship may have sailed on affordable housing in the village. A two-acre site on Railroad Avenue on the market for $24 million may have been the only property within the village limits, and the price tag, he said, would preclude affordable housing.
The village could also choose to broaden the definition of accessory dwelling units — currently allowed only for family and household staff — to allow anyone to live in the affordable rentals.
Along with housing, members of the public have previously identified traffic, sewerage, and parking as major issues the village needs to tackle in the coming years. Last week, the few members of the public who spoke added that quality of life is also a major consideration.
Mr. Levine and Ms. Tolbert presented thoughts on parking that would require redesign of the Reutershan and Schenck parking lots, easing traffic bottlenecks by removing the traffic lights at Cooper Lane and Newtown Lane and redesigning the Cedar Street and North Main Street intersection.
Public comments, business and public questionnaires, and input from the village’s comprehensive plan steering committee have all contributed to the draft plan. Although the draft has been issued, BFJ noted that public comments are still being taken into consideration and can be submitted through the village’s website through April 30. The comprehensive plan has not been updated since 2002. Once a draft is complete, a public hearing will be held.
The most recent draft can be found at ehvplan.wixsite.com, where people can also share input, post comments on a map, and watch recordings of previous public workshops.
