Latest news with #TraciGere
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine takes first step toward more accurately tracking efforts to resolve housing crisis
Apr. 22—A proposal to better gauge Maine's progress in addressing its housing crisis won legislative committee approval Tuesday, but without Republican support or a mandate that all municipalities participate. As submitted, LD 1184 would have required all cities and towns to report annual home construction data — including building, demolition and occupancy permits — to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. The data would be overseen and organized into an online portal by the department's Housing Opportunity Program, which promotes residential development that's affordable to low- and moderate-income Mainers. The goal was to more accurately track Maine's progress in building 84,000 new homes within seven years as recommended in a 2023 state report. The Legislature's housing committee voted 6-4 along party lines to advance the bill with several amendments, including one that would limit the participation mandate to municipalities with 4,000 residents or more. Maine has nearly 500 municipalities, and fewer than 90 have a population of 4,000 or more. The committee also added language that would require the department to provide financial assistance to cover 90% of the additional costs municipalities would incur by taking on new duties to comply with the legislation. With that funding, the bill won't need two-thirds approval from both chambers of the Legislature, as required by the state constitution for unfunded mandates. The amendments were offered by Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport, the bill's primary sponsor, to address concerns of some committee members and others who testified that many municipalities don't have the staff or technology to participate in the housing count. Still, four Republicans on the committee rejected the amended legislation, which heads to the House in the coming weeks. "I don't see a world in which I can support this as a mandate," said Rep. Amanda Collamore, R-Pittsfield. Housing advocates pointed out that the 88 municipalities with 4,000 or more residents are responsible for most of the housing production in Maine. In gathering more accurate housing data, Maine would become just the second state in the nation to tackle its housing crisis in a more accountable way. Connecticut began closely tracking home construction and demolition data in recent years. Currently, Maine estimates home production at the state and county levels based on building permit data submitted voluntarily to the U.S. Census Bureau, said Hilary Gove, a Housing Opportunity Program coordinator. Because it's voluntary, many Maine municipalities don't collect or report building permit data to the bureau, resulting in data gaps, Gove said. Supporters of LD 1184 say standardized data collection and reporting is necessary to accurately assess whether Maine succeeds in building 84,000 additional homes, and to address broader barriers to housing production. "We can't track progress toward that (goal) without this data," said Laura Mitchell, executive director of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition. Current home production estimates have been shown to be about 15% higher or lower than actual counts and don't account for housing units that have been lost to demolition or change of use, Mitchell said. The Maine Association of Planners supported the bill but said it wouldn't work as an unfunded mandate to municipalities. Instead, the association suggested directing the Housing Opportunity Program to gather a wide variety of data related to home production from municipalities and other sources and compile it into an annual housing report. "As written, this bill will not produce the desired outcome because most towns and cities simply cannot produce the annual reports proposed," said Eli Rubin, an association leader who is a community planner in South Portland. The Maine Municipal Association opposed LD 1184, saying that many municipalities lack the staff and technology to gather the desired information and the state lacks an adequate database for it, said Rebecca Graham, the MMA's senior legislative advocate. And while the legislation said the cost to municipalities would be "insignificant," Graham said, "the technology needs alone for this new activity to occur would be significant." "This would be a significant expansion of (code enforcement officer) duties in the vast majority of municipalities," Graham said. "Officials ask respectfully that you build the statewide plane before you ask local government to fly it, and if you choose to advance this new obligation, that you commit to paying for it as enthusiastically to match the burden it will create statewide." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to accurately count Maine's home-building progress wins committee support
Apr. 22—A proposal to better gauge Maine's progress in addressing its housing crisis won legislative committee approval Tuesday without Republican support or a mandate that all municipalities participate. As submitted, LD 1184 would have required all cities and towns to report annual home construction data — including building, demolition and occupancy permits — to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. The data would be overseen and organized into an online portal by the department's Housing Opportunity Program, which promotes residential development that's affordable to low- and moderate-income Mainers. The goal was to more accurately track Maine's progress in building 84,000 new homes within seven years as recommended in a 2023 state report. The Legislature's housing committee voted 6-4 along party lines to advance the bill with several amendments, including one that would limit the participation mandate to municipalities with 4,000 residents or more. Maine has nearly 500 municipalities and fewer than 90 have a population of 4,000 or more. The committee also added language that would require the department to provide financial assistance to cover 90% of the additional costs municipalities would incur by taking on new duties to comply with the legislation. With that funding, the bill won't need two-third approval from both houses of the Legislature as required by the state constitution for unfunded mandates. The amendments were offered by Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport, the bill's primary sponsor, to address concerns of some committee members and others who testified that many municipalities don't have the staff or technology to participate in the housing count. Still, four Republicans on the committee rejected the amended legislation, which heads to the House in the coming weeks. "I don't see a world in which I can support this as a mandate," said Rep. Amanda Collamore, R-Pittsfield. Housing advocates pointed out that the 88 municipalities with 4,000 or more residents are responsible for most of the housing production in Maine. In gathering more accurate housing data, Maine would become the second state in the nation to tackle its housing crisis in a more accountable way. Connecticut began closely tracking home construction and demolition data in recent years. Currently, Maine estimates home production at the state and county levels based on building permit data submitted voluntarily to the U.S. Census Bureau, said Hilary Gove, a Housing Opportunity Program coordinator. Because it's voluntary, many Maine municipalities don't collect or report building permit data to the bureau, resulting in data gaps, Gove said. Supporters of LD 1184 say standardized data collection and reporting is necessary to accurately assess whether Maine succeeds in building 84,000 additional homes and to address broader barriers to housing production. "We can't track progress toward that (goal) without this