East Hampton allows accessory apartments in every zone
That includes R-2, the one residential zone where the town had barred them. How big the units may be is not yet clear.
Homeowners in every East Hampton zone can apply to add an in-law apartment under a proposal the Planning and Zoning Commission approved in October. That includes R-2, the one residential zone where the town had barred them. The zoning rules call the units accessory dwelling units.
How large the units may be is harder to say. The version presented in September called for raising the limit from 900 square feet to 1,200. The commission's Oct. 7 minutes record a suggestion "to change the max to 1,000 square feet and 50% of house size and can go up to 900 square feet," and, shortly after, that "regardless of house size, the gross square feet would be 1,000 for an ADU."
The vote, on Oct. 7 after a hearing that began in September, was 8-0. The motion, made by commission member Robert Perreault and seconded by Rowland Rux, approved the proposal "with changes to section A14," which the minutes tie to the size suggestion. It is the only change the motion names. The commission set Oct. 19 as the date the change takes effect.
The zoning regulations posted on the town's website have not been updated. They are still the version amended July 2 and effective July 12, which limit the units to the R-1, R-3 and R-4 zones, cap them at 900 square feet and require a special permit from the commission. The minutes do not say whether the special permit requirement changed. The September version kept the rule that the owner live in one of the two units.
The minutes say a uniformity clause would keep affordable housing complexes from being shut out of having the units, and that the change is supported by the town's 2016 plan of conservation and development and its 2026 draft, the town's guides to zoning and land use.
Members had split in September over barring short-term rentals in the units. The Oct. 7 minutes record a suggestion to add a definition of a short-term rental to the zoning regulations, another to put it in a town ordinance, which the Building Department and the Police Department could enforce more easily, and a statement that the ordinance was the better place. The minutes record no vote on it.
Also on Oct. 7, the commission voted 7-0 to accept a special permit application from Devon Hills for a farm stand at 19 Flanders Road and set a public hearing for Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6:30 p.m. The Nov. 4 agenda lists the meeting in Town Hall Room 107 and on Zoom, along with approval of the Oct. 7 minutes and a discussion of the draft town plan's goals.