East Hampton adopts middle housing rules under state mandate
Planning and Zoning · Meeting of August 5, 2026
East Hampton adopts state-mandated middle housing rules and clears a Long Crossing Road subdivision. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to adopt text amendments implementing Public Act 25-1, allowing two-to-nine-unit developments by administrative approval only in commercial zones, while designating a parking mitigation district covering roughly 4 percent of town land where one to two spaces per unit can still be required. Applicant Wayne Rand told the board "infrastructure costs are upwards of $1,000 a linear foot" and pegged the town's buildable-lot shortage at 50 to 100.
The commission also approved, 6-0, a two-lot split of the Cocos daycare property at 12 Long Crossing Road, accepted a special permit modification for Skinner Street Properties LLC, and heard Commission on Aging chair Eric Rosenberg press for looser accessory-dwelling-unit rules following a 6-to-1 COA resolution. Town Planner Juliet Hodge, who said the job posting for her own position drew just two applicants, is stepping back to about 10 remote hours a week.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,489 words
Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of August 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
Call to Order and Minutes
The meeting opened about five minutes late, at 6:35 p.m., after technical difficulties connecting the hybrid Town Hall/Zoom session. The commission approved the minutes of its previous regular meeting; the transcript gives conflicting dates for that meeting (variously stated as July 3 and June 3, 2026), which an editor should confirm against the official minutes. The vote carried with one recorded abstention from Commissioner Angela (the transcript alternates between "Angela" and "Angelus"), the only member who was not part of that prior session's discussion.
Liaison Reports
Three members reported on outside bodies they sit on, a standing agenda item before public comment. Commissioner Michael reported for the Regional Planning Commission, flagging a pending state bill that would allow residential uses in industrial zones located within a set distance of previously residential land. He relayed that a town official identified as "Director Gold" testified against the bill, arguing it undermines the purpose of separating residential and industrial uses and that only about 3 percent of Connecticut land is zoned industrial, so opening it to housing would do little for housing supply while eroding towns' commercial tax base.
Commissioner Jim reported on a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, describing a variance application for a 24-by-32-foot barn in which the board reduced a front setback from 50 feet to roughly 20.8 feet along one abutting road and from 50 feet to 43.4 feet along a second, and allowed maximum lot coverage to rise from 12.6 percent to 14.6 percent. Jim said the applicant's attorney argued the pre-1953 lot had two front setbacks because it fronts on two roads, creating what he called a unique hardship, and the board granted the variance. Jim and another member separately noted that Town Hall's audio setup made it difficult to hear board members during the Zoom broadcast, though the applicant's remarks came through clearly; they suggested the board could relocate to a room with better acoustics once the Board of Education's summer schedule frees up space.
A member also passed along a brief announcement that gazebo summer concerts, part of the town's "Bob House" board activities, would move indoors to the high school auditorium the next night because of heat.
Commissioner Angela reported on a joint meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority and the Plan of Conservation and Development steering committee, which she described as "quite spirited" but productive. The two bodies worked out which entity is responsible for approving the mapping for a planned sewer expansion. Angela said the town plans to notify the state Office of Policy and Management that its POCD update will miss its statutory deadline, which effectively falls at the end of this month, and to provide OPM a completion timeline rather than request a formal extension; towns without a current POCD are ineligible for certain state funding. A public draft is targeted for August, followed by a comment period, a required town council review with likely public hearing, then two additional formal public hearings before adoption, which the committee hopes to complete by the end of 2026.
No report was given for the Design Review Board.
Public Comment: Accessory Dwelling Units
Before turning to the evening's two scheduled public hearings, the commission took general public comment. Eric Rosenberg, of 15 Bay Road, identified himself as chair of the town's Commission on Aging and read a letter he said had not reached the commission through normal channels. The letter described a COA working group on senior housing, currently led by Cindy Craig, and a 2018 public information session on ADUs held with then-town planning official Jeremy DeCarli. Rosenberg said the COA recently invited Town Planner Juliet Hodge to discuss ADUs and that, on a 6-to-1 vote on May 14, the COA passed a resolution supporting the removal of barriers to affordable housing, including accessory dwelling units. Hodge responded that ADUs have come up repeatedly during the POCD process as "low-hanging fruit" to add housing without changing neighborhood character, and that work on regulatory changes is already underway.
Two residents of 32 Colchester Avenue then addressed the commission about wanting to add an ADU at their property, which they said sits in the town's RU2 zone. The transcript identifies the speakers inconsistently, first as someone giving the name "Laurence" alongside a "Patricia Nielsen," then later as "Robert Morin," all at the same Colchester Avenue address; an editor should verify the correct name and spelling from town records before publication.
