Greenport government only addresses the one square mile incorporated village. The west, north and east of Greenport is overseen by Southold Government and all Greenporters vote in Southold elections. The Southold police department oversees Greenport Inc. too, however they do not enforce Greenport-specific code.
House size:
7/14/22: Southold has a lax zoning code for house size that allow McMansions to overwhelm neighboring houses. Other East End towns took action. Encourage swift action on the proposed legislation with the goal of revisiting in a year or two to refine. This impacts all the areas of Greenport: Southwest of #25/6th St; north of Washington Av./Bridge St; and everything east side of Stirling Basin except Sandy Beach and a tiny area of cemetery and one dock. The North Fork Civics have been working with the Town on this for over a year. It was expected to be voted on at the last meeting but cold feet prevailed. Get your email in before Tuesday AM’s work session.
The North Fork Civics identified the first element of the new Southold Master Plan to address: Oversized house sizes. The Board is waiting for the Town Attorney or more likely the new one, to prepare a draft code change. Many elements have been agreed upon. The height would be 35′ to the peak not mid-point of a sloped roof and 25′ for a flat roof or low slope–preferably under 7/12. A Pyramid Law would require buildings no higher than a 45 degree angle from the property line but starting 10′ high rather than at the ground level in other towns. Smaller lots would not have the huge homes. Current code allows 10,000 square feet livable floor area (SFLA) on 1/4 acre , 1 acre could be 20,000 SFLA and 2 acres 40,000.
Certain elements need to be addressed later but should not delay adopting something now. The absolute maximum in Sag Harbor is 7,000 SFLA and 5,000 SFLA in Shelter Island. The Civics proposed a 12,000 SFLA max for Southold. All the other East End towns have maximums except Southold and Riverhead so any oligarch looking to build a palace would wind up here. Attached is the older presentation the Civics made to Southold Town Board :
Police Accountability: Southold appointed a Joint Justice Review and Reform Task Force made up of electeds, police, community advocates, social and justice experts. Based upon their detailed report, the Town Board approved the plan in the link below. It was submitted to Albany by the deadline–bravo: https://www.southoldtownny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8602/SJRRTF-Task-Force-Report-for-TB-with-edits-4-1-2021–FINAL