North Fork Town Lifts Affordable Housing Cap

Affordable housing is hard to come by on the East End, but one North Fork town just made it easier to develop.

Southold’s Town Board unanimously voted to remove a section of code that limited development sites in affordable housing districts to 24 units, the Suffolk Times reported. The two-dozen limit doesn’t consider the size of the site and does not specify the parameters of what qualifies as a unit.

The removal is more likely to have an impact on those larger sites, since the density allowed for development is still based on septic flow, as calculated by the Health Department. Proposals will also still have to go through the traditional administrative review.

Still, the code amendment is a step towards enabling more affordable housing development in the town. One developer may even be trying to take immediate advantage of the change.

Paul Pawlowski proposed a zoning change for a five-acre property on Carroll Avenue in Peconic. He is looking to build 24 cottage-style affordable rentals, including both one- and two-bedroom units.

After the Town Board decision, Pawlowski said he would consider changing the proposal to include 32 units rather than 24, although he hasn’t submitted a formal proposal to do so. Every unit counts in Southold, which has an affordable housing registry with more than 300 names.

Pawlowski’s project is expected to go for a vote next month. Neighbors have argued against the project, citing common concerns about traffic, water quality and neighborhood safety.

Southold is the same municipality where Rona Smith tried to build a 24-unit affordable development, known as Cutchogue Woods. The town planning board rejected the development, which managed to hang on in the eyes of Southold Town officials before succumbing to its own demise over the summer.

The decision in Southold stands in stark contrast to other North Fork towns, where moratoriums are being instituted to block development.

In December, the village of Greenport adopted an immediate pause on development across three commercial districts. That moratorium stood to impact none other than Pawlowski, who was trying to develop 40 workforce housing units and 12 offices in the area, but withdrew his application this month, according to Patch.

— Holden Walter-Warner