Rescheduled Hearing On Proposed Speonk Affordable Housing Complex Set For March 22

Southampton Town officials will once again hear from residents regarding a proposed 38-unit affordable housing complex in Speonk, roughly one month after the original hearing had to be rescheduled because the developers failed to properly notify neighbors.

The next hearing will be held at the Remsenburg-Speonk Elementary School on Mill Road in Remsenburg on Wednesday, March 22, starting at 6 p.m. Both the Southampton Town Board and the developers—Georgica Green Ventures, a for-profit, Jericho-based company that builds affordable housing, and the Southampton Housing Authority—will be present at the meeting.

In order for their application to move forward, the developers need the Town Board to agree to rezone the 4.28-acre property that sits on the west side of North Phillips Avenue, just south of the railroad tracks, from half-acre residential to multifamily. A shuttered boardinghouse, known as “The Castle,” and several single-family houses now dot the property at 41 North Phillips Avenue.

This week, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he expects that the hearing on the zone change will be closed at the end of the night, with a decision announced by the board within the next few weeks.

“We have been working very closely with the community and many understand the need for housing,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “The project has been greatly reduced from the original proposal and the developer has been working with the community in terms of aesthetic and managing the impacts.”

If the zone change is approved, the application, dubbed “Speonk Commons,” would be allowed to move forward for review by the Southampton Town Planning Board. That panel must sign off on the construction design before the developers are able to break ground on the affordable housing complex.

Due to concerns raised by community members over density, Georgica Green officials previously agreed to reduce the number of apartments at the proposed complex, which would still feature a mix of studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments, from 51 to 38. The 38 units would be housed in six two-story buildings.

Roughly 130 people attended the last unofficial hearing at Southampton Town Hall. It is unclear how long it will take for a decision to be rendered.

“We will do it as expeditiously as possible,” Mr Schneiderman said. “Certain findings have to be made and the document must be prepared, but I expect a decision within a couple of weeks.”