Debate flares over proposed employer-sponsored "rent-restricted" housing zoning change and private workforce condo project

The board received extended comment May 7 on a proposed amendment to the town zoning code (Chapter 255) that would create standards for "rent restricted employer-sponsored housing" and related special permits.

Supporters included the planning-board-backed project proponents and legal counsel for private developers, who said the revision would create a new tool to deliver workforce housing quickly and allow employers and nonprofit partners to provide units for essential workers. Christopher Kelly (attorney for 350 Panago Road investors/Center for Workforce Housing) said the code gives planning flexibility and matches existing regional needs; Stony Brook Southampton Hospital submitted a letter of interest in purchasing units for medical staff.

Opponents — including longtime residents and local activists — argued the amendment could be used to greenlight high-density condominium projects with market upside for private investors, insufficient tenant protections and unclear resale or long-term affordability limits. Lorraine Bonaventura and others pressed the board to require independent traffic and environmental studies, call for full disclosure of project investors and preserve density limits. Several speakers worried about allowing rent caps tied to 130% of county fair-market rent and how that would translate into monthly prices in practice.

Board discussion acknowledged technical and legal concerns, including the role of condominium offering plans and whether town enforcement capacity is adequate to police income caps, lease terms and tenant protections. The board closed the public hearing by motion that evening; further review and potential amendments were indicated before any adoption vote.

No adoption vote of the code change occurred on May 7; the transcript records many requests by residents for more information, full plan disclosures and time to review offering plans and legal documents before changing town law.