Southold Town Proposes 12-Month Extension On New Hotel Moratorium

NORTH FORK, NY — The Southold Town board has scheduled a public hearing on a proposed 12-month extension of the temporary moratorium on the issuance of permits for new development of resorts, hotels and motels.

The public hearing has been scheduled for May 28 at 4:30 p.m. at Southold Town Hall.

The temporary moratorium was initially adopted in June, 2024 and was slated to expire on June 18, 2025.

The reason for the proposed extension is that the town board "finds that additional time is necessary to finalize comprehensive zoning updates pertaining to resort, hotel, and motel developments, ensuring proper alignment with the Southold Town Comprehensive Plan, environmental constraints, and density regulations," according to the resolution regarding the proposed extension.

In addition, the resolution stated, the town's zoning consultant, ZoneCo, is continuing its evaluation of zoning classifications, cumulative impact assessments, and municipal infrastructure capacity related to resort, hotel, and motel development.

"The town board has determined that without an extension of the moratorium, new large-scale development may proceed before necessary amendments to Southold’s zoning legislation are completed, potentially undermining the town's long-term planning objectives," the resolution stated. "The extension of the temporary moratorium will allow the town to complete its zoning studies and finalize appropriate legislative amendments in a deliberate and structured manner."

Last year, the board adopted the local law, meant to impose "an interim or temporary suspension on the review, approval, and/or issuance of all permits for or relating to new development of resorts, hotels and motels," according to the resolution.

The resolution states that the goal was to "preserve the status quo" in Southold temporarily while the town conducts studies to review and consider amendment to those parts of the town's zoning legislation and comprehensive plan pertaining to hotels, motels and resorts.

Southold Town has been in the midst of a complete zoning update being performed under the auspices of the planning department by ZoneCo, an independent zoning consultant, the resolution stated.

The town is under "considerable pressure" for the development of new resorts, hotels and motels, with five proposed over the past several years, the resolution said.

"A limited moratorium would be helpful on new hotel construction," Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski told Patch last year. "We've got a limited amount of resources in town to review all of these applications."

He added that the town board was initially committed to completing the zoning update in March of 2025, and the aim was to have the moratorium wrap up at that time.

Krupski thanked the community. "The community is so engaged in this whole process that it's really been helpful, because you want to have that kind of input while you are going through the zoning update. You want to have those comments now, while the consultant is still actively working."

Last year, residents turned out in force at a special Southold town board meeting meant to discuss the possible moratorium on hotel development — and also, to plead for the board to consider a wider and broader moratorium on all development in town.