For our feature on Maine’s housing crunch, experts suggested a wide range of possible solutions, including revising zoning, designating certain areas for multifamily development and greater innovation in housing.
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To offer solutions for the housing crunch, we turned to Maine leaders and asked, “What’s one solution that could make a difference in Maine’s housing shortage?”
Here’s what they had to say.
A developer of affordable housing
An enormous step toward solving Maine’s housing shortage would be for every town in Maine with a population greater than 5,000 to designate a part of town where one or more four-story buildings, with at least 40 apartments each, could be built on a 1.5 acre parcel of land.
A great many Maine towns would find that nowhere in their town is such a development allowed by current zoning.
Yet, that is the way to build housing efficiently, which you must do to have any chance to make it affordable to people of low or moderate incomes. To make housing affordable, you must have economies of scale. Four stories, for example, is much more efficient to build than two stories, because you can spread the fixed cost of the foundation, groundwork, and roof over four floors, rather than two.
— Nathan Szanton, CEO, the Stanzon Cos.
Auburn’s mayor
Zoning reform. By encouraging simplified and less exclusionary zoning we can promote the replication of some of our older most successful neighborhoods that were only able to be created with less restrictive zoning. This will provide more supply and balance within the housing market. What’s old is new again.
— Auburn Mayor Jason J. Levesque
A builder of tiny homes
The root of the problem, in my opinion, is there are not enough businesses, contractors, individuals who can (or are willing to) create homes that people can afford. Also each region of the state has different issues when it comes to housing.
My suggestion is an agency that is dedicated to helping people find homes, jobs, and schools in Maine. Just like the Small Business Development Centers exist for businesses, the same could exist for families and individuals and not income based.
In order to move somewhere you need the following: A home, job, school, child care, proximity to basic services (health care, dental, groceries, etc.). In addition to the above, towns should act like colleges recruiting people to come live and work there. Lay out everything they have to offer and why their town is a good fit for you.
Current legislation and organizations like MaineHousing are missing the mark on “helping” with affordable housing. [A recent] program is trying to incentivize developers to build affordable housing, requiring electric car charging and solar panels. That does not seem to align with “affordable.” People with no/low income don’t drive electric cars. Affordable means attainable for everyone!
— Corinne Watson: principal and CEO, Tiny Homes of Maine