HANCOCK COUNTY COALITION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING GROUPS

Summary of Meeting

September 10, 2009

Persons Attending:  

Tim King and David Struck, Washington Hancock Community Agency;  Jon Hopkins, Brooklin Affordable Housing Group; Anne Krieg, town of Bar Harbor; Tom Martin, Hancock County Planning Commission; Marissa Hutchinson, Deer Isle Island Community Housing; Stephen Mooers and Lucille Averill, Penquis CAP; Alyson Mayo, Cranberry Isles Realty Trust and Island Housing Trust; and Elena Scotti, Harbor House (Southwest Harbor).

Main Points Discussed: 

Brooklin: The group is working on finalizing fiscal sponsorship arrangements.  It has one town-owned parcel already and is looking for additional parcels of land. It needs to assure that the affordability covenants are workable.  It wants to recruit younger families.  There have been many layoffs in the boat yards, which has slowed demand.  It wants to build energy efficient units and is looking at modular units.  Its goal is to build one to three units three-bedroom units in the next year and a total of ten houses in the next five years.  It needs to raise $50,000 to $60,000 in funds per unit to close the gap between the cost of the units and an affordable price to buyers.

WHCA: It is building duplexes in the Machias subdivision.  Overall, it is experimenting with the self-help model that involves sweat equity.  This involves families in the development working on each other’s homes.

Penquis CAP:   Windward Estates in Searsport started in 2002 when the agency built 16 units of tax credit, rental affordable housing and had excess land that it could use for home purchase opportunities.  These projects are hard to undertake unless the town is really interested and supports the project.  While the agency had initially purchased 39 acres, it needed to buy another five acres.  The land was served by public water and sewer.  The units were aimed at the work force housing market (such as school teachers and police officers), most of whom would earn under $45,000 a year.

The planning board required that an interior road be built to serve the subdivision.  The road is approximately 1,700 linear feet long and cost about $700,000.  The costs include water and sewer lines and an underground pumping station.  With 39 units, it was the largest subdivision ever approved in Searsport.  The pre-development costs exclusive of land were about $100,000.  

They debated whether to use modular units or stick-built homes.  They chose high R-value modular units that were purchased directly from the manufacturer.  Modular units were deemed more expedient.   Stick built homes cost about $20,000 more for a 1,200 square foot unit than a modular unit.    Penquis saved money by buying several dwellings at once.

 Funding sources included a MSHA forgivable loan.  It also used a CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) Housing Assistance Grant to reduce the cost to the buyer by $25,000. When the house is sold, the $25,000 will be returned to the town for use in other housing purposes.  Ten percent of homes sold at market rates, the rest were sold to LMI (Low to Moderate Income) households.  There was also some USDA Rural Development funding,  The lowest monthly PITI (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) payment was $518  Six families qualified for RD.  Tax increment financing was not used.  They also worked with private sector bankers for part of the financing package.

Steve and Lucille stressed that building affordable housing is all about relationships.  One must have a constructive relationship with neighbors and abutters.  NIMBY issues always come up.    It is also important to have good relationships with the various lending organizations. Penquis has a line of credit, which it pays down when selling properties it has developed. They quipped that one should try to sell the last house first.  If you have ten units to sell, you should have 20 pre-qualified people since some will be ruled out as the qualifying process moves forward.   Single mothers prevail as successful clients.  

Hancock County Planning Commission:  HCPC can assist towns through the CDBG program.   All applications require town sponsorship.   The planning grant program can be used to formulate a housing needs strategy.  The Housing Assistance Grant can be used to rehabilitate substandard housing. HCPC is presently working with WHCA on a multi-jurisdictional well and septic system replacement grant.  The Public Infrastructure Grant program can be used to connect homes to water and sewer lines.

Deer Isle Community Housing:  It is looking at rental options. The Island Heritage Trust is reviewing the land it owns to determine which parcels are best suited for housing and which are best for conservation. It recently received funds for a staff person.

Cranberry Isles Realty Trust:  It is presently looking to buy one existing house and it has a purchase and sales agreement on that property..  A Realtor offered to donate her commission.  The group is trying to bridge the gap between what the couple can afford and the dwelling’s cost.  It is working on the affordability covenants.   It wants to limit building improvements that are allowed.   CIRT would have right of first refusal.  No government strings are attached.   CIRT has 501 c (3) status.

Island Housing Trust:  Ripples Hill is being developed. It will consist of a total of 19 houses if both phases are built.  The Sabah Woods development is also proceeding. It will have a total of four units.  The first unit is selling for $195,000. 

Discussion:  There was a question on how the number of houses on the market is affecting demand.  Tom Martin urged people to attend the annual Governor’s Affordable Housing Conference at the Augusta Civic Center on October 19.  See: http://www.mainehousing.org/NEWSHousingConf.aspx

Harbor House:  It  may develop rental housing on site that already has water, sewer and a slab.