Mayor says East Hampton Villagecomprehensive plan will guide housing and infrastructure choices; septic system remains a hurdle

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larson said the village is finalizing an updated comprehensive plan intended to guide housing, traffic and commercial development for the next 20 years, but he warned that infrastructure constraintsnotably the absence of a village septic systemlimit what the village can approve.

"It's basically and I call it it's a road map for the next 20 years," Larson said in an interview with East End News correspondent Dara Berger, describing the plan as a statement of resident priorities for housing, traffic and commercial areas. He said the villagewhose prior plan expired in 2020expects to finish the update before or during the summer.

Why it matters: The plan identifies locations where limited new housing might be added, including rezonings that would allow mixed-use development on Railroad Avenue (the so-called "gingerbread" district) and apartments above Main Street commercial buildings. Larson said allowing detached accessory dwelling units and mixed commercial-housing parcels is one of the few realistic ways the village can expand housing stock without large new developments.

Larson said the village has long considered building a village-level septic system to enable more restaurants and housing and to reduce nitrogen flowing into Hook Pond and Georgia Pond. "We need about 2 acres of land and can't find anything," he said, describing negotiations with state regulators and the challenge of locating suitable land. He added that the village has identified highway-department property as a possible site but has not advanced the project beyond early planning.

Larson and Berger discussed septic-system differences with nearby communities. Larson said East Hampton has not previously installed a community septic system and that the village must comply with Suffolk County Health Department codes for any new system. He emphasized that a new system could both improve water quality in local ponds and enable the kinds of commercial activityfor example more restaurants and apartments above storefrontsthat residents have discussed for years.

The interview also covered zoning choices for the Railroad Avenue commercial district and the villages effort to balance development and preservation. Larson said mixed-use zoning there would allow stores at street level with apartments above, and he framed the plan as a community road map rather than a developer-driven blueprint.

Next steps: Larson said the village expects to complete the comprehensive-plan update this summer and to continue discussions with state officials about septic options and land availability. The plan's recommendations will inform zoning and permitting decisions the village makes over the coming years.