On Wednesday, the Suffolk County Planning Commission approved Shelter Island’s large house moratorium, recommending it last six months and encouraging the Town to consider enacting any needed code changes sooner rather than later.
The commission’s staff endorsed reducing the duration from one year, as initially requested, saying the Town could return in November to advise SCPC of its progress.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Elizabeth Galle, Shelter Island’s representative to the 15-member SCPC, motioned to support that recommendation. She also asked that the Town pursue possible Zoning Code changes even as it updates its Comprehensive Plan.
Seven SCPC members supported Galle’s motion, providing the majority of eight in favor. You can read the SCPC staff report here.
Frequent applications for ‘very sizeable homes’
Since 2005, those seeking to build homes greater than 5,999 square feet must apply for a special permit from the Town.
Town Attorney Stephen F. Kiely told the SCPC that from 2018 to 2021, four applicants sought special permits. But, in 2022, there were five applications.
“They’re becoming more frequent,” he said.
What’s more, the requests are for homes substantially larger than 5,999 s/f. For example, the nine projects ranged from 7,403 s/f to 9,840 s/f, for an average of 8,701 s/f.
“Those are very sizable homes and a significant deviation from what’s allowed,” Kiely said.
The Town Board wants to use the hiatus to investigate the potential impacts of numerous large homes on the community character, the environment, and the Island’s sole source aquifer.
He said the Town is updating its significantly outdated 1994 Comprehensive Plan. “They weren’t contemplating homes of that size at the time.”
As part of the review, the Town is gathering data and recently completed a hydrogeological study to help planners better understand the potential impacts of development on the aquifer.
“We just want to pump the brakes a little bit,” he said of the moratorium.
Other regulatory alternatives
Kiely said the Town would use the permit hiatus to consider other regulatory alternatives, such as imposing zoning restrictions on house size.
Then, a property owner seeking to go beyond a zoning limit would have to apply to the Zoning Board for an area variance.
“It’s much easier to get a special permit, than it is to get an area variance,” Kiely said.
Not only is the special permit a weaker mechanism, but the Town also has no established standards for assessing special permit requests for large homes, he said.
As a result, Town Board members are “rightly so, nervous about the number of homes that are seeking to be larger, and it seems to be a trend.”
Reached after Wednesday’s SCPC meeting, Supervisor Gerry Siller told the Gazette that he’s pleased with the outcome. “We will work diligently to review all of our options.”
What about applications under review?
SCPC Chair Jennifer Casey, representing the Town of Huntington, opposed the moratorium, as did two other members voting at Wednesday’s meeting.
In a sometimes testy exchange, Casey questioned Kiely about the moratorium’s impact on applications already under review. She noted that attorney John Bennett had spoken earlier in the SCPC meeting, encouraging members to reject the moratorium.
Bennett represents the owners of Crescent Beach LLC, who want to build a large home at 11 Serpentine Drive. Last week, he asked the Town Board to exempt his clients from the moratorium. (Read more in our post: “Objections to and support for proposed large house moratorium.” )
Kiely said three pending projects would be affected but that the moratorium includes a mechanism for relief for applicants who can demonstrate a hardship.
For example, one couple is trying to legalize basement finishes done by a previous owner who had not obtained the necessary permits. The changes expanded the square foot living area beyond 5,999.
Kiely also noted that Shelter Island is a tiny town. So while two or three applications may not seem like much to planners from bigger communities, they have a greater impact on Shelter Island and can set precedents.
He said he’s confident that the Town is on a firm legal footing to put projects on hold that don’t yet have “vested rights. Until there are shovels in the ground and substantial monies expended, and they’re nowhere near that.”