The request prompted an extended, multi-member discussion of why RU2 is the town's only residential zone still excluded from ADU allowances. Members recalled, without full certainty, that the exclusion dated to when RU2 residents pushed back against duplexes or in-law apartments before one commissioner's own arrival in town, and that an earlier rule requiring an ADU occupant to be a relative was unenforceable under state law. Hodge told the commission that state law now supports an ADU on any lot with an existing single-family house, provided lot coverage, setback and septic requirements are met, whether the unit goes into a basement, above a garage or in an addition. She said she is proposing to raise the town's minimum ADU size from 900 to 1,200 square feet, prompting pushback from at least one member who called 1,200 square feet "not a small" home and questioned whether it risks turning single-home neighborhoods into de facto multi-home neighborhoods. Hodge and other members countered that an ADU remains "one main house and one small house" and has not been found to alter neighborhood character, and that the topic will be a formal goal within the POCD. Members agreed the town still requires a public hearing for ADU applications and that a regulation-change request will move forward through the POCD process.
Public Hearing: PZC 26-006, West High Enterprises LLC Two-Lot Resubdivision
Background and stakes: The property at 12 Long Crossing Road and 207 West High Street has held two principal uses on one lot, the Cocos daycare and a preexisting single-family house, since before the town adopted mixed-use zoning regulations, an arrangement staff described as not properly conforming. Question before the board: whether to approve splitting the 2.09-acre parcel into two conforming lots along the existing fence line between the daycare and the house.
Substantive content: Hodge told the commission the split would let the daycare operate on a legally conforming lot with access off Long Crossing Road, while the house, a legal nonconforming residential use in a commercial zone, would become its own lot accessed off West High Street, making it easier to eventually convert to office use or to sell either property independently. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted the dimensional variances needed to make the house lot legal, including reductions to rear yard setback, lot size and lot depth, because the new property line follows the existing fence rather than a line drawn for zoning purposes. Two septic systems exist on the property; because the fence-line boundary was preserved, the house's leach field encroaches slightly onto the daycare parcel. Owner Wayne Rand, of 244 Middletown Avenue, is pursuing a state B-100A permit to abandon and relocate the house's septic system away from the new property line; Hodge said she confirmed with a Chatham Health District official, identified only as Liz, that the approach will work in concept. Hodge summarized the property as 2.09 acres in the commercial zone, legally nonconforming for its single-family use, with no wetlands, two road frontages on Route 66 and Long Crossing Road, bounded by commercial zoning to the east and west and the R2 zone across both roads.
The deliberation: Commission members had few questions before opening the floor. Neighbor John Forbes, of 205 West High Street, said his well sits about 75 feet from the planned septic work and that he wanted assurance about drainage; he said Rand had already addressed his concerns and that Chatham Health is "incredibly diligent" about separation requirements. During deliberation on the approval motion, one commissioner pressed on which zoning standard the ZBA variances were measured against: "But the variance was sought under commercial setback or under residential setback?" Staff and the applicant's representative confirmed the variances were evaluated under commercial standards because the underlying zone is commercial, regardless of the house's residential use.
Procedural steps and outcome: The commission first voted, unanimously by voice vote, to close the public hearing. Commissioner Michael then moved to approve the application citing the ZBA-granted variances and compliance with zoning and subdivision regulations, conditioned on satisfying Chatham Health District requirements for the existing and proposed septic systems before filing the mylar survey plans; Jim seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
Implications and what is next: The approval clears the way for the daycare and house to be sold, financed or converted independently, contingent on the health district approving the septic relocation.
Public Hearing: PZC 26-007, Middle Housing and Parking Text Amendments
Background and stakes: Public Act 25-1, the state's new "Transit Community Middle Housing" law, requires towns to allow two-to-nine-unit residential or mixed-use middle housing developments by right, via administrative site plan review only, in existing commercial and mixed-use zones, and restricts towns' ability to mandate off-street parking. Connecticut gave municipalities little lead time to adopt compliant regulations, and Hodge said the amendments before the commission were drafted with consultants retained by the River Council of Governments, in coordination with what she referred to as IMEC, so that towns across the region are adopting similar language.
The question before the body: whether to adopt supplemental zoning regulations bringing East Hampton into compliance before the state deadline.
