YORK - The Board of Selectmen is considering donating a piece of town-owned land to Habitat for Humanity for a York County family that would not otherwise be able to own a home.
However, property owners on Hemlock Avenue, the private road where the land is located, do not believe the plan is a good idea.
When the Board of Selectmen met on June 9, a portion of the meeting was devoted to an explanation by Habitat for Humanity York County President Rich Parsons on the organization and how it works.
That presentation came in response to earlier concerns raised by Hemlock Avenue neighbors who questioned the use of the tax-acquired property to build an affordable home. Issues they raised included whether the house would lower their property values and why the town would consider donating land on a road that is privately-maintained without improved road maintenance.
Selectmen explained that a road such as Hemlock Avenue would need to be brought up to the town's public road standards before the town could vote to accept it and any town crew could maintain it.
Vice Chairman David Marshall told the property owners it would be a violation of state law for the town to do any work on that road because it is private property. The town, he said, is merely a property owner on the road, not the owner of the road itself.
The Hemlock Avenue lot was one many properties approved by voters to be disposed of by the selectmen in 2006. Some of the properties are being sold to acquire funds for future building projects, but the buildable lot is being considered for an affordable house due to the town's need to provide such housing options.
"I support this lot going to Habitat for Humanity," Marshall said, adding, "It's in our Comp Plan and the voters supported that as well."
In describing the work of Habitat for Humanity of York County, Parsons told the selectmen the group is an all-volunteer organization.
"We are residents of Maine joining together to help other Mainers," he said.
Addressing the concerns of neighbors, Parsons said that a family that receives a Habitat for Humanity home becomes a partner in the building of the house, pays a no-interest mortgage back to Habitat for Humanity to create funding for future projects and pays taxes to the town. Partner families are also required to put in 400 hours of "sweat equity" in building the house, and Parsons said that in the case of a residence on a private road such as Hemlock Avenue, the family would be expected to be a part of the road maintenance funding with their neighbors.
He stressed that Habitat for Humanity's motto says it all: "We are a hand up, not a handout."
Hemlock Avenue property owners continued to voice opposition following the presentation, and the selectmen ultimately agreed not to take a formal vote on the plan until a future meeting to one more chance for public comment before a decision is made.
Later at the same meeting, Chairman Mike Estes and Selectman Ted Little brought up another issue related to affordable housing: revisions to a prior ordinance draft to create a Workforce Affordable Housing Overlay District.
The statement of fact included with the ordinance recommends an overlay district permitting increased density to build "workforce affordable housing" for sale or rent "to working people of moderate income" with York Housing, government entities or nonprofit housing corporations providing dwelling units for rent or purchase. The ordinance lists a maximum number of building permits for the dwellings at 12 per year.
The size of each dwelling unit is listed as no smaller than 500 and no large than 1,500 square feet, with density provisions of 3,000 square feet of minimum land area for each rental unit; 8,000 square feet of minimum land area for purchased units on town water and sewer and 20,000 square feet of land for purchased units serviced by either water or sewer but not both.
Estes noted the ordinance would be limited to the town's growth area and York Housing would qualify all applicants.
The ordinance was met with opposition from Marshall and Selectwoman Kinley Gregg, who stated that while they would support the request for a public hearing and a chance for residents to comment on the plan, they believe the selectmen should allow the Planning Board to continue its work on addressing the town's need for affordable housing.
Gregg raised several concerns, stating the proposed ordinance eliminates the maximum project size and sunset clause included in an earlier draft that the board did not move forward to the voters.
"I think there are significant issues with this one," Marshall agreed. "I think people should pay attention to this."
Cathy Goodwin, the newest member of the Board of Selectmen, likened the opposition to that of the York Beach revitalization efforts.
"It's not enough to say you don't like it," she said, asking those who oppose the plan to provide specific reasons why. "It's tough when you've been working on things like this for a long period of time."
Gregg said the selectmen are sending mixed messages by asking the Planning Board to work on the ordinance and then creating another draft.
"It keeps returning because nothing has been done," Little said of the ordinance, which he worked on with Estes and local resident Jim Gambrill. "Let's get this started."
Estes said he welcomes the public hearing process and the chance to make the ordinance better.
"This is step one of a longer process that needs to be done by the Planning Board," he said, "... hopefully the two of them will meld together and we finally will have something that is good, something that works."
