Westhampton Beach Adopts New Housing Guidelines

After the passage of Local Law 1 last November — which tweaked existing legislation in an effort to streamline sales and lottery processes for subsidized housing — the Village of Westhampton Beach trustees unanimously voted to follow New York State’s suggested income limits for Suffolk County.

In accordance with the guidelines, a household of four must earn less than $120,550 to qualify for low-income housing in Suffolk county. Anything under $82,450 constitutes a low-income household. This marks a 7.4% and 5.6% increase respectively from last year’s limits.

The resolution comes in the wake of an affordable housing crisis in Suffolk County.

With the median cost of a home in the area at $687,000 it’s hardly a surprise that 60% of residents are cost burdened, according to a study by the Regional Plan Association.

In The Village of Westhampton Beach it’s worse: the median cost is $1.85 million. The median income in the village is $131,000. For many, this means home ownership is out of reach.

There have been some efforts to create affordable housing units in the village. Most recently, seven units in The Gables at Westhampton Beach were sold via lottery to qualifying households.