Short-term rentals will be allowed in Southampton Town in June to accommodate the large crowds pouring into town for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
The Town Board voted on Tuesday to suspend the ban on transient rentals in the town from Friday, June 8, through Tuesday, June 19, roughly coinciding with the weeklong event. Town officials said the tournament is a “regionally significant event” and there is not enough local short-term housing for the wave of people expected to surge to the town that week.
The ability to lift the ban on transient rentals was just written into the town code in December, with the U.S. Open in mind. The event will return to Shinnecock Hills in 2026 as well.
In addition to passing the resolution to temporarily lift the ban on transient rentals, the Town Board also voted on Tuesday to create a conservation easement in North Sea and to hold a public hearing to consider extending the planned development district law for a proposed senior citizen condominium complex in Hampton Bays.
The nearly 2-acre conservation easement approved by the Town Board in North Sea is nestled on a rectangular lot off Ocean Avenue. On the southernmost end of the easement lies a 15-foot-wide trail easement, which was approved in the same action on Tuesday.