Supervisor on Affordable Housing: 'Southold Needs To Make Some Drastic Changes To Existing Code'

The dearth of affordable housing is one of the most critical issues facing Southold today, Supervisor Scott Russell said at a “State of the Town and Village” forum held last night at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

At the event, both Russell and new Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard gave an update on the past year and outlined goals and initiatives for 2016.

Speaking to the affordable housing crisis, Russell said, “Southold needs to make some drastic changes to the existing code if we’re going to promote affordable housing.”

The town, he said, needs to take steps to encourage affordable housing. While developer Paul Pawlowski had pitched plans for a 75-unit affordable housing project on Main Road, Russell said residents won’t accept density of that size and scale in one area.

Instead, he said, a more viable option would be to create 20 to 25 units or apartments, scattered throughout all the hamlets town. “I think that’s feasible and something we cando with a code change,” he said.

The reason why he’s looking at apartments instead of homes, Russell said, is that home ownership is “unrealistic” for the demographic, with young people not in a position financially to secure mortgages.

“We have to look at affordable housing not as a mountain, but as a ladder, and it’s the town’s job to develop rungs in that ladder.”