East Hampton eases ADU rules, plans ADU grants and outlines first-time buyer assistance from CHF

Town Supervisor Kathy Burke Gonzalez said the town recently passed legislation reducing the minimum lot size for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) from 20,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet and removed the requirement that a property owner be a year-round resident to build an ADU.

Gonzalez said the town is preparing an ADU construction loan/grant program that would use about $1 million from the community housing fund to offer $10,000 grants to homeowners to build ADUs, supplementing a prior nonprofit pilot in western Suffolk that had strong interest but limited eligibility.

On first-time homebuyer assistance, Gonzalez described a CHF-funded down-payment program that offers a $30,000, interest-free assistance amount for qualifying buyers of homes up to roughly $1.7 million; the town does not recapture repayment until sale of the home, she said. Gonzalez said the CHF has collected “over $25 million” since it was enacted and that the fund accepts requests from housing providers and developers for loans, acquisitions and infrastructure support.

Gonzalez directed interested residents to the housing office on Bluff Road for program details and said town staff (director Mark Morgan Perez, and staff Linda Norris and Joanne Pilgrim) are the primary contacts. She also noted the recently adopted code changes must be filed with the New York State Department of State and that the town is updating its website with the new guidance.

Next steps: the town will finalize program rules and post application information on the housing office website; interested homeowners should contact the housing office to learn eligibility and timing.