Letters

Former Village Trustee Kimberly Allan and Planning Commission member Laura Devinney called out me personally, and the mayor, for passing changes to the accessory code that were not to their liking [“Proposal Falls Short,” Letters, February 4]. Since the Village Board voted unanimously for these changes, it is hard not to read political intent in their singling out of us.

Ms. Allan worked on this legislation before she left office, and Ms. Devinney, as a member of the Planning Commission, can express any concerns and views and make recommendations to the Village Board.

Anyone with any connection to municipal government out here (past and present) knows that the lack of affordable housing has been a thorny issue for decades. To try to combat this, Southampton Village recently adopted accessory apartment legislation not too dissimilar to Southampton Town’s and East Hampton’s.

While accusing us of short-changing the public and implying that we did not “communicate with residents prior to approval,” neither Ms. Allan nor Ms. Devinney made it their business to participate in the public hearing, which was held via Zoom on December 10.

Any accessory apartment must be granted by special permit from the zoning board, and the apartment must be within the principal structure. That measure was passed unanimously earlier this year with input from the Building Department.

No legislation is perfect. If there are serious problems with this law, it can be amended, just like any other. And, contrary to what was stated, there is a cap on the number of units.

As a trustee, I intend on maintaining my independence to vote with my conscience on issues affecting the taxpayers. I don’t wish to be singled out when I wasn’t even the trustee who put this legislation forward. What does it say when former public officials try to raise suspicious questions about legislation that the former trustee had a hand in creating herself?

There are many reasons why we are in this housing debacle: land vanishing, taxes increasing, cost of living going through the ceiling in a changing housing landscape. There have been missed opportunities, many loopholes that developers took advantage of over the years that have to be reexamined.

And, yes, as Ms. Allan and I suggested many times in the past, an analysis and inventory of existing affordable housing and properties that might qualify is long overdue. We need it to make good decisions.

Solutions are needed for these problems, not nitpicking.

Joseph R. McLoughlin

Trustee

Southampton Village