Community Corner

Springs Could Be Left Out of Accessory Apartments Legislation

Town needs more housing options, but all agree Springs has enough density already.

Following an outcry from dozens of Springs residents that proposed accessory apartment legislation would further the area's density problem, East Hampton Town Councilwoman Theresa Quigley told residents on Monday evening that Springs could be exempted if that's what they want.

"We have an issue of a need for some kind of units to live," Quigley told the crowd at a meeting of the Springs Advisory Committee at . "I’m talking about your children, your parents. I’m talking about you having extra income from you being able to rent out a unit in your house," she said. "Now, if you don’t want it, you don’t want it. But, we as a town need it."

Quigley proposed the legislation that would allow accessory apartment in detached buildings after the Springs School District sent a letter to the town asking for help with an overcrowding issue that it believes has to do with illegal multi-family housing. But, some residents have shown concern that Quigley's proposal will only add to the problem.

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Yet, Quigley said that she recognizes Springs has the most residents per square mile than any other hamlet. She reported that according to the town planning department, there are 19,719 housing units throughout East Hampton. She said the units in Springs makeup 4,950, or 25 percent, of the total units in the town. However, the hamlet is only composed of 12 percent of the land. 

By comparison, Montauk has roughly the same amount of units, but double the land, she said.

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She said she believed the problem has to do with the upzoning of the available land throughout town, of which there was very little in Springs in the 1980s. "The effect of that was to put even more density into Springs because as they upzoned the rest of town, comparitatively the lots in the rest of town got most expensive," she said. "Springs became increasingly the only affordable option in town . . ."

While the town made plans set forth in the Comprehensive Plan and Accabonac Study, "The only planning done in town was land planning. There was no people planning." And, despite an existing accessory apartment pilot program, very few took adventage of it.

Her legislation would allow one accessory apartment per house and it could be in a detached structure, such as above a garage, so long as the garage met primary structure set back requirements under the code. "Right now the code doesn't allow that," she said.

Certain criteria would have to be met; A lease would have to be in place for at least one year; The apartment would have to be rented to either a relative, someone who works in town, or volunteers with the fire or emergency medical services; or it would have to be designated as an affordable apartment.

The proposed legislation also has an amnesty clause that would allow those who have illegal accessory apartments to make them legal. "If we don’t do amnesty we will continue to have the same problem for the next 30 years," she said.

All apartments have to meet New York State fire code, East Hampton Town building code, and Suffolk County Department of Health code when it comes to septic systems.

Carol Buda, who along with several other residents has rallied residents to speak out against the legislation, told Quigley, "We in Springs think we have done our share for the affordable housing percentage in town and if you are going to look at affordable housing, exempt Springs from it at least for the near time being until our horrendous overcrowding problem is solved."

Quigley, who is a real estate attorney, told the crowd that in her first year in office she and Supervisor Bill Wilkinson, who was also in attendance, had focused on the budget and the debt the new administration inherited. While one audience member called it "a lame excuse," Quigley said she has been working on improving the way town operates. She said she found the town mechanics startling and unprofessional.

Part of the restructuring is being played out in the code enforcement department, which many have said has not done enough to battle illegal housing in Springs. The board appointed Pat Gunn, an attorney, to oversee the division and moved longtime animal control officer Betsy Bambrick to be the head of code enforcement. "They are working on a plan," she said.

One thought Quigley briefly mentioned was to allow for workforce housing in the agricultural overlay districts. "I believe personally from anecdotal information that a lot of the really bad houses are not families but are rather workforce housing people."

Debra Foster, a former town councilwoman and resident of Springs, asked Quigley how many people would be allowed to reside in the apartment under the proposed legislation. "The proposal, which has not been flushed out by the town board . . . says one person for every 150 square feet."

Foster was concerned that would allow for half a dozen people in a 750 square foot apartment, adding to Springs' overcrowding issue.

"We can totally limit to the square foot per bedroom," Quigley responsed, adding that the proposal has yet to be flushed out by the town board.

Wilkinson promised the group that "nothing would be rushed." Henricka Conner, the chairwoman of the committee, invited him and Quigley back in a few months after they had more time to fine-tune the legislation. She also request Gunn come speak to the committee next month.

 

Hamlet Number of Units Percentage of Total Units Percentage of Total Land Amagansett 1,290 11% 14% East Hampton 8,047 39% 37% Montauk 4,816 23% 25% Springs 4,950 25% 12% Wainscott 764 3.7% 10%


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