Town Committee encounter clarifies ADU process
What’s the New York State Accessory Dwelling Unit +1 all about and how does it work?
Each month of the program, the Community Development Corporation of Long Island (CDCLI) provides an overview of how many ADUs have been constructed; how many have been approved for a grant but are in various stages such as design or construction but not yet completed; and how many property owners in the application process decided not to proceed for individual reasons.
But an encounter during the Community Housing Board meeting July 9 resulted in an accusation: “It just seems that you are not being transparent with the public,” resident Stephen Jacobs said.
What brought the subject up was a pending application filed on behalf of resident and local teacher Lynne Colligan. Her property is smaller than what the state program traditionally requires and the lot is currently zoned in the Near Shore and Peninsula Overlay District where ADUs are not supposed to be allowed.
Matt Sherman of Sherman Engineering & Consulting told the Town Board the site was wrongly listed as part of that environmentally sensitive area.
What Mr. Jacobs wanted to know is how many people have applied for ADU+1 grants; how many have been awarded; how many have been rejected; and reasons for rejections. He filed a Freedom of Information request for the information that is currently pending with Town Attorney Thomas Crouch.
With the program funded by New York State but administered in this area by the CDCLI, there are details not known to the municipalities that received grant money.
Shelter Island received a $2 million grant from the state with the intent that 16 property owners could each receive a grant of up to $125,000 to renovate existing space within their houses or construct an auxiliary structure on their property.
Those eligible are to use the money to create a year-round accessory dwelling unit they rent to someone in need of housing. The money is not meant to renovate the owner’s living space.
Some reasons a property owner might not qualify for a grant could include the location of the property and size of the lot meant to accommodate an ADU. Shelter Island bans ADUs in the Near Shore and Peninsula Overlay District.
Because the CHB hosts information meetings in conjunction with the CDCLI, those who express initial interest in gathering more information would likely be known to the committee members.
But the CHB doesn’t vet candidates for grants. They know nothing about applicants’ finances or reasons a candidate may not follow through or why the CDCLI may decide an applicant doesn’t qualify for a grant.
The statistics offered to those at last week’s meeting or accessing the session virtually were:
• 5 ADUs completed
• 3 in some phase of design or construction
• 5 considering the possibility of adding an ADU to their property although they have not yet signed contracts and some may not do so
Current numbers show three open grants that could go to new applicants or those in the pipeline.
If anyone in the application process drops out the number of available grants would increase.
Those who do follow through must rent the ADU year round for at least 10 years or forfeit grant money they have received.
ADUs are not subject to affordable rental requirements although some property owners have indicated they plan to conform to them. The open part of the meeting last week provided an update on the amount of money in the CHB coffers, $1.896 million, with the funds coming in through the real estate transfer tax that also provides money for the Community Preservation Fund and the Water Quality Improvement Fund.
There was a brief discussion about contracts that are in development for the 10 units of affordable rental properties to be constructed on three sites — six on a site near the Shelter Island History Museum, two on land near the IGA and two on Manwaring Road across from the Sylvester Manor farmstand.
