Krupski questions pace of Southold housing-code overhaul

Southold officials continued to hammer out revisions to the town’s long-awaited housing code last week, as Supervisor Al Krupski questioned the pace of the overhaul.

At Thursday’s Code Committee meeting, officials reviewed proposed changes to the subdivision rules — including a proposal to require a community housing unit in developments of four or more lots, down from six — as well as sanitary-flow-credit rules.

The town hopes to begin accepting applications in the second quarter of 2027, according to Planning Director Heather Lanza. She said the revisions are needed before the town can offer developer subsidies through its Community Housing Fund.

A separate down-payment assistance loan program can move forward without the code changes, she added.

“It seems like the timeline is so extended on the subsidy program,” Mr. Krupski said.

Ms. Lanza cited limited staff capacity as one reason for the extended timeline, but told officials the work would not stop between the advisory board’s monthly meetings.

“We’re working as fast as we can, nothing will be held up because there isn’t a Community Housing Advisory Board meeting for a whole month,” she said. “We’ll call a special Community Housing Advisory Board meeting when we have to.”

Sanitary-flow credits represent wastewater capacity that can be transferred between properties and can affect whether development proceeds. Under the proposal, each credit would represent 300 gallons per day of flow, consistent with the Suffolk County Sanitary Code. The town would end its fee for transferring credits. Transfers into the town’s credit bank would require Town Board approval, and proceeds from credit sales would go into a municipal account.

“These credits are the scarce resources that are in the way of getting a reasonable amount of affordable housing created,” said Margaret Steinbulger, deputy chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The town established the Community Housing Fund in 2022 and has been accumulating money in it since 2023 as officials develop programs to support affordable housing, Mr. Krupski said. The proposed changes have not been adopted as town law.

The next Code Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Southold Town Hall Annex.