Attend a Town Hall-style Q&A on Community Housing, where local officials and residents will participate in a moderated discussion.
The event takes place Saturday, October 15, from 3 to 5 PM in the Shelter Island School auditorium. You can read the draft Community Housing Plan via this link to the Town website.
Among those fielding questions are members of the Community Housing and Community Housing Fund Advisory boards, Deputy Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams, and our NYS Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. Also on hand will be Nelson Pope Voorhis consultant Taylor Garner, who assisted the Town in developing its Community Housing Plan.
“This will be a facilitated discussion with no time limit for speakers; however, we kindly ask you to stay on topic, be respectful, and be conscious of other speakers,” the Town Board said in a meeting notice.
Residents are welcome to submit their comments or questions in advance by Friday, October 14 at 4 PM to the Community Housing Board clerk, Coco Lee Thuman, at cthuman@shelterislandtown.gov.
Anyone can speak at the meeting; first, fill out an index card (they’ll be provided at the entrance). Childcare will be available at no charge in the School cafeteria.
If you’re unable to attend, you may watch the live stream on the Town’s YouTube channel. A recording will be posted after the meeting on YouTube and on the Town’s public access cable station, channel 22.
Please note a public hearing on the Community Housing Plan is scheduled for the regular Town Board meeting on Tuesday, October 18, at 6 PM in Town Hall. The Town Board has said it wants to adopt the housing plan prior to the general election. A ballot referendum asks Shelter Island voters whether the Town should impose a 0.5 percent real estate transfer tax to fund Community Housing initiatives. Buyers in most, but not all, real estate transactions would pay the transfer tax, which is modeled on the Community Housing Fund and its 2 percent transfer tax.
Read more about the Community Housing Plan in our post: “Community Housing needs assessment: All year-round renters face outsized cost burdens.”
Recently, the local League of Women Voters chapter held a forum on the issue, featuring Brach-Williams, Thiele, and officials from East Hampton and Southampton experienced in developing community housing. Read our coverage at: “LWV Community Housing forum addresses ‘desperate critical need’ on East End.“
