HANCOCK COUNTY COALITION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING GROUPS
Summary of Meeting
March 5, 2009
Persons Attending: Jon Hopkins, Hendrik Gideonse, Tom Morris, Peter Sly and Lauren Reiter, Brooklin Community Housing, Inc.; Terry Kelley, Ellsworth-MDI Housing Authority; David Struck, Washington Hancock Community Agency; Tom Martin. Hancock County Planning Commission; Jen Boothroyd, Eastern Maine Development Corporation; Jimmy Goodson, Hancock County Habitat for Humanity; Alison Mayo, Cranberry Isles Realty Trust and Island Housing Trust.
Main Points Discussed: Each organization contributed to the round table discussion.
Washington Hancock Community Agency: The agency’s affordable housing subdivision in Machias is on hold due to changing market conditions and competition for lower priced housing from private sector developers. The agency is expecting an influx of federal funds to make energy efficiency improvements to homes occupied by income-qualifying households.
Ellsworth-MDI Housing Authority: The units in the Northeast Creek development follow LEED standards but have not undergone formal LEED certification since that would add $10.000 to $20,000 to total costs. The houses are selling at a base price of $170,000 and are designed to have annual heating costs of $500. Of the 31 units being built, 24 are designed to be affordable to households earning up to $80,000. There are recapture clauses in the deeds and the land is held by the organization rather than the homeowner.
There have been ongoing challenges in using MSHA programs. The units do not qualify for first-time home buyer financing. The high value of the land, even if not held by the homeowner, put the price over the MSHA threshold. MSHA considers Hancock County part of Northern Maine, which means the price thresholds are lower than the southern part of the state. There were many other bureaucratic hurdles to overcome.
The cost of infrastructure installation has been very costly. There are communal wells and septic systems. To qualify for state assistance the units had to be in a growth zone as designated by the comprehensive plan. It turned out that modular units were not necessarily cheaper than conventional construction.
Brooklin: The Brooklin group has received one parcel of land from the town and is working to address some title issues. So far, it has been unable to get 501.c (3) status since the median household incomes of the target population are too high. It is proceeding one house at a time. Its effort began at a time when the boat yards and other regional employers such as Blue Hill Memorial Hospital needed housing for their employees. Recent and planned layoffs may have affected housing demand.
Cranberry Isles Realty Trust The organization has hired a consultant to prepare a five-year plan. It has had little luck in encouraging affordable housing on Great Cranberry Island (the town’s year-round population is divided between two islands). Its primary focus has been on Islesford. It is negotiating on the purchase of land. It presently has three rental units but has trouble keeping tenants since they must meet income qualifications and the high cost of island living means there are few people who meet these guidelines and can afford to live on the islands
Island Housing Trust: Work continues on the Ripples development. The target income range is 120 percent of median income but there is some discussion of allowing certain buyers at 170 percent of median. The base sales price is $167,000. Potential buyers have trouble understanding the affordability covenants. Both sales to date have been to single parent families.
Eastern Maine Development Corporation: The organization is assembling an affordable housing tool kit. It is planning to organize a stakeholder meeting that it will record and replay at various spots around the six-county region.
Habitat for Humanity: It has two units under construction, one in Otis and the second in Franklin. The Franklin unit will be owned by a Jackson Lab employee. It plans to start on a third one this spring in Ellsworth. It aims to build two to three units a year. The units are sold to households with incomes between 30 and 50 percent of MHI.
The organization relies on home owners to contribute 250 hours of sweat equity. It works with local high schools to build components of the houses. The construction costs are $65.000 per unit. It has adapted a regional variation of the national Habitat model. The units are built to green standards.
Habitat is also working on a proposal for a building materials exchange store. It would accept donations of surplus or unwanted materials from building supply stores as well as quality materials for local demolition projects. Hancock County Planning Commission has limited grant funds to pay for staff time to assist in such ventures.
Bar Harbor: The comprehensive plan calls for 10 to 20 percent of units in new developments to be affordable if other alternatives prove unsuccessful, but this provision has yet to be implemented. There are both ideological and practical obstacles. On the ideological level, there is some resistance to expecting such a contribution from developers. The practical obstacle is how to implement the requirement when most subdivisions are relatively small scale (five to ten units).