Housing consultant to offer preliminary findings tonight

Community members clamoring for more information before deciding how to vote on a November referendum that could provide money for affordable housing can get some answers at tonight’s Community Housing Fund Advisory Board meeting.

A community survey and initial recommendations and a needs assessment will be presented at the 7 p.m. meeting available in person at Town Hall or by Zoom access.

Nelson Pope Voorhis consultant  Kathryn Eiseman, a partner and manager of the Environmental and Community Planning Division at the Long Island Office, will be outlining findings to date.

State legislation allows for a 0.5% real estate transfer tax to be added to the 2% transfer tax, 80% of which is used for land preservation and up to 20% for water quality improvements.

But each of the five East End communities needs to pass a local referendum to participate in the program.

The actual cost to those paying the tax as purchasers of Island property could actually be less for some because of higher exemptions.

Next Wednesday at the 3 p.m. Town Board work session, there will be a discussion of  TDRs — transfer of development rights.

Currently, the Island has no system in place but, has hired P.W. Grosser Consulting of Bohemia to produce a Generic Environmental Impact Statement  and if indicated, create a proposal for a TDR program, according to Town Attorney Stephen Kiely. He said the state mandates communities to investigate the viability of TDR programs and that’s what is currently happening.

TDRs could be stripped from properties acquired using Community Preservation Fund  money for passive recreational use where development isn’t permitted to parcels where affordable housing could be  built.

Another forum related to the Community Housing Fund initiative is being sponsored by the Government Committee of the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and the North Fork.

Shelter Island attorney Cathy Kenny  is committee co-chair and Andrea Gabor will moderate the diascussion titled “Affordable Housing: Hope or Promise?”

Panelists are  Assemblyman Fred Thiele, Jr., architect of the Community Preservation Fund and Community Housing Fund legislation signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul; Deputy Town Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams; ,Tom Ruhle, East Hampton Town Director of Housing & Community Development; and Curtis Highsmith, executive director of the Southampton Town Housing Authority

The referendum asks voters in each town to approve a .5% real estate transfer tax on the sale of homes, while not including purchases by first-time home buyers, and higher exemptions from the tax than what’s in place under the Community Preservation Fund. Panelists will explain how the transfer tax would work and discuss each town’s current and planned affordable housing initiatives. They will detail how funds could be used if voters in each of the five East End towns approve use of Community Housing Funds.

The discussion can be seen at www.YouTube.com/c/SeaTVSouthampton at 7 p.m. Sept. 13 or watched on the same YouTube channel the following day.