It’s become abundantly clear that a lack of housing for people who work on the East End is a true, community-threatening crisis, and we’re heartened to see that the public at large recognizes the urgency of the situation.
At a recent public discussion on Southold Town’s zoning update priorities, speaker after speaker echoed support for community housing, the town’s top priority. Business owners, longtime housing advocates and environmentalists alike all seemed to share concern over the rapid exodus of people who’ve long kept our community running. When they leave town, many of their houses become vacant shells, investments waiting for a summer weekend or a crew of bachelorettes.
Pictured Above: One vision of community housing shared by True North Realty Associates at a recent Cutchogue Civic Association meeting.
Zoning changes are an essential piece of the housing puzzle — Greenport Village’s plans to make two-family houses legal in all of its residential zones and allow accessory dwelling units in existing outbuildings are a great example of small tweaks that will make a big difference. We urge Greenporters to show up to support these changes at upcoming public hearings.
We hope Southold expands its current plans to revamp its code to make it even easier to build affordable housing. There is a will, from the public to make this happen, but it will take pressure at public hearings in the months ahead to make this a reality.
But towns and villages can’t do this alone. In mostly unsewered areas like ours, the Suffolk County Health Department’s sanitary code severely limits residential uses in mixed-use developments. It’s easy to say we should allow apartments above stores. But it’s usually not the town that sets this limit. It’s the health department.
The health department already allows double the density for senior housing compared with non-age-restricted housing, which is why you’re more likely to see a senior housing complex built here than one where all ages can live. There is no reason, from a public health perspective, why this should be allowed but apartments above stores should not.
The health department doesn’t hear a lot from the public, but now is the time for people to raise their voices.
The County Executive’s office is currently rolling out a streamlined new program allowing people to replace their aging septic systems with new, nitrogen-reducing septic systems. Their actions now on septic systems are very much in the public eye. But the sanitary code is as antiquated as much of the zoning on the East End.
Sewers have long been a dirty word on the North Fork, but pocket septic treatment systems for the centers of small hamlets could provide a jolt for both housing and the local economy, while preserving the rural areas surrounding these downtowns. We’ve seen architects in Greenport envision what this could look like for the village. It would be great to see some visions of potential futures for downtown Cutchogue, Peconic or Southold as well.
If you’re fortunate enough to have stable housing here now, congratulations! You are in a rare position to be able to do something to help the situation. Speak up at public meetings about proposed zoning changes. Learn about the nascent non-profits that are hoping to chip away at building small-scale housing that works here (we’ll be talking more about this in the months ahead).
Pick up a hammer and help Habitat for Humanity, which is building houses not far from here now and could become a vital partner on the North Fork. With all hands on housing, we will have the tools we need to dig ourselves out of this crisis.
