Southampton Village delays decision on affordable housing

Before they agree to change the zoning of a property that would accommodate three affordable homes, Southampton Village Board members said last week they first want to extend a contract for the housing program with Suffolk County.

But, at the November 24 work session, Trustee Bonnie Cannon disagreed with her fellow board members’ decision, stating that the latest move was just another way to keep the project from moving forward.

“We’ve done nothing but continue to stall,” Ms. Cannon said, looking frustrated with the other board members. “We’re stalling.”

For the past several months, the trustees have mulled re-zoning a 1.7-acre property on Bailey Road to allow the construction of three affordable houses. The property is in a 1-acre residential zone, and the board has been deliberating over allowing lots of approximately a half acre.

Before the board approves a zoning change, its members first want confirmation from Suffolk County that an already-lapsed contract for building affordable housing will be renewed.

“My biggest fear is that we subdivide the property, and then the county turns around and takes it and sells off three buildable half-acre lots,” Mayor Mark Epley said.

The 1.7 acres on Bailey Road, originally seized by the county for unpaid property taxes, was deeded to the village in 2002, and the contract, which has been extended twice since then, expired in September.

Village Attorney Richard DePetris said he will be drafting a law that allows changes to the zoning of the land on the condition that the county extends its contract with the village.

“We want to protect the village so that if the county takes the property back, the subdivision doesn’t have any effect,” Mr. DePetris said Tuesday.

Dan Aug, a spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, said Tuesday that he was working with Suffolk’s Affordable Housing Director Jill Rosen-Nikoloff on drafting the contract extension, and the County Legislature could vote on it in the coming months.

“We’ll seek legislative approval to extend the period of time for which the village can build the units at this site,” Mr. Aug said. “We believe it’s an appropriate site and we want them to see the project through.”

Mr. Aug could not provide any details on when the legislature would vote on the resolution, or how long the extension would run.

Ms. Cannon wanted to approve the subdivision on November 24, but Mr. Epley and Trustee Nancy McGann said that doing so could put the village at risk.

Mr. Epley said that because the contract is expired, the county could take the parcel back at any time. If the village subdivides the land and the county takes it back, Suffolk officials could then sell it to private developers or have other housing organizations build affordable units on it, leaving the village without any control, he explained.

Ms. Cannon emphasized that the County Legislature has already said that the village has to build affordable housing on the land.

“The county has never done that, why would they do that today?” Ms. Cannon asked. “Since when do we make decisions based on ‘ifs?’”

Ms. McGann disagreed, stating that the village is taking a chance if it subdivides the property without first signing a contract extension with the county.

Jason Korte of Southampton spoke in favor of the project during the public portion of last week’s meeting. He said that he has lived in the village all of his life—in fact, he is a third-generation village resident—but is now finding it expensive to live here.

“I’m struggling to live in Southampton Village, and I would like to stay,” Mr. Korte said, adding that he is a member of the Southampton Fire Department, and that many of his fellow firefighters would make use of the housing, too.

New Ambulance Facility

A group of volunteers concerned about the current Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance Corps headquarters on Meetinghouse Road are beginning a study alternate locations and renovation plans for the building.

Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley said that Richard Stott of Flynn+Stott architects, as well as Victor Canseco of Sandpebble Builders, both located in Southampton, offered to work on a study that would focus on how to renovate the headquarters and whether or not it should be moved to a different location in the village. Ambulance corps member Ron Hill, who is a professional traffic engineer, will also help with the process, Mr. Epley said Monday.

“The study is just beginning,” Mr. Epley said. “But we don’t have to do an [request for proposals] for this and we don’t have to pay for it.”

Mr. Stott helped design the new police headquarters, Mr. Epley said.

At the Village Board meeting on November 24, a few trustees balked at the potential cost of a new ambulance headquarters, which is still unknown. They said taxpayers are already paying for the $5.9 million firehouse project on Hampton Road that is now underway.

“My concern is that we just did the firehouse,” said Trustee Bonnie Cannon at the meeting.

Trustee Nancy McGann agreed, adding that she is financially conservative. “The taxpayer just says this is too much at one point,” she said.

Ms. McGann suggested that the ambulance corps consider moving into the Southampton Fire Department’s Windmill Lane headquarters. She said that perhaps the equipment the fire department currently keeps there could be moved to other department buildings.

Ambulance corps members have stated at prior board meetings that they would like to move out of the Windmill Lane location so they do not have to travel along often-crowded Jobs Lane and Main Street to answer calls.

But both Mr. Epley and Fire Department Chief Roy “Buddy” Wines IV did not agree with the suggestion.

“It’s not available, and we’re not vacating it for the new Hampton Road firehouse,” Chief Wines said. “It’s not possible.”

Mr. Epley said that he did not think the building would be a good fit for an ambulance barn because it is in the flood plains. “In a hurricane, they couldn’t pull an ambulance out of the barn,” he said.

At the same meeting, Ms. McGann hesitated at the idea of exploring the possibility of placing an ambulance barn just north of the current police headquarters on Windmill Lane, a previous suggestion of Mr. Epley’s.

“I know they like the property by the police station, but that’s going to be another big building up there,” Ms. McGann said.

In other news, the Village Board approved a $190,000 bond to purchase new planning software that it has been examining for the past few months. The software, which costs a total of $330,000, will digitize the documents currently filed in the village’s building, planning and architectural review departments, as well as in the tax receiver’s office.

The software will also allow the public easier access to the documents for a fee, which, in turn, will help pay back the bond as well as fund other portions of the project.

Debt service on the bond will total about $40,000 per year, Village Administrator Stephen Funsch has said.