On October 25, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill written by New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele that will allow the towns of Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island to put the Peconic Bay Region Community Housing Act upon voter approval.

The Act allows the five towns on the East End to establish a Community Housing Fund (CHF) to help provide affordable housing in this area. Similar to the Community Preservation Fund, the Community Housing Fund will charge a transfer fee. In this case, a fee of 0.5% will be charged to the homebuyer for each residential real estate transaction. No taxpayer monies will be used to supplement the fund.

A referendum on the CHF will be up for a vote on November 8. To read the brochure, click here.