The Southold Town Housing Advisory Commission (HAC) wishes to applaud the Town Board on the hiring of Andrea Menjivar as Community Development Project Supervisor.  We extend a warm welcome to her and congratulate Andrea as she steps into this new position.

HAC believes this role, which establishes a professional position to focus on the critical issue of community housing, is essential.  There is a paucity of housing opportunities for our working families and our graduates that is deepening.  We must continue to concentrate on this most relevant issue challenging our growth.

Since 2004, when the Southold Town Board formally established the Housing Advisory Commission, HAC has persistently advocated for community housing.  The scarcity of community housing has placed an undue burden not only on the families and individuals who live and work in the town but also the businesses, volunteer and nonprofit organizations who make this town prosperous and an attractive place in which to live, work and play.

HAC’s members have spent countless hours on research and dialogue on issues ranging from accessory dwelling units to short-term rentals and code changes. We have attended public hearings in support of community housing projects. We have met with local developers to learn about their projects directly and to understand the challenges of community housing from their point of view. After years of advocacy, HAC cheered when Southold Town voters approved the 5% increase in the transfer tax under the Peconic Bay Region Community Housing Fund Act, a fund specifically designed to address the town’s housing needs and provide the financial sustenance needed to move initiatives forward.

HAC is grateful to the tireless support of Councilwoman Jill Doherty, HAC’s liaison to the town board for the past six years.  She has demonstrated true leadership as the driving force for community housing in Southold Town. Councilwoman Doherty’s commitment to addressing the housing challenges in the town was reflected in her management of the eight-month development of an 80-page Housing Plan which now serves as a roadmap for the future.

Under the direction of Councilwoman Doherty and with assistance from town planners Mark Terry and Mara Cerezo, HAC helped create the Affordable Housing Review Committee. Comprised of key town leaders, the AHRC vets a preliminary concept of a proposed community housing project at the start of the project’s life cycle and informs the developer of changes that should be considered to ensure success.

Thanks to our dedicated liaisons, Councilwomen Jill Doherty and Anne Smith, HAC has worked diligently to start to implement components of the Housing Plan. The first major impact from the plan has been the creation of a subsidy framework designed to encourage developers to partner with the town to produce community housing units. Town planner Mara Cerezo was a key architect of this framework and we are grateful for her guidance.

Addressing the housing challenges in Southold town carries with it a sense of urgency.  With the addition of a dedicated housing professional and the continued commitment and leadership of Councilwomen Doherty and Smith, HAC believes we are now in a stronger position than ever to turn talk into action. With every graduating class that moves out of the area, with every business that experiences staffing problems, with school occupancy diminishing, we must be time sensitive and aware that the wheels of influence must increase in speed and determination.

Sincerely,

Southold Town Housing Advisory Commission

Co-Chairs Pat Lutzky and Cheryle Amara

Commissioners Mark Levine, Marilyn Sierra, Kevin Anglum, Veronica Selzer and Nancy Bogen Torchio