Town Code Change Paves Way for Multifamily Housing

The Brookhaven town board on Tuesday narrowly passed a code amendment that makes room for more multifamily housing to be built in the town, according to a report published Thursday by the Times Beacon Record newspapers.

The 4-3 vote followed a public hearing in which civic leaders said more input should have been solicited from the community, TBR reported.

"I'm not saying there shouldn't be an MF code — I'm not at all. What I am saying is you ought to do this right. You ought to do it with the right consultation. You ought to do it with the right data," said Jim Gleason, director of the Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organization.

According to the report, the code amendment clarifies the definition of affordable housing and requires developers to “redeem building density credits for increased density projects.” The code change designates major roadways, connections to mass transit lines, and proximity to existing downtown areas and commercial centers as appropriate locations for multifamily housing units, TBR reported.

"We want to create centers that are walkable and to do that you need higher density housing," councilwoman Connie Kepert, D-Middle Island, was quoted as saying. "You need some multifamily housing and that is a choice that some people [make]. Not everybody wants to live in a single family home."

The measure was introduced by councilman Tim Mazzei, R-Blue Point. Councilmembers Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld, D-East Setauket, Jane Bonner, C-Rocky Point, and Kathy Walsh, I-Centereach, voted against it.

Click here for the full story from TBR.