Sag Harbor Village Will Hold Forum on Affordable Housing

The Sag Harbor Village Board, which is considering new legislation to address the affordable housing crisis, will hold a forum on the topic at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, December 18, at the Municipal Building.

Representatives from the village’s environmental consulting firm, Nelson Pope Voorhis, will be on hand to explain a draft planning study the firm completed for the village in October that recommends the creation of a floating zone that would allow the village to approve affordable developments anywhere in the village, provided they meet a list of requirements, including fitting into the surrounding neighborhood.

Trustee Ed Haye, who has led the affordable housing drive, said the forum is intended to give the public an opportunity to comment to the board before it finishes drafting legislation. The meeting will also be available on Zoom, with the link to be posted on the village website.

The board, in its final formal meeting of the year, adopted a rental registry for year-round and seasonal rentals that will require property owners to complete a checklist indicating that the rental property is properly equipped with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and other safety features.

The board first discussed creating a rental registry after a fire in Noyac killed two young women in August 2022. Earlier this year, the board discussed the details of the application process, settling on one that requires the property owner to have the checklist notarized instead of requiring a village inspection. Once registered for a $250 fee, the permit will be good for two years.

A proposed tree preservation code, which has been amended to require permits to cut down any tree that is larger than 12 inches in diameter at breast height was tabled once again because of an amendment, agreed to last month, reducing the size limit from 18 inches dbh.

Haye asked that the board consider a further amendment, one that would grant the Building Department discretion to waive the permit requirement in cases in which requiring a homeowner to hire an arborist and surveyor would be too onerous. Trustee Bob Plumb agreed, saying it could easily cost more for someone to meet the code than it would be to pay the $1,000 fine.

In other action, the board closed a hearing on changes to permitted construction hours. The board adopted new rules allowing construction, and the noise associated with it, to take place only from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The change adds Saturdays to the days when construction work is banned. Construction work already was banned on Sundays and holidays.

The board made the changes, in part, to make it easier to enforce the restrictions on weekends.