Southold allows detached accessory apartments in ADU code update

Southold Town Board approved a small but consequential change to its accessory dwelling unit (ADU) code Tuesday — allowing homeowners to build detached accessory apartments rather than limiting them to existing structures.

The amendment, approved by a unanimous vote, removes a requirement that accessory apartments be created within a “permanently existing” one-family dwelling.

The town eliminated the three-year minimum prerequisite for holding a certificate of occupancy for an accessory structure last May. This latest change is another incremental adjustment aimed at improving usability of the code, Zoning Board of Appeals Chairwoman Leslie Weisman said. She described the update as a “simple code fix” that was “inadvertently overlooked” when the board adopted earlier changes.

The ZBA recently denied a special exception permit application to create an ADU because the proposal involved constructing a new structure rather than converting an existing one, Ms. Weisman said.

“This restriction, to build only in something that exists, is in conflict with the town’s Comprehensive Plan that encourages more housing options, especially rental housing for families and for those who are on or eligible to be on the town’s Affordable Housing Registry,” she said.

The amendment also clarifies that an accessory apartment can be built in a detached accessory structure, subject to requirements. Previously, the code limited ADUs to “lawfully existing” detached garages, barns or storage buildings.

Ms. Weisman added that the ZBA will continue to review all applications for ADUs to ensure they will not have “adverse impact on neighborhoods or adjacent properties” and are in compliance with standard required approvals. 

Mattituck resident Eric McClure supported the “simple and important” code changes at the April 21 public hearing.

“We are trying as a community to increase the supply of affordable housing and requiring that an accessory unit be built in an existing structure just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and certainly doesn’t further the desire to increase the supply of housing in the community,” Mr. McClure said.