The Community Housing Board, established by the Town Board after an affordable housing law was adopted last summer, recently completed application forms for a registry of prospective tenants and owners and for the special licenses needed to establish community housing at an existing residence. The forms are available from the Town Hall committee clerk, Danielle LiCausi, at 749-0758 and will soon be posted on the town website, www.shelterislandtown.us.

Mary-Faith Healey, co-chair of the housing board, explained the application process during an interview last week. The housing registry application is a preliminary form, she said, one that is “innocuous” and intended to show whether an applicant can meet the tenant eligibility criteria “on the face of it.” The application specifies the maximum income an applicant can earn to qualify for housing, depending on household size, and asks applicants to list the income of individual family members.

A confidentiality statement is posted at the top of the form but income verification is not part of the preliminary application process, Ms. Healey said. As stated on the form: “All applications submitted will receive a preliminary screening to determine apparent eligibility. As housing opportunities become available, applicants will be requested to provide documentation to verify their eligibility. This will include proof of citizenship or legal resident alien status and copies of income tax returns.”

“Unless we have a place to put people,” Ms. Healey commented, why go through a confidential vetting process of income information that may be time sensitive? The town housing board will screen preliminary applications but the final vetting process may be performed by the Long Island Housing Partnership (LIHP), a non-profit group based in Hauppauge to create affordable housing opportunities in Nassau and Suffolk counties. An independent vetting process would come at a cost of about $100-$150 per applicant, Ms. Healey said, but would address concerns small-town residents may have about sharing personal data.

Applicants meeting the income criteria would receive a certificate of eligibility valid for one year and given a priority designation, the highest rank going to those who have lived and worked on Shelter Island for at least one year.

Diana Weir, the executive vice president of LIHP, is scheduled to attend the November 24 meeting of the Community Housing Board; the board meets at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. She will discuss the wide range of programs her organization offers, which includes mortgage assistance, employer housing programs, foreclosure prevention and down-payment assistance. The board may sponsor a LIHP program here targeted to help Island residents, Ms. Healey said.

The second application is for special licenses needed to establish an accessory apartment dedicated to affordable housing use within the footprint of an existing residence. The town applications asks owners for information such as tax ID numbers, a list of the owners of record, and a description and plan drawing of the parcel and structures. The square footage of the affordable unit planned and the proposed occupancy must be specified. Maximum rents for 2008 are specified on the form, ranging from $850 per month for an efficiency to $1,407 per month for a four-bedroom unit. Those rents are based on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development limits for Nassau and Suffolk counties, which are subject to change annually.

By submitting the notarized application, the property owner agrees to inspection by the Building Department for compliance with safety and building codes.

Ms. Healey said that a couple of property owners have already shown interest in the special license. But the housing board will not sit back and wait for others to step forward, she said. The members will be out “tapping folks on the shoulder” and asking about their interest in the program.

In addition to meeting building codes, the licensed properties must also get approval by the Suffolk County Health Department. Some Island properties may not meet county criteria for accessory apartments, housing board Co-chair Hoot Sherman said during a brief interview on last week.

He and officials from the five East End towns met with health department representative Walter DeWitt to talk about affordable housing options last week and learned that “if you don't have public water,” the county can require a minimum of one acre of land for a residential property with both a primary residence and an accessory apartment, even if the property is dedicated for affordable use. Island properties that are smaller than one acre may not qualify for the program, he acknowledged, although the health department will review them on a case-by-case basis.

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