Housing code issues on Brookhaven Town agenda

The last meeting of the year for the Brookhaven Town Board promises to be packed with development and planning issues: The board will hold public hearings Tuesday at Town Hall in Farmingville on a Carmans River watershed overlay district to restrict development, multifamily housing code updates, and creating a code for next-generation housing.

In a presentation during the board’s work session Thursday, planning commissioner Tullio Bertoli said the proposed changes to code will address needed clarifications in specific areas of development.

For example, he said, multifamily housing should be “cluster development” with walkable services nearby. In a similar vein, the next-generation housing code would score potential developments on proximity to critical services and location, he said.

Planning staffers responded to a question from deputy supervisor Kathy Walsh by saying the code changes would not affect the many land-use plans that several communities have commissioned.

The code changes also include clarifying income levels for affordable housing.