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Poll results

Sponsored by: OTELCO, a fiber internet provider

From Rangeley to Cape Elizabeth to Old Orchard Beach, plans for affordable housing made news last week.

On Mount Desert Island, in Skowhegan and elsewhere across the state, residents also face dilemmas about how to keep housing costs manageable. Meanwhile, Maine home prices continue to soar.

In response, some people see the creation of more dedicated affordable housing as a first priority.

Others feel Maine needs more housing of all types, and that greater inventory will naturally generate greater options for low- and middle-income Mainers.

What should Maine be doing, in general, to address shortages of affordable housing?
Incentivize development of more affordable housing (48%, 152 VOTES)
Incentivize development of more housing in general (23%, 74 VOTES)
Let the housing market function without extra incentives (29%, 94 VOTES)
Poll Description

Sponsored by: OTELCO, a fiber internet provider

From Rangeley to Cape Elizabeth to Old Orchard Beach, plans for affordable housing made news last week.

On Mount Desert Island, in Skowhegan and elsewhere across the state, residents also face dilemmas about how to keep housing costs manageable. Meanwhile, Maine home prices continue to soar.

In response, some people see the creation of more dedicated affordable housing as a first priority.

Others feel Maine needs more housing of all types, and that greater inventory will naturally generate greater options for low- and middle-income Mainers.

  • 320 Votes
  • 13 Comments
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13 Comments

  • December 6, 2021

    None of the above. Instead, incentivize business to locate into more affordable areas. Therefore creating new jobs and opportunities for new housing development and renovation spurred by an influx to the area. Significantly more cost effective than subsidized housing and providing tax base expansion.

  • Roy Forsberg
    December 6, 2021

    Developers make more money when they build bigger, more expensive homes. As such, there is a bit of a market based disincentive to building affordable housing. Therefore, incentives may be useful in offsetting a market bias.

  • December 6, 2021

    Developers across the country have planned, permitted and built thousands of units of safe, affordable housing. This is work best suited to the private sector but requires taxpayer support in the form of tax increment financing and/or land contributions and, often, infrastructure to keep the units affordable for as long as 20 years. People who are safely housed contribute to our communities and rely less on social services. It's a win for everyone. Sadly, a minority in Cape Elizabeth are trying to declare their town an "economically gated" community. Every community in Maine needs to drop the artifice of being special and help solve the challenge.