Southold inching closer to Airbnb-style rental permit system

Southold’s long-running effort to regulate Airbnb-style rentals — amid the North Fork’s growing affordability crisis — took another step Tuesday toward a formal permit system.

At a Town Board work session, officials said a draft short-term rental code is nearly complete but still must be aligned with the town’s broader housing-code overhaul before it can go to a public hearing.

Short-term rentals of fewer than 14 consecutive nights are currently prohibited in Southold. But the proposed law would establish a permit system, including a cap on the percentage of homes eligible for permits and a lottery to determine which properties receive them.

The proposed code would establish a framework for regulating short-term rentals, including the administration and fees associated with the program. Town officials said they are still calculating the cost of administering the program and determining how the regulations will align with changes to the town’s housing and rental-permit codes.

Heather Lanza, the town’s Planning Department director, said the rental code is drafted but needs a few more revisions before it can move to a public hearing.

“It has to be concurrent with the housing code because short-term rental permits require general rental permits as a prerequisite to being eligible,” Ms. Lanza told the board. “The short-term rental code requires a code reference to that rental permit section.”

The short-term rental proposal would require property owners to first hold a general rental permit. But officials said the town’s existing rental rules are scattered and, in some cases, conflict with one another. The language must be reconciled before the housing and short-term rental proposals can move forward together.

The work is part of a wider housing-code overhaul that has also focused on accessory apartments, community housing and rental rules. Town officials stepped up enforcement against illegal transient rentals this spring, using software to identify suspected online listings and notify property owners of potential violations.

Separately, Supervisor Al Krupski’s tentative 2027 budget, unveiled last Friday, includes a new full-time director of code enforcement, a position he linked to increased oversight of short-term rentals and community-housing initiatives.

The town’s 2023 Community Housing Plan identified short-term rentals as a factor in the local housing shortage. It cited 853 active vacation-rental properties in Southold and Greenport as of July 2023, with the highest concentration in and around Greenport.

Several other issues remain unresolved before the rental code can move to a public hearing. Among them are determining the maximum percentage of homes that could be eligible for short-term rental permits, finalizing terminology and reviewing the code for consistency.

Deputy Supervisor John Stype said procedures for the lottery that would determine which properties receive permits, including dates and other details, still need to be finalized. The board must also settle the code’s effective date, with Jan. 1, 2028, listed as the recommended date in a handout provided by Ms. Lanza at Tuesday’s work session.

Once the effective date is finalized, officials will need to determine whether the regulations will be placed in the town’s zoning code or in a standalone chapter.

Town officials recommended finalizing the remaining pieces of the short-term rental code and posting the draft online for public review. The Town Board would ultimately consider the housing and short-term rental rules together so the rental-permit requirement is clear.

The code committee is scheduled to meet Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. to discuss housing matters. During Tuesday’s work session, Ms. Lanza and the board discussed moving the meeting to 8 a.m. to prioritize the issue. The second code committee meeting scheduled for October has not yet been confirmed.

Other topics discussed during Tuesday’s work session included:

Town social media

Councilwoman Alexa Suess proposed that the town establish social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram, to help distribute important information to the public.

The proposed policy would outline who can post, administrative access and oversight, while requiring town social media content to be treated as public records.

Because the town does not currently have someone available to moderate comments, and to avoid potential First Amendment concerns, Ms. Suess said the accounts would be set up with comments disabled if the proposal is approved. Though, residents would still be able to contact the town through other communication channels like calling directly or via email.

The Communication Committee will work with the Town Attorney’s Office on the policy, with the goal of presenting a resolution at the Town Board’s next meeting Oct. 20.

Greenport CPF funding

Southold Town officials are working with the Village of Greenport to determine how Community Preservation Fund money can be used for projects benefiting the village’s state-designated disadvantaged community.

Greenport has requested greater flexibility in determining which projects outside the village could benefit its residents.

The town’s current proposal would prioritize projects within Greenport or within a half-mile of the village, while also considering environmental and quality-of-life benefits.

Officials also discussed how more than $2 million in state funding awarded to Greenport could help the town and village partner on larger infrastructure and environmental projects.

Water conservation

The Town Board also discussed potential water-conservation measures, including reusing treated wastewater for irrigation rather than discharging it into waterways.

Officials also raised the potential for water recharge, conservation landscaping and other measures to reduce unnecessary water use.

The discussion touched on the need for greater long-term water conservation efforts across Suffolk County, as well as the possibility of exploring additional water-storage capacity in the region.

Officials said Southold’s existing water-conservation efforts could serve as a model for other municipalities.