East Hampton board rejects condominium complex plan intended to house workers

The East Hampton Town Board this week shot down a plan to build a condominium complex intended to house local workers.

Tanbark Creek LLC proposed a 79-condo development on two parcels totaling 6.7 acres in the Freetown area of East Hampton hamlet. The two-story condos would be sold to local businesses to house their employees, according to Kirby Marcantonio, a principal of the company and housing advocate.

To advance the plan, the company asked the town board to develop the property under the Affordable Housing Overlay District. That discretionary zoning tool permits up to 12 units per acre, if the units are kept with a rent or purchase price affordable for occupants with up to 130% of Long Island’s median income — $214,370 for a family of four.

“Businesses can't hire because they can't house anyone,” said Marcantonio, who is the owner of Hampton Life and Montauk Life magazines. “From the town itself to Southampton Hospital, local restaurants, shops, construction [and] service [businesses] are all in the same boat — and we need a bigger boat.

“If we can't house people, we can't function,” he added.

At Tuesday’s work session, board members said they did not support moving forward with the project for various reasons. Their decision came after more than a dozen residents spoke against the project. There was no official board action, but members verbally agreed not to advance the company's zoning petition based on its current plan.

"This would be devastating to our neighborhood,” said resident Mary Wasserstein, who lives near the site on Three Mile Harbor Road.

The Hamptons has some of the most expensive home prices in the country by ZIP code, and the median home price there is continuing to grow. Town officials agreed with Marcantonio that East Hampton needs more affordable housing but were not sold on his project concept to grant the overlay district.

A glaring issue for the board was the size. East Hampton caps individual developments at a maximum of 60 housing units. Tanbark Creek's proposal exceeds that limit and would require a variance from the zoning board of appeals, town officials said.

Councilman David Lys said the project also was “incompatible” with the surrounding area, including a neighboring historic farm — a concern echoed by several residents.

Board members also were hesitant about the project's business model. Typically, town officials said, the owner or a designated manager is responsible for keeping units at affordable prices. In the case of Tanbark Creek’s project, each condo would be sold at market rates to different owners, who would lease to their employees at affordable prices. Town officials said that structure makes it difficult for the town to enforce its rules, including the affordability requirement.

“Affordable housing, under the town code, must be accessible to income-qualified residents,” Deputy Supervisor Cate Rogers said. “The proposed model restricts access exclusively to employees of the purchasing businesses. Such restriction violates the fundamental principles, for me, of public access and nondiscriminatory eligibility.”

Rogers added that tying employment and housing through an employer gives that business “disproportionate power ... over both employment and housing stability. Those two things coupled together is, to me, a bridge too far.”

Katy Casey, executive director of the East Hampton Housing Authority, said the proposal is not affordable housing, but “for-profit development seeking favorable zoning and consideration under affordable housing rules.”

Marcantonio told Newsday after the discussion that he remains hopeful board members will reconsider the overlay zoning for his project.