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Belltown, Conn.Vol. I, No. 3
Founded 2026
The East Hampton ❦ Belltown, ConnecticutMercuryAlways Last... To Breaking News!
Late EditionWednesday, Sept. 30, 2026
Thirty minutes to read
Set from the Public RecordFourteen meetings · Thirty-four items · Thirty minutes to readNames checked against the town roster
HousingThe Date

Hearing on in-law apartments in every zone resumes Oct. 7

The change would open the R-2 zone and raise the size limit to 1,200 square feet.

By Jack Beckett ·

East Hampton's Planning and Zoning Commission will take up again on Oct. 7 a proposal to allow accessory dwelling units, the smaller second homes often called in-law apartments, in every zone. R-2 is the only residential zone where they are banned today. Planning and Zoning Official Juliet Hodge said she has had several inquiries about adding one there, most for family members.

The proposal would also raise the size limit from 900 to 1,200 square feet and keep the rule that the owner live in one of the two units. Members split on whether to bar short-term rentals in the units: some want them kept for long-term residents, others said visitors help local businesses.

Nine people spoke at the Sept. 2 hearing. Five supported the change, most pointing to older residents looking to downsize or families trying to live together. Three urged caution, one asking the commission not to vote that night. The ninth, a staff member of the regional council of governments, spoke about the council's comment letter, which said the changes would not hurt the town or region. The commission voted 7-0 to continue the hearing to Oct. 7.

Homeowners in R-2 could add a second unit, which the rules now forbid there.
Next ❦ Planning and Zoning Commission, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m.
Planning and Zoning Commission minutes, Sept. 2, 2026. Read the minutes

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HousingThe Date

The town's 10-year plan is out for comment

Comments close at the end of October

The draft Plan of Conservation and Development, the town's guide for the next 10 years, is posted on the town website. The formal comment period began at the Sept. 22 council meeting and runs to the end of October. Written comments go to the steering committee at the Land Use office in Town Hall.

Planning and Zoning plans a public hearing on the final version near the end of the year.

The plan guides future zoning, housing and village center decisions.
Next ❦ Comment period ends Oct. 31.
Town Manager's report, Sept. 21, 2026. Read the report
HousingThe Number

789

Fewer people, more households: what the draft town plan found

East Hampton has lost 789 residents since 2000 but gained more than 1,000 households, a shift the presentation attributed to shrinking households, according to the draft Plan of Conservation and Development, the town's 10-year planning guide, presented to the council Sept. 8. More than half of households, 54%, are one or two people.

The same presentation said 81% of the town's taxable value is single-family homes and 7% is commercial and industrial, and a quarter of the town's land is not taxed at all.

Homeowners carry most of the tax load, which the presentation called a structural problem.
Next ❦ Comments on the draft plan close at the end of October; send them to the steering committee through the Land Use office at Town Hall.
Town Council, Sept. 8, 2026. Watch
HousingThe Number

215 of 564

Affordable units the town has, against what it would need

East Hampton has about 215 affordable housing units. It would need about 564, roughly 350 more, to be exempt from the state law known as 8-30g, which requires the town to consider certain affordable housing proposals that its zoning would otherwise block. The town manager put the figures on the record Aug. 11.

Until the gap closes, developers can use that law here.
Town Council, Aug. 11, 2026. Watch

The whole Housing storyline ▸