Quiogue Affordable Development Public Hearing Is Closed

In a presentation to the Southampton Town Board, a slide depicted people who might live in affordable housing units planned on 17 acres on Quiogue.

It showed a police officer making 60 percent of the area median income, or AMI, a teacher making 50 percent of the AMI, a registered nurse making 80 percent, and a waiter making 40 percent.

It was, said Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, “a very effective slide.”

“To put the face on it and job on it is really helpful,” Schneiderman told Jonathan Gertman, vice president of the national firm NPR Group, which is looking to build 104 affordable housing units for people on a broad economic spectrum, at a November 22 public hearing on NPR’s proposed development on Quiogue, on land abutting Montauk Highway and South Country Road.

NPR needs a zone change, from single-family residential to multifamily use with a density of six units per acre. The developer originally wanted 10 units per acre but later reduced the ask.

Speakers at last week’s hearing, which was focused on the environmental review of and code change for the project, were few, with most in support.

Reading a message from Sheryl Heather, the executive director of the Southampton Business Alliance, Rebecca Sinclair said the project offers a substantial rental opportunity that the community urgently needs.

A neighbor of the proposed development, called The Preserve at South Country, Heather pointed out that tenants will undergo “rigorous eligibility screening.” Gertman affirmed that the state, which will be funding the project, has eligibility criteria, and NPR also conducts its own checks of credit and criminal records.

Sinclair, who is a renter herself, offered, “A lot of folks like me need housing like this.” She called the plan “a great example of creativity in a great location.”

Tim Laube, a Westhampton Beach resident and assistant superintendent for business and operations in the Eastport-South Manor School District, said that for anyone worried about school tax impact, even if every unit has schoolchildren, “it wouldn’t make a dent,” as enrollment in local schools has dropped precipitously and continues to trend downward, as young people — “the fabric of the community” — leave the area in a quest for affordable homes.

Gertman estimated that the project would send 37 kids to local schools. If the land were developed “as of right,” he added, the 28 five-bedroom homes it could accommodate would send 33.

Laube noted that someone said 104 is a lot of units, but he asserted, “We need as many as we can get.”

Others joined the chorus of support.

Jonathan Schneider read a message from George Vickers Jr. of Westhampton, a 13th-generation resident of the East End, offering support for the project.

Ella Engel-Snow said, “We really need to see things happen,” while Bryony Freij of the housing advocacy group East End YIMBY, which stands for “yes in my backyard,” opined there wasn’t a lot of density proposed for such a huge piece of land.

Also from YIMBY was Eleanor Kobel of Westhampton. She lives about a mile and a half from the site and travels South Country Road “constantly.”

“It’s fine,” she said, looking to assuage worries about increased traffic and saying she wants to make sure it’s offered to the local workforce. “We need this very badly. It’s time for us to have this.”

Kathy Sullivan has lived in the community since 1984. Reflecting on how the town prides itself on being a vacation spot, the last speaker to voice support said the town should help support the people who make things happen for tourists. To concerns about added traffic, she said, “You can’t live on a dirt road your whole life — things have to move on.”

A resident of South Country Road, Barbara Weber-Floyd, said she has “very grave concerns” about the total number of people that would be added to her road. She also said she was disheartened that she raised the concerns during earlier meetings on the project and nothing has changed.

“Those of us who live on this road will tell you, we have real traffic problems,” she said, asking for the project to be smaller so it could better be absorbed into the infrastructure of the community.

Taking the podium on behalf of the developer, Charles “Chic” Voorhis of the consulting firm Nelson Pope Voorhis said NPV’s traffic impact study looked at all intersections in the area and did counts at peak hours and weekends. Based on the number of homes, the study estimated 42 more vehicle trips in the morning and 53 trips at the end of the day.

Given South Country Road and Montauk Highway see about 11,657 cars per day combined, the consultant determined that the project would result in “very little impact.”

Another Quiogue resident, Greg Meisel, suggested developing the project in stages, building 40 or 50 units first to see how it goes rather than burdening the area with such a large development all at once. If the project at 50 units is successful, another 50 might be added, he said.

Another neighbor, Kathryn Bittenger, agreed that it’s important that affordable housing developments blend into the community. She asked NPR to reconsider the density, noting that it’s a beautiful design.

As part of the required study, the developer also assessed a scaled-down version, with 96 instead of 104 units.

Councilman John Bouvier relayed concerns about the proposed density voiced by members of the Hamptons West Citizens Advisory Committee.

Jennifer Hartnagel of the Group for the East End pointed out that the land is near eight other sites that suffered groundwater contamination. Although tests performed by the developer’s consultants didn’t turn up contaminants, Hartnagel said the group is worried about contamination traveling to the site.

Voicing another concern, she noted the Strebel lot, which will be subdivided out of the total parcel, wasn’t part of the required environmental study. An onsite sewage treatment plant will also be used to treat wastewater from the Strebel’s laundromat. Additionally, she said she’d like to see a comparison between the wastewater impacts of the proposal and those from an as-of-right subdivision.

Prior to opening the podium to the public, Gertman offered a presentation describing the merits of the development.

NPR has been building housing in the Greater New York area and works with local experts to be responsive to the community, he said. If approved as currently designed, the project would comprise 40 one-bedroom units, 48 two-bedroom apartments and 16 with three bedrooms.

Annual income levels for eligible tenants would range from $32,700 to $120,880, with rents ranging from $724 to $2,884 per month.

He described the location as “idyllic” but pointed out that the vacant land is already disturbed and once accommodated a sand mining operation.

The plan preserves open space along the eastern end of the site. Every unit has its own entrance, offering significant privacy, in buildings of just two stories. The goal was to create buildings that offer a “country-esque and Hamptons-y take,” Gertman said.

Schneiderman wanted to know whether the units would remain affordable. Gertman said the state offers restrictions for the life of the financing, usually 50 years.

The supervisor emphasized that he doesn’t want to see the development morph into high-end summer units, “even 50 years from now.” Gertman said keeping the units affordable in perpetuity could be a condition of the approval.

The board closed the public hearing but left the record open for written comment for three weeks.