During a wide-ranging work session Tuesday morning, the Southold Town Board heard presentations and updates on housing policy, wireless regulation, shellfish restoration and park infrastructure.

Pro Housing Communities

State housing officials fielded a range of questions from the Southold Town Board as they outlined New York’s Pro Housing Communities designation, a voluntary certification program tied to access to certain state grant funds.

After a presentation by New York State Homes and Community Renewal official Zach Tierney that detailed the program’s goals and mechanics, Town Board members pressed state officials on how a small, infrastructure-constrained East End town would be evaluated, and what, if anything, the designation would require of the town.

Pro Housing Communities, a program launched by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2023, is the state’s incentive-based approach to addressing New York’s housing shortage after earlier, more aggressive proposals stalled. The voluntary program allows municipalities to become certified by either meeting modest housing growth benchmarks or adopting a non-binding resolution expressing support for housing development.

In return, certified communities gain priority access to certain discretionary state grants tied to infrastructure, economic development and planning. State officials have framed the program as a way to encourage housing production while preserving local control over zoning, a key distinction that has helped it gain broader acceptance from towns wary of mandates.

The Pro Housing initiative followed the political collapse of Hochul’s earlier New York Housing Compact, which included a proposal that would have mandated higher-density, transit-oriented housing near railroad stations and major public transportation hubs, overriding local zoning in some communities.

On hand to hear the housing presentation were Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi and the head of the village’s housing committee, Dinni Gordon. Greenport was one of the first communities in the state to pass a Pro Housing Community resolution.

Much of the questioning centered on whether the certification process would lock the town into future obligations.

“This is going to improve quality of life and communities, help stabilize the cost of housing and it will allow families and young people and seniors to stay in the communities that they grew up in,” Tierney said.

Board members cited the existing growth metrics (1% housing growth in one year or 3% over three years), questioning how realistic those benchmarks are for Southold, given aquifer protections, septic limitations and other constraints unique to the East End.

Supervisor Al Krupski asked whether second-home construction could skew growth numbers without addressing local housing needs.

Councilwoman Anne Smith asked for examples of “a similar community with similar demographics and needs … who [have] received these grants, so we can get a feel for how this might fit into our very robust housing plan that we already have.”

Tierney promised to follow up with examples and repeatedly emphasized that meeting growth targets is not currently required for certification, describing the resolution option as a recognition that some communities face structural constraints that limit their ability to add housing quickly.

“There is no requirement at this time to hit specific growth targets to maintain certification,” he told the board. “The resolution is sufficient for certification. Certification unlocks these grant programs.”

Several questions focused on how certification affects access to money. Tierney clarified that it’s a requirement, not an award: communities must still apply competitively for individual grants, but uncertified municipalities are generally ineligible. He also said that communities certified through the resolution are treated the same as those that meet growth benchmarks.

Board members also inquired about how Southold would be judged competitively against larger or more infrastructure-rich municipalities once certified, asking whether communities with limited sewer capacity or environmental constraints would be disadvantaged.

Tierney said the designation is binary — you’re either certified or not — and doesn’t affect how competitive a town is within individual grant programs, which are evaluated by the agencies administering them.

Town Councilwoman Kate Stevens asked whether the state will eventually adjust housing growth targets to reflect local conditions and whether more grants tailored to small or environmentally-constrained communities like Southold could be added.

“There are varying reasons why individual communities are not able to hit those growth targets, whether that’s over one year, or whether that’s over three years,” Tierney replied.

“What we really want to see is a commitment to the principles of growth. We’re open and understanding of individual situations where you can’t hit those growth targets. That’s why we have this alternative pathway for certification that’s just a non-binding resolution.”

‘Back to the Bays’ annual report

Aquaculture experts from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program’s Back to the Bays initiative delivered an annual report outlining a busy 2025 season of shellfish seeding and long-term restoration planning aimed at improving local water quality and sustaining the East End’s shellfishing traditions.

The presentation focused on oyster, clam and scallop production supported through the town’s partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Southold Marine Center.

Kate Rossi-Snook, Back to the Bays’ aquaculture specialist and Mike Patricio, CCE’s shellfish aquaculture manager, told board members that the program planted more than 60,000 oysters in Gull Pond last year, 60,000 clams and 20,000 bay scallops in Dam Pond and 130,000 clams in Cedar Beach Creek. The work was designed to boost shellfish numbers and explore future oyster reef restoration sites that could enhance habitat and water filtration.

Board members questioned how the town measures the success of those plantings, particularly survival rates. Rossi-Snook said funding limitations make comprehensive monitoring difficult, but Back to the Bays is exploring “citizen science” approaches, including potential clam survey kits for shellfishers, to gather broader data without revealing sensitive harvesting locations.

Town Councilman Brian Mealy praised the initiative’s educational outreach, pointing to its work with young people and community groups.

Rossi-Snook cited Back to the Bays’ collaboration with the North Fork Polar Bears, who have participated in paddle-out shellfish plantings tied to local fundraisers. Looking ahead to 2026, she said Back to the Bays hopes to streamline its relationship with the town through a multi-year contract, similar to arrangements in other East End communities, so the program can focus less on annual paperwork and more on restoration and research.

Wireless Master Plan updates

Planning Director Heather Lanza told the Southold Town Board that the “thinking has shifted” on the town’s long-running effort to update its wireless rules, and planning department officials are now advising that the board formally adopt the town’s Wireless Master Plan first, with a public hearing and a full SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) review, before the new code can be enacted.

Lanza said the wireless code hearing is currently set for February, but that the updated regulations are “so reliant” on the master plan that it now makes the most sense for the board to adopt the plan itself. The plan was updated in January to add a zoning section “with recommendations that align with the actual code changes that the board is considering” at next month’s hearing.”

Lanza said adopting the plan will require a request for proposals to hire an outside SEQRA consultant. She asked the board to authorize retaining a consultant not only for the wireless master plan SEQRA work, but also to help cover other SEQRA reviews over the next six months while the planning department is short-staffed. Town Attorney Paul DeChance said a resolution to begin that process was on the agenda. Lanza recommended that the board hold the February public hearing on the wireless code but adjourn it without a future date set until the master plan is adopted and the SEQRA work is completed.

‘A very impressive bathroom’

Southold Recreation Supervisor Janet Douglass and Town Maintenance Supervisor Erick Haas asked the Town Board to move quickly on a Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act grant application that could bring up to $900,000 in state funding — part of a package described as up to about $1 million total. The grant could outfit Cochran Park on Peconic Lane with a long-sought bathroom facility. Douglass said the grant requires only a 10% local match, which the town can cover through a combination of in-kind work and donations, but said the submission deadline is Feb. 9.

She said that she and Haas have identified a “smart,” ADA-accessible, self-cleaning, two-stall restroom unit that would fit the bill for Southold’s most popular park.

“I never thought I’d say this,” Haas told the board, “but this is a very impressive bathroom.”