Southampton Town Board Talks Assisted Living, Septic Upgrades

A Southampton Town rebate program that would provide financial assistance to homeowners to upgrade outdated septic systems, along with a proposed change in town law that would permit assisted living in the township, were the subjects of public hearings at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.

Draft legislation for the rebate program—which is expected to be approved by the board at their next meeting on August 22—would allow residents to apply for up to $15,000 in grant money per household to upgrade an outdated septic systems. That represents a slight jump from a previous draft that limited the grants to $10,000.

Funding for the grants, if enacted, would come from the town’s future Community Preservation Fund proceeds, after voters agreed to allocate as much as 20 percent to water quality improvement efforts last November.

In order to be eligible for the grant, according to the draft legislation, a property owner must make $300,000 or less per year to get funding for up to 100 percent of installation costs, up to $15,000. Households who make up to $500,000 are eligible for up to 50 percent of installation costs, up to the same $15,000.

Southampton Town residents who apply for the town’s grant program can also apply for a similar $11,000 rebate program offered by Suffolk County, combining the proceeds to fully cover the costs.

According to Deputy Town Attorney Kathleen Murray, applicants who want the grant must first submit a one-page form to the town’s CPF Department. Then, if they are eligible, they would take the form to get a vendor to agree to do the work, and then get a permit from the town’s Building Department.

After all of the paperwork is done and septic installation is completed, the homeowner will then be reimbursed for the new Suffolk County-approved septic system. Ms. Murray stressed at the August 8 public hearing that once the resident is deemed eligible, the money is held by the town for six months while the process is completed.

Another hot topic in the town has been assisted living—now that town officials have considered creating special zoning that, if adopted, would permit the construction of such facilities in the municipality.

Since the removal of different zoning, called planned development districts, from the town’s books earlier this year, there are limited avenues for developers to build assisted living facilities in Southampton Town. To fill this gap, legislation is currently being drafted that would allow for assisted living facilities to be approved through the town’s Planning Board.

The legislation outlines that developers who build such facilities will need at least 3 acres of land, with no more than 20 beds per acre. Also, each assisted living complex would be capped at 90 beds.

However, at a recent Town Board work session on August 3, the board spoke with officials from Peconic Landing, the North Fork retirement community, and Maplewood Senior Living, a Westport, Connecticut-based senior living facility, who have both expressed interest in building assisted living facilities in Southampton. Those representatives suggested increasing the number of beds to 108 for a 4-acre parcel, in order to make such a project economically feasible.

Based on discussions with representatives from both facilities, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said the town would likely have room for two assisted living facilities, in addition to The Villa at Westhampton—an existing two-story assisted living facility which has not yet opened.

“It sounds like it’s an under-served market but a limited market,” the supervisor explained.

Michael Daly, a Sag Harbor resident and Real Estate agent with Douglas Elliman, emphasized at Tuesday’s public hearing that there are not currently enough local housing options for senior community members who want to age in place.

“I find myself spending more and more time with seniors in my work every day,” Mr. Daly said, referring to seniors looking for affordable living options on the South Fork. “... Our generation is like a lamb going through a boa constrictor—you know, we’re such a large generation. But now that generation is starting to get ready to downsize.”

It is unclear when the Town Board will adopt final legislation allowing for assisted living facilities.