Substantive content: Hodge walked the commission through a slide presentation. Middle housing, defined as two-to-nine-unit multifamily or mixed-use development, must be approved through "summary review," meaning site plan approval only, with no public hearing and no discretionary conditions beyond an overarching public health and safety standard. Towns may not require off-street parking for developments of 16 units or fewer, except inside designated parking mitigation districts capped at 4 percent of town land area; within such a district, towns may still require one parking space per studio or one-bedroom unit and two spaces for two-bedroom-or-larger units. East Hampton's mitigation district, shown on a map in the meeting packet, covers its Commercial, Village Commercial, Professional Office/Residential and Design District zones along with its Mixed-Use Development district, capturing effectively all of the areas where middle housing would be allowed, while excluding industrial zones. The amendment adds new definitions for cottage cluster, middle housing, middle housing residential and mixed-use middle housing, distinguishing the new by-right category from the town's existing special-permit mixed-use regulations, which allow larger or differently structured projects. New supplemental standards include screening of mechanical equipment, a minimum 25-foot buffer along side and rear property lines (wider than standard commercial buffers), and an optional design incentive Hodge added on her own initiative: if a developer places parking behind a building fronting a town road, the front setback may be reduced to a minimum of 25 feet, provided the reduced setback area is landscaped for year-round screening, mirroring a residential building pattern of house-forward, parking-behind rather than parking-in-front. Separately, the amendment removes an outdated requirement limiting equal treatment of mobile homes to those at least 22 feet in narrowest dimension, meaning single-wide mobile homes must now be treated like single-family houses wherever homes are otherwise allowed.
Hodge said the statute is silent or ambiguous on several points, including whether towns may allow only mixed-use middle housing, only standalone multifamily, or must allow both; East Hampton's draft takes the position that both are allowed, a reading she said is likely to be tested in court or clarified in a future legislative session. She also noted the law includes no affordability requirement for middle housing units, which she called worth revisiting as the town works toward its 10 percent affordable-housing threshold under state law.
The deliberation: Commissioners pressed on scope and mechanics. One member asked whether choosing a mixed-use interpretation would shrink the areas where such development could occur; Hodge said no, because the applicable zones, Commercial, Village Commercial, Professional Office/Residential and Design District, are unchanged either way. Discussion also clarified that the Hampton Woods development, built under a separate affordable-housing overlay, is not affected by the new middle housing rules. A commissioner asked whether the new rule effectively requires the town to permit off-street parking demand to spill onto public streets; Hodge confirmed developments could rely on street parking outside the mitigation district unless the town separately adopted a no-on-street-parking ordinance, which she did not recommend. Another member raised a process question: "Could you just clarify the change for the approval process?" Hodge reiterated that summary review is purely administrative, with no public hearing allowed and no ability to attach conditions beyond a health-and-safety finding; a commissioner replied, "So it's probably prudent we should pass this as is, but we will be revisiting the parking requirements," describing a recent visit to a duplex-lined street elsewhere with one parking space per unit and cars parked on both sides of the road, calling it a traffic-safety concern he wants the commission to study further under 25 mph conditions.
During public comment, Wayne Rand, in his individual capacity as a resident of 244 Middletown Avenue rather than as the evening's earlier applicant, argued the amendment does not go far enough. He said the state's separate affordable-housing statute, known as 8-30g, has not produced results in East Hampton and that conventional subdivisions have become largely unbuildable given road-frontage requirements and infrastructure costs he put at "upwards of $1,000 a linear foot." He estimated the town faces a shortage of 50 to 100 buildable lots and urged the commission to eventually extend middle-housing-style development into residential zones, for example on larger parcels of 50 acres or more, calling the current commercial-only approach "a step forward" but not sufficient.
Procedural steps and outcome: The commission voted unanimously by voice vote to close the public hearing, then voted unanimously to adopt the PZC 26-007 text amendments as presented. Because the regulation activates a parking mitigation district, the chair said the commission would separately send a letter, using GIS-mapped district boundaries, to the state Office of Policy and Management formally designating the district.
Implications and what is next: Developers can now bring two-to-nine-unit projects to the commission for administrative site plan approval in East Hampton's commercial and mixed-use zones without a public hearing, subject to the new buffer, screening and parking standards. Members signaled they expect to revisit off-street parking policy and potentially add design standards specific to middle housing as part of the broader zoning rewrite tied to the POCD, and acknowledged the underlying state law is likely to change again in the next legislative session.
New Business: PZC 26-009, Skinner Street Properties LLC
Hodge told the commission this application resurfaces a property, at 46 Skinner Street, that was granted a special permit for a motor vehicle repair and sales use more than a year ago but for which the required mylar survey was never filed, a gap uncovered during an enforcement matter after the property's tenant vacated. She said the owner has proposed different uses than originally approved and asked to modify both the special permit and site plan, adding land through a lot line adjustment to provide additional parking and expanding into a lower floor of the existing building, so that a corrected record can finally be filed. Commissioner Michael moved to accept the application for special permit modification to allow additional mixed commercial and industrial uses at the property, identified as Map 20, Block 48C, Lot 17A, and to schedule a public hearing; Bob seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. The transcript states the hearing date as "Wednesday, August 5, 2026," the same date as this meeting, which appears to be a transcription or reading error; the actual scheduled hearing date should be confirmed against the official agenda before publication.
