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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFishers Island 6.2025 June 24,2025 Ms. Heather Lanza Director Town of Southold Planning Department 54375 Main Road P.O. Box 1179 Southold, NY 11971 Re: Proposed New Zoning Code Dear Heather: Fishers Island is in dire need of zoning relief to enable the island to build more workforce housing. Last summer we counted over 220 workers arriving daily from Connecticut via ferry; commuter boats, and private watercraft to work on the island.The cost of enticing them to make the tong daily commute is extraordinarily high.Workers willing to make this journey require very high wages (averaging$25 to$30 per hour), every employer pays for the boat transportation (over$125 per employee per week), and these workers spend nothing on the island to help the local economy. In short, if more of these workers could live on the island, overhead costs would be reduced and their local spendingwould contribute greatly to the island's prosperity. Your latest proposal for the new zoning code appears to be very much heading in the right direction. However,the way it is written now,it likely will not have a significant impact on our workforce housing capacity. Here is what is needed to have a major and positive impact on our future workforce housing. The new zoining designation"Hamlet Residential(HR)"seems to provide the best basis to advance ourworkforce housing needs. On the map comparingthe new and old zoning designations, it looks like you are recommending these six areas on the island for the HR zoning designation: 1) Nearly the entire Length of Whistler Avenue(currently zoned HD so little change) 2) Along the airport road(a new zoning area that makes perfect sense and is very helpful) 3) A parcel next to the movie theatre 4) A tot at the northeast corner of Central and Crescent Avenues with a duplex currently used for workforce housing(currently zoned HD so little change) 5), A one-acre parcel on Madeleine Avenue owned by Walsh Park-currently zoned R-80 6) The roughly 30-acre parcel across from the Gatehouse referred to as the"Gatehouse Lots"-an area that is ideally suited for more workforce housing. 1 However,to really encourage more workforce housing,we need the new HR zoning district to do the following:. 1) Add the right to build multi-household dwellings such as duplexes—it looks like this would now be permitted under the new HR zoning designation. 2) Add the right to build two or more different structures(single family,duplex,triplex, etc.) on a single parcel of land subject to a minimum land requirement per structure. We're unclear as to whether the current draft permits this for HR zoning. It is clear, however,that if it is allowed,then each structure would require 20,000 square feet of Land which is fine by us. 3) Add the right to house up to twelve unrelated workers in a single dwelling.The economics of housing on Fishers Island makes this ceiling critical to us.The cost of a new summer home on Fishers is now running between $1,200 and$1,500 per square foot. Using modular housing the cost drops down to around$7001sf. But even at that,a 1,000 sq foot house would cost over$700,000.That is still too high to justify building a structure to house only a few workforce employees. But if you can put up to 12 people living in a dwelling like this,your cost per employee drops down to very attractive levels. For workforce housing we would rely almost exclusively on very attractive modular houses that are delivered to the island in sections. We reviewed the Cottage Court housing option but have generally concluded that it wouldn't do much to help our workforce housing needs.This option looks to be targeted at situations where there is a limited amount of land available. In our case,we have land available, but it is uneconomical to build workforce housing on it. If we can find ways to build more workforce housing,then we'll grow the local economy, provide readier access to local workers, lower costs, and reduce environmental impacts by eliminating the cost to transport and entice Connecticut residents to make the time- consuming journey every day.Additionally,if any of the new residents have children,it would increase enrollment in our state supported public school district that has one of the highest costs per student in the state. With the right zoning,several of the signers listed below would step up to contract an engineering firm to develop best use plans for available HR zoned land.With a solid plan,we are convinced that businesses, developers, and investors would work together to build much more workforce housing on Fishiers Island. Whether your proposed HR zoning would be changed just for Fishers Island or all of Southold is clearly up to you.And even if it is changed,your Planning Department and the Building Department would continue to have tight control over any and all future development. 2 Thanks for listening to us and hopefully helping us find,solutions that can have a significant impact for Fishers Island. Respectfully, Fishers Island Club Hay Harbor Club peremySpofford pofford Contracting George Conant Lolly Dwvinnell President President President OWALSH PARK 40 ebb V Walsh a n olent rp Fishers Island Utility Co. Fishers Island Development Co. David o gdon ris Finan James Bradbeer Presid nt esident President 3