New Affordable Housing Plan Proposed For Cutchogue

CUTCHOGUE, NY — The Southold town board is weighing a proposal for a new affordable housing proposal that would bring 24 rental units to Cutchogue.

According to Rona Smith of Housing Initiatives, LLC, she and Georgica Green Ventures, LLC, have joined forces to create the "much-needed development," called Cutchogue Woods, proposed for Smith's land, located at 15690 Middle Road in Cutchogue.

The land is zoned agricultural conservation and the proposal is to rezone the parcel to affordable housing district, to facilitate the proposed development.

Cutchogue Woods would be comprised of 24-townhouse style rental units, consisting of studios, from 400 to 55 square feet; one-bedroom, from 600 to 725 square feet; two-bedroom, from 750 to 900 square feet; and three-bedroom, from 900 to 1,150 square feet, the plans said.

Each building will resemble the look of attached townhouses placed in a pocket neighborhood, clustered around a natural wooded green, the plans said. The proposal includes 48 parking spaces — two per dwelling unit — onsite, available for tenants only. Common space will be available for residents, including a community room with a kitchen, laundry facilities, a fitness room, an on-site management office and green space.

On-site management is important, Smith said, because those living in affordable units might not have disposable income to mow lawns, change light bulbs, or do other maintenance. Video cameras would also ensure security, she said.

Smith, who has served as chair of the Southold Town housing advisory commission, said she had "spent a lot of years on the other side of the table," looking at affordable housing proposals. She said she believed the process should be collaborative and not "adversarial."

Smith said she teamed up with Georgica Green LLC President David Gallo, who has helmed other affordable housing projects in East Hampton and Southampton Town.

Smith said she was happy that Gallo's units were larger by square footage than many other developers and the finishes are "extremely good," expected to last for years and an important component in stable rental housing. "When people have stable housing they become better citizens because they have a stake in the community," she said.

Smith said the goal was not to get rid of many trees on the wooded parcel. Also discussed was the fact that the proposed project was not in a town "HALO" or hamlet locus, directly outside of hamlet centers, and was therefore not walkable. Smith said most jobs required auto transportation, anyway, to the walkability achieved with the HALO zones was not necessarily a requirement.

During the discussion, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said any project that received public funding couldn't be restricted to just town residents.

Justice Louisa Evans asked about the rent to buy options; Smith said she'd explored the idea but there was no funding for the concept.

The homes would be priced at 60 percent to 100 percent of the area median income, Smith said. On Long Island, $128,000 is 100 percent of the AMI; the AMI in Southold Town is $85,000, she said.

Russell said the 60 percent limit would preclude many residents from qualifying for the units right out of the gate. He referred to the Vineyard View affordable housing project in Greenport and the issues that arose due to a botched lottery that had to be reopened after many applicants were left out of the first drawing.

Developers opened up the lottery to a wide range of applicants, leaving many locals on the North Fork who have been imploring the town government for years for affordable options, out of the running, Russell said.

"Obviously, you can't build a wall to keep people out," Smith said. She added that Georgica Green has attracted about 75 percent local residents who now live in their developments and said public education and outreach was critical in spreading the word about the lotteries.

Russell said the town had been promised a similarly high percentage of local residents by Conifer Realty LLC, with the Vineyard View project. "That didn't happen," he said. "Going down that rabbit hole again, that's my concern."

Smith said Georgica Green was pointing to numbers they had already achieved. She said she realized that the Vineyard View experience had been "heartbreaking" for many who were chosen in the first lottery but not the redo, and said her aim was to make this process go more smoothly.

"It's very hard for me to tell this community of residents who are dying for affordable housing, 'We're sorry. We're going to build this but we can't guarantee that you, or anyone you know, or your friends or family, will get it,'" Russell said. "With all due respect to the people of Wheatley Heights, we don't owe you housing."

He said he wasn't trying to be "isolationist," but said there has been a scarcity of affordable housing for years, with locals having nowhere to live.

Southold Town Councilwoman Sarah Nappa said if the town didn't proceed, there was zero percent that local residents could have any chance at all to secure the affordable units.

Smith asked how the project would proceed without federal guidelines and public funding, and asked if the supervisor would suggest not building or moving forward.

Russell suggested going with self-funded projects.

Smith added that she feels self-funded projects "have a different kind of bottom line. They are looking to make money on the project." To that end, she said, the square footage is often less and the finishes not as lasting. "Do we want people to live in housing that brings them dignity or undersized units? One of the results of self-funding is looking for a return — it's an investment. This is not an investment. This is a public-spirited venture. . . This is not a way to get rich," she said.

Russell said that argument was "frustrating" for him and said "no one gets rich from affordable housing" projects, with other options for developers far more lucrative.

Nappa said it shouldn't be one option or the other but instead, both. She added that even if those living in Vineyard View were not originally from the area, they are working in the area now, and addressing the labor shortage that Southold Town is facing.

Southold Town Councilman Greg Doroski agreed that Southold Town businesses are facing a labor shortage and said he supported exploring the Cutchogue Woods project and not taking it off the table in favor of a self-funded proposal. "We have a real affordable housing crisis," he said.

Russell said he didn't want to have to tell residents that there is an affordable housing crisis but that the solution might not benefit them.

Gallo said the project is governed by the federal and state guidelines. Of the units, the targeted goal so far is 18 units at 60 percent AMI, 4 at 90 percent AMI, and 2 at 110 percent AMI, a "good mix of rents that will create a mixed-income project," he said.

Russell said the focus on 60 percent AMI would preclude many from the pool who need housing, "who are really, really broke, and yet, they exceed the income limit," he said.

Gallo said it would be "disingenuous" to say those numbers could change much, save a few slight adjustments.

Doroski said he'd like to see more units available at the 80 to 100 percent AMI level, as many who lost out on the Vineyard View project were "just above the income level. It seems like there are a bunch of people in our community who have decent, middle-class jobs but who still can't afford to live here," he said.

Despite Russell's initial concerns, he said he supported moving forward, as did the rest of the board; the group agreed to convene again in two weeks to discuss the proposal further.