As population grows older, LI planners must grow wiser

By SCOTT BURMAN //

America’s population is rapidly aging, and the need for elder-care services is rising fast.

Baby Boomers are entering their 80s and Long Island’s senior demographic has grown roughly 25 percent over the past decade – and as our population ages faster than we plan and build for it, we increasingly put some of the most vulnerable community members at risk.

The bottom line is that we have not kept pace with the development and construction of locations where our seniors can receive the care they need and deserve.

The issue is not simply about an aging population. It’s also about the growing prevalence of dementia and cognitive decline.

Dementia-related disease is among the fastest-growing health challenges facing older adults. Nearly 7 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer’s disease, a number expected to more than double by 2050.

As a result, memory care is no longer a niche offering within senior-living communities. Increasingly, residents arrive already needing cognitive support and specialized care, meaning quality, scalable memory care is no longer optional – it’s foundational to modern senior living.

For many families, these communities are not simply a lifestyle choice but essential care infrastructure, providing support for daily living, cognitive decline and medical needs that families often cannot manage on their own.

Despite strong demand for all types of senior housing, development has struggled to keep pace. For more than two decades, much of the industry has focused on luxury private-pay assisted living, serving the most affluent segment of the market. Middle-income options have lagged behind.

The result is not simply a shortage of units, but a shortage of diverse options that meet the needs of Long Island’s aging population.

But the largest obstacle is not demand or capital or operations. It is approvals.

Unlike many other types of development, Long Island sites are not zoned as-of-right for senior communities. That means senior-living projects typically face protracted approvals beyond what many other, more traditional uses might require.

The process often involves multiple boards, extensive public hearings and significant carrying costs, resulting in a development timeline that can stretch several years before a shovel enters the ground.

This approval burden persists even though senior-living communities generally have far less impact on surrounding neighborhoods than other forms of development. Senior residents no longer commute to work. Overall traffic generation is minimal, with daily services and activities provided on site. Parking demand is lower. School districts are unaffected.

Yet these projects often face the same level of scrutiny as more intensive uses. And this entitlement barrier has become one of the primary reasons Long Island has struggled to expand its senior-housing supply.

The consequences are visible: Despite nearly 3 million residents, Long Island has only a handful of continuing-care retirement communities, while Westchester has roughly twice as many and New Jersey more than 30 statewide.

Some municipalities in the tristate region have begun experimenting with policies that recognize senior living as essential community infrastructure. These approaches do not eliminate oversight, but they do create clearer pathways for development.

In Westchester, some municipalities have adopted zoning tools intended to fast-track senior-housing developments. The City of Mount Vernon created a Senior Citizen Housing Floating Zone allowing officials to designate appropriate sites for senior housing when proposals arise, rather than forcing every project through a from-scratch rezoning or limiting developments to a specific district.

The Town of Greenburgh adopted a Continuum of Care Facility Floating Zone, streamlining approvals and allowing single buildings more flexible height and density than traditional zoning, while the City of New Rochelle once enacted a senior citizen overlay zone intended to attract more senior housing – but this was eliminated in 2021 to prevent developments in single-family neighborhoods.

On Long Island, municipalities have generally taken a more limited approach. Communities such as Oyster Bay, Hempstead and North Hempstead have created zoning categories recognizing senior housing as a distinct use, but most projects still require discretionary approvals, or site-specific rezoning, or special permits, or are limited to a specific location. In many cases, the regulatory timeline to approve a senior living community can be longer than the time it takes to build one.

Senior housing allows older residents to remain close to their families, doctors and communities. For many families, that proximity can make an enormous difference during some of life’s most difficult transitions. In that sense, senior housing should be viewed less as conventional real estate development and more as essential community infrastructure, similar to healthcare facilities or schools.

Whether Long Island builds more senior housing or not, the demographic reality is already arriving. Communities and policymakers must explore practical steps that can responsibly accelerate the development of senior-living communities, including zoning overlays, expedited approvals for care-based housing and as-of-right provisions in appropriate areas.

These are not radical ideas. They are tools already being tested in other regions to ensure that essential care infrastructure can be built when communities need it most.

Scott Burman is the founder and president of Burman Real Estate.