East Hampton officials expand affordable housing options amid school enrollment decline

East Hampton faces a persistent shortage of affordable housing that has strained local communities and reduced school enrollment. Town officials are now implementing new codes and funding mechanisms to increase the housing stock. These measures aim to support year-round residents and essential workers in the South Fork.

Pamela Greinke moved to the South Fork in 1994 and rented a small cottage for $500 per month. Over the next 27 years, she moved 11 times. Her average stay at any single location was less than three years. Each move came with a rent increase that outpaced her income growth. In 2015, she moved in with a friend for a planned three-month stay. That arrangement lasted a year and a half because she could not find other rental options.

The East Hampton Housing Authority waitlist currently holds approximately 3,000 people. This number fluctuates daily as income and living circumstances change. Families typically wait five to seven years for a unit to open at town complexes. These complexes include Springs-Fireplace Apartments, Accabonac Apartments, the Green at Gardiners Point, Gansett Meadow, and Avallone Apartments in Montauk.

School enrollment in the town has dropped in recent years. East Hampton School District enrollment fell from 1,828 students in 2023 to 1,576 this year. A 2023 study predicted 1,571 students by 2027. Springs School District enrollment decreased from 713 a decade ago to 652 last year. Montauk School District dropped from 311 to 271 in the same period. Amagansett School District fell from 93 to 90.

Maria Nordone works at Springs School and is applying for a loan to build an accessory dwelling unit. She cites the difficulty in hiring staff as a primary concern. She stated that the lack of housing makes it hard to recruit bus drivers, custodians, and teachers. Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte, the Town Board liaison to community housing, noted that declining enrollment is indicative of the housing problem.

The Town Board recently passed two code changes to encourage small-scale development. The first allows private owners to build two-family residences on parcels as small as one acre. The second permits business owners to create up to 16 units of onsite staff housing. Calder-Piedmonte said the goal is to open as many doors as possible to spur development. Neither change has been fully acted upon by the public yet.

The onsite staff housing legislation includes a minimum 90-day lease requirement. This provision addresses seasonal housing needs. Calder-Piedmonte explained that housing seasonal workers at their place of business can free up other units for year-round residents. The Town Board also allocated $2.3 million for 23 interest-free loans. Each loan is worth $100,000 and will fund the construction of accessory dwelling units.

The Community Housing Fund has collected over $25 million since its inception three years ago. The fund is financed by a half percent tax on most real estate transactions. One $4 million expenditure is currently tied to a property at 549 and 550 Wainscott Northwest Road. This purchase is in litigation due to a neighbor's challenge. No specific development plan has been finalized for that site.

Nordone bought her property in 2020 with plans to build a unit for her disabled daughter. The 20,000 square foot lot initially could not host a detached accessory dwelling unit under old rules. She revised her plans after the Town Board loosened the laws. She has already installed a new septic system, roof, siding, and windows. She noted that many applicants are building units for family members, including adult children and aging parents.

Catherine Casey, the East Hampton Housing Authority Executive Director, acknowledged an extreme need for workforce housing. The town is pursuing multiple avenues to address the shortage. These include the ADU loans, the two-family code change, and the staff housing provision. The combined footprint of the 23 proposed ADU units equals half of the Green at Gardiners Point project.