York Town News
Housing Committee members look at innovative plan while Board of Selectmen encourages more volunteers
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - When the Board of Selectmen met last week, they learned of an innovative plan to address the town's need for moderately-priced housing from Town Planner Steve Burns, and now the Affordable and Workforce Housing Committee is giving that idea a closer look.
The selectmen took no action at their June 11 meeting in order to have more time to review Burns' proposal, which would provide incentives to developers, agencies and individuals to build affordable housing by making market-rate residential building permits immediately available, under a revised version of the growth law, to those who build affordable housing units.
At that same meeting, newly elected Selectman Ted Little was appointed to serve as the board's second member on the Affordable and Workforce Housing Committee, working alongside Board of Selectmen Chairman Mike Estes.
The Affordable and Workforce Housing Committee met most recently last Thursday, June 14, to continue its work in the hope of bringing a proposal to the voters next May. Although there are still seats to be filled on the board, there was a quorum and the committee was able to get to work with a mix of community members, York Housing Authority representatives and the two selectmen.
"We had a great meeting and I made the suggestion that we create a model environment, whereby if YHA selects the land, affordable/workforce housing gets built on it to show the town how great it would work out and how attractive it would be," Little said after the meeting. "Everyone is excited about the prospect of doing this, and the YHA is now putting a plan together for us to discuss at our next scheduled meeting."
The committee will meet again on June 28 at 4 p.m. at the York Public Library, and the Board of Selectmen may be appointing new members to serve on the committee at its meeting on June 25.
Rozanna Patane, who has served as a community volunteer on the committee since its creation, said she was encouraged by the dialogue at the most recent meeting and the possibilities in the Burns proposal.
"The committee seemed to agree that it's a good idea," she said after the meeting, adding, "I would want to see a way to ensure that individual homeowners are assured a chance at these along with developers so a big project or two wouldn't crowd out opportunities for an affordable home here and there on individual lots."
In concept, she said, it seems that most of the committee members are interested in the plan.
"As I see it, it accomplishes several things," Patane said. "By keeping the total cap at about the same number it would have been anyway by state law, it addresses the concerns for keeping growth to a manageable number."
Under the plan, which allows only a one-for-one permit provision with up to 14 affordable units per year, Patane said it will make it possible to encourage building affordable homes without significantly increasing the town's overall growth - something voters have indicated they do not want to happen each year that the growth ordinance has passed at the polls. The selectmen are also considering a rollover provision for affordable units not used within a given calendar year to allow for larger scale projects, such as those created on York Street and Long Sands Road by the York Housing Authority.
"It isn't a mandate imposed on anyone, it's a flexible market tool that can provide good results for everyone involved - the developer or homeowner, the family that buys or rents the affordable unit, and the town, because it would help us meet the state requirement as well as add a valuable asset to our community by taking some of the pressure off the scarcity of affordable housing for working families in York," Patane said after reviewing the plan. "Jumping to the head of the line to get a growth permit saves a developer or individual time and money, thus reducing the cost of the affordable home."
As Burns explained to the selectmen earlier this month, in cases where an individual or developer is not interested in building a market-rate home, that permit could then be sold, helping to further offset the cost of building an affordable unit.
"It could encourage mixed developments of market-rate alongside affordable units, thereby integrating the affordable homes in neighborhoods," Patane said.
And while both the committee and the Board of Selectmen will be looking more closely at the draft plan, the committee is also continuing to delve into the issues of density and the price of land in York in attempting to meet the need for affordable and workforce housing in town.
Toward those ends, Patane prepared a list of highlights of what other communities have done to address the need.
The factors to success in providing such housing options in other areas, she noted, have included density bonuses, melding preservation initiatives with housing projects, public-private collaborations and finding ways to address the cost of land, including using town-owned parcels or offering tax incentives and mixing affordable and market-rate units in well-planned development projects.
As Patane put, "Nobody has it perfect - everyone is struggling with a difficult issue (and) flexibility is key."
Anyone interested in serving on the Affordable and Workforce Housing Committee, or on any other of the many voluntary town boards currently in need of members, may learn more by visiting http://www.yorkmaine.org/ or calling 363-1000.
