Southampton, NY Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Enacted under Town Law §§ 261-a and 261-b, § 330-9 authorizes density incentives on eligible residential districts, from CR-200 and CR-120 down through R-40 and R-20, and on nonresidential districts such as Highway Business, Village Business and the Hamlet Office and Hamlet Commercial districts. The incentive is unavailable within the Core Preservation Area of the Central Pine Barrens Overlay District or the Tidal Wetlands and Ocean Beach Overlay District. For subdivisions, the Planning Board may authorize a maximum density increase of 30% where development rights or Pine Barrens Credits (PBCs) are transferred to the receiving site, or, where the as-of-right yield is three lots or fewer, one additional building lot in exchange for a single transferred right; the Board may separately authorize up to a 50% density increase above the as-of-right yield where the additional units are community benefit units as defined in Chapter 216, the Town's affordable-housing chapter.

Where the incentive is sought specifically for affordable housing, § 330-9D(1) requires that at least 40% of the additional dwelling units be community benefit units, and the Planning Board must weigh the need for affordable housing in that hamlet, site suitability, community character, and consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, limiting the incentive to hamlets with population density at or below 500 persons per square mile. A separate carriage-house track lets the Chief Building Inspector, rather than the Planning Board, authorize one accessory dwelling per lot in exchange for a transferred development right, subject to a three-acre minimum lot size in the largest-lot districts, specific carriage-house setbacks of 10 feet more than the principal dwelling's front setback and at least 30 feet side and 50 feet rear, a 24-foot height cap, and a floor-area cap of 50% of the principal dwelling or 3,000 square feet.