East Hampton Town on track to eliminate its building department backlog

East Hampton Town is on track to clear a backlog of building department applications by the end of the year, its chief building inspector said.

The backlog has dropped from roughly 1,400 in March to about 400, Richard Normoyle said Tuesday during a town board work session. The town is caught up on smaller tasks, including solar applications, rental registrations and research requests, he said.

“We're definitely on the right path,” Normoyle said. "We're on the upswing."

Industry officials have said the department’s backlog has delayed building, renovations and home sales. Construction and real estate are key drivers of the Hamptons economy, where homes routinely sell for tens of millions of dollars and new builds and renovations fuel jobs, commissions and tax revenue.

It currently takes 16 to 20 weeks for the department to review an application for a new home or renovation permit, Normoyle said. The town wants to cut that to six to eight weeks.

The department has hired more staff and outsourced a portion of the reviews to consultants. The department now has 16 employees, up from nine at the start of last year, and is looking to hire three more.

"Every month we catch up a month, so we're definitely putting out more than we're taking in right now, Normoyle said.  

Normoyle attributed part of the backlog to industry professionals filing incomplete applications. Some of them lack required architectural stamps or county septic approvals.

Michael Forst, an East Hampton builder and co-chair of the Long Island Builders Institute’s East End Council, said the progress is encouraging.

“Anything is better than where we've been,” Forst said in an interview. “I'm thankful that they're taking steps to improve where we are, but I hope that they'll look at all the different pieces that are available.” 

The town board also discussed a proposal to allow a licensed architect or engineer to inspect and certify that a building meets safety requirements at the applicant's expense. The town retains final authority to issue the certificate.

The option would apply only to properties that do not require building permits for an updated certificate.

East Hampton started requiring updated certificates for most sales in 2023 to protect buyers from inheriting outstanding building violations. But the town suspended enforcement of the law earlier this year because the backlog was delaying closings.

“I’m supportive of this, with the caveat that I also want the building department to be available ... so people don’t have to hire their own” architects or engineers, Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte said.

Officials discussed removing language in the town code requiring the approval or denial of a permit application within 15 days. The deadline is a tough one to meet, Town Attorney Jake Turner said, and more onerous than in other towns and villages. Turner argued the deadline could be interpreted as allowing permits to be issued automatically if a deadline is missed, which can create a safety risk.

The owners of an Amagansett property, who were waiting more than four months for a new home permit, argued in a lawsuit the building department must immediately issue a permit because the deadline had lapsed. A judge sided with the property owners last month, and the town is appealing the decision.

Some board members have pushed for setting a more realistic timeline. Others said the code should define a complete application and require staff to promptly notify applicants of missing materials. Turner said he would revise the legislation and share it with the town board for consideration at a later date.