Old Business: Staff Transition
Hodge, describing this as her last meeting attending in person, told the commission the job posting for her position closed that day with two applicants, one of whom she said she had previously worked with, a person referred to as Alex Sandlot, and another lacking planning experience. She said a regional planners' network is being used to seek more candidates, that a firm referred to as Tyche Planning was unable to take on the town due to capacity, and that a town official identified only as Dave is exploring a firm called IMG as a possible interim consultant. In the meantime, Hodge offered to continue working remotely roughly 10 hours a week to finish the POCD and process routine permits such as pools and sheds by email, while Commissioner Jim covers inspections and blight enforcement; she said the town will not have in-person zoning enforcement coverage and offered to join future meetings by Zoom if needed. The chair thanked Hodge on behalf of the commission for her service and for guiding the regulation rewrites completed under deadline pressure this year.
Adjournment
The commission voted to adjourn on a motion from Commissioner Angela.
Chair — presided over the meeting; name not stated in the transcript. Commissioner Jim — Member; reported as Zoning Board of Appeals liaison; will handle inspections and blight enforcement during the staffing gap. Commissioner Sally — Member. Commissioner Michael (also referred to once as Mike) — Member; Regional Planning Commission liaison; moved the West High Enterprises approval and the Skinner Street acceptance. Commissioner Angela (also transcribed as Angelus) — Member; Water Pollution Control Authority/POCD steering committee liaison; cast the lone abstention on the minutes vote and moved adjournment. Commissioner Bob — Member; seconded multiple motions. A member referred to as Roland was mentioned as expected to join, possibly remotely; his attendance could not be confirmed from the transcript. Juliet Hodge, Town Planner — presented the middle housing text amendment, the West High Enterprises subdivision, the Skinner Street application and the POCD update; announced this was her last in-person meeting before shifting to limited remote work.
Public commenters: Eric Rosenberg, 15 Bay Road — chair, Commission on Aging; read a letter and resolution supporting ADU regulatory changes. Robert Morin, 32 Colchester Avenue — resident; sought clarification on adding an ADU in the RU2 zone (an earlier, differently named self-identification by the same household appears garbled in the transcript). John Forbes, 205 West High Street — resident and abutter to the West High Enterprises property; raised a well-separation question. Wayne Rand, 244 Middletown Avenue — applicant for PZC 26-006 and separately spoke as a resident during the PZC 26-007 hearing, urging broader middle-housing zoning.
Outside parties: Liz, Chatham Health District — referenced by Hodge as having informally confirmed the West High Enterprises septic relocation approach; full name not given. Alex Sandlot — named by Hodge as one of two applicants for the town planner position; spelling unconfirmed. Dave — town official exploring IMG as an interim planning consultant; title and surname not given in the transcript.
Public Act 25-1 — the state law requiring by-right middle housing and limiting parking mandates; basis for the PZC 26-007 text amendments. Connecticut General Statutes Section 8-30g — the state's affordable-housing land use appeals statute; cited regarding moratorium bonus points for residential-zone middle housing and, separately, by Wayne Rand as a program he said has underperformed in East Hampton. River Council of Governments (River COG) — funded and coordinated the regional consultant work behind the middle housing amendment. IMEC — cited by Hodge as involved in drafting the region's model middle housing language. Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) — recipient of the town's forthcoming POCD-timeline letter and its parking mitigation district designation letter. Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) — held a joint meeting with the POCD steering committee on sewer-expansion mapping responsibility. Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) steering committee — developing the town's state-mandated conservation and development plan, with a public draft targeted for August 2026. Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) — granted variances discussed in Commissioner Jim's liaison report and granted the variances underlying the West High Enterprises subdivision approval. Chatham Health District — holds septic and well-separation authority over the West High Enterprises subdivision and general ADU applications. Commission on Aging (COA) — passed a May 14, 2026 resolution, read into the record by its chair, Eric Rosenberg, supporting reduced ADU barriers. State B-100A permit — the state form Wayne Rand is pursuing to abandon and relocate the West High Enterprises property's existing septic system. Regional Planning Commission (RPC) — Commissioner Michael's liaison body; discussed pending state legislation on industrial-zone residential uses. Tyche Planning (transcribed "Tykee Planning") — a planning firm that declined to take on East Hampton due to capacity constraints. IMG — a firm the town, through the official referred to as Dave, is exploring as an interim planning consultant.