York Town News
Workforce housing dominates the scene at Board of Selectmen meeting
Talks will continue next week before decisions are made
By Larry Favinger
YORK - A proposed zoning ordinance on workforce housing proved to be a controversial subject at Monday night's Board of Selectmen meeting, as both members of the public and the selectmen weighed in on the plan.Town Planner Steve Burns set the stage for the discussion on the proposal by saying York "basically is a very expensive place to live if you're not making a lot of money."
The proposed ordinance calls for allowing housing units to be built in both the growth and rural areas of town - something the selectmen oppose.
York Housing Authority Director Patricia Martine said income the eligibility range is between $59,000 and $95,000 annual family income.
She said this kind of housing is "only a piece of affordable housing" but "it is the future of our workforce" and an opportunity to show "we want them here."
Selectman Michael Estes said the program should be limited to property that has water and sewer, adding the plan is "kind of an experimental type of thing" and provisions should be made to see that when the property is sold by the original owner it is not sold to just anyone, but to others in the workforce.
The consensus was the project should start slowly and be centered only within the Comprehensive Plan's designated growth areas and on parcels where water and sewer service are provided.
Selectman Torbert Macdonald, Jr., said the board has been mandated to increase density in the growth area, not the rural zones, and to open the rural areas to the development would create great controversy.
"I want to get this thing established," he said of the plan to create housing affordable to moderate-income families working in the town, adding the best approach is to get it on the books first, and then "maybe it can be expanded."
Selectmen Vice Chairman Dwight Bardwell worried about the fiscal impact on the town and the "significant impact" on the schools.
Bardwell said those buying these units should "pay taxes like everyone else," a sentiment echoed by Estes.
Eligibility for the housing came under scrutiny as well, with some wanting it spelled out specifically.
Bardwell said that path could be a dangerous one because "a lot of people would be excluded that we don't want to exclude."
Most of the board agreed top consideration should be given to firefighters, police officers, health workers other than doctors, teachers and school personnel.
Jud Knox, who serves on the York Housing Authority, said that if something is not done to address the housing needs of people working in and for the town in the future, the town might not be able to deliver the necessary services.
Knox said the proposal focuses on people working in the community and there are provisions to keep the homes involved affordable to this group forever.
Jim Gambrill of the York Housing Authority said the proposal is not for low-income housing but is "a test of the will of the people of York" to see if they want to provide options for moderate-income workers.
Selectman Len Dorrian questioned a portion of the proposal that would allow units to be sold to the general public if there was no demand from members of the local workforce.
"I don't think we should be in the housing business except to deal with a specific need," he said.
He also raised the question of how the ordinance and resulting properties would be managed, stating that if the York Housing Authority was to take on that task, which representatives of the YHA said they would be willing to do, there must be some kind of connection with elected officials. Currently YHA members are appointed by the selectmen.
Selectmen Chairman David Marshall said he was not so much interested in the details of the proposal but was really concerned with the impacts of it on the town.
He said it would "probably cost the town money" to provide needed services to the residents with such impacts as the potential of increased students in the schools.
"We need to know what the impact is," he said, adding the town should know "what it looks like if we do it, and what it looks like if we don't."
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Rick Boardman told the selectmen preference should be given to people who live in York.
"We're not thinking of people from out of town," he said, "not some professional person from Haverhill that scored a gig at York Hospital."
Having heard the concerns expressed by the public and the selectmen, Burns and the YHA will present a revised proposal to the Board of Selectmen at its meeting next Monday, Aug. 28, and the discussion will continue.
Meanwhile, selectmen have decided to postpone discussion on proposed changes to the town's Residential Growth Ordinance to address Legislative Document 1535, which was recently approved by the Maine Legislature. That discussion will take place later this year or early next year, with possible changes slated for the May ballot.
In other business, the selectmen forwarded requests for an easement deed and drainage agreement for 64 Pine Hill Road and the acceptance of Osprey Lane and Meadowlark Drive as public to the November ballot for voter approval.
The board also approved sending a charter amendment to the voters changing the composition of the Conservation Commission from seven members to five full members with two alternates.
Burns said the change in the number reduces the quorum from four to three and is "the key to get them meeting and doing what they should be doing."
There was no comment from the public on those three items during the lengthy public hearing portion of the meeting at the York Public Library.
Also at the meeting, the board finished its discussion on 15 proposed zoning ordinance amendments, forwarding them to a final public hearing on Sept. 18.
Those ordinance amendments are the Historic Landmark Designation of Trinity Church; Landmark Designation for Historic Building Conversions; Shoreland Setback Variances; Contiguous Non-Conforming Lots; Enlargement of Non-Conforming Structures; Non-Conforming Design and Expansion of Non-Conforming Use; Bed and Breakfast Standards; Campground Regulations; Front, Side and Rear Lot Lines; Ordinance Clean-Up; Site Plan Review and Route 1 Use Permits; Large Scale Retail in York Harbor, and Propane and Oil Tank Anchoring.
One, having to do with the Board of Design Review, was not set for the hearing. By a vote of 4-1, Town Manager Robert Yandow was directed to check the legality of that committee with the Maine Municipal Association, with Dorrian opposing the action.
The Board of Design Review, a creation of the York Harbor zoning ordinance, has been operating in the town since the consolidation with York Harbor.
For more on the proposed zoning ordinance amendments, visit the town's website at www.yorkmaine.org and follow the links to the Planning Department.
