Southold Town looks to extend hotel moratorium
Southold Town Board will hold a public hearing regarding an extension of the hotel moratorium May 28 at 4:30 p.m.
The moratorium, which halted the application process for new development of resorts, hotels and motels in the township, was originally approved by the Town Board in June 2024. It was unanimously adopted after the Suffolk County Planning Commission recommended a six-month development pause.
“The town has noted that they are in the process of a comprehensive zoning update that should be complete by March 2025,” its June 5, 2024 report stated. “The commission believes it is important that the town update the commission on its progress within the first three months and after the six months to discuss the need for an extension, so that the town can end this moratorium at the appropriate time that allows suitable development to continue.”
The town’s comprehensive zoning update is now said to be available by April 18 at southoldzoningupdate.com, according to planning board staff.
“Given the complexity of zoning regulations and the need for public review and deliberation, the Town Board finds it necessary to extend the moratorium to ensure thoughtful policymaking,” the proposed law states.
The current moratorium is set to expire June 18. The proposed extension would make the moratorium effective for an additional 12 months after its enactment.
The moratorium extension law description states that the Town Board believes more time is needed to finalize the zoning updates to ensure “proper alignment with the Southold Town Comprehensive Plan, environmental constraints and density regulations.” It also states that “without an extension of the moratorium, new large-scale development may proceed before necessary amendments to Southold’s zoning legislation are completed, potentially undermining the town’s long-term planning objectives.”
A cumulative impact analysis of recent and proposed developments is another issue the Town Board intends to analyze during the moratorium.
A separate public hearing for a waiver from the original moratorium for 9025 Main St LLC, which proposed a two-story Mattituck Hotel at the former Capitol One building on Main Road in 2021, will be held May 13 at 7 p.m. As of June 2024, the proposed plans called for 81 rooms, a 100,821-square-foot restaurant and catering facility, and three 1,200-square-foot workforce housing and maintenance buildings, totalling 11.8 acres.
