Southampton, NY Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

Section 330-6, General regulations, governs multiple dwellings in the Town's multifamily zoning districts (MF-44), the Senior Citizen Zone (SC-44) and Multifamily Planned Residential Developments (MFPRD), all located in the unincorporated hamlets since the villages set their own codes. Subsection B caps density at eight dwelling units per building for multiple dwellings built after the 1989 amendment, rising to 12 units for senior citizen buildings authorized under § 330-8, and bars any dwelling unit from sitting below the first story or above the second story. Added by Local Law No.

45-2007, subsections B(3) and B(4) layer a fire-sprinkler mandate onto that density scheme: any building containing four, five or six dwelling units must be equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system meeting National Fire Protection Association Standard 13D, the standard written for one- and two-family dwellings and manufactured homes extended here to smaller multifamily buildings, while any building of seven or more dwelling units must instead meet NFPA Standard 13R, the standard for low-rise residential occupancies. The requirement applies at construction and is tied directly to unit count rather than to building height or square footage, so a compact seven-unit building triggers the more stringent 13R standard even if a taller six-unit building next door only needs 13D.

The Building Inspector enforces the sprinkler requirement as part of the building permit and certificate of occupancy process for these zones, and the standard sits alongside the separate site-plan and dimensional requirements the Planning Board applies to multifamily construction under the same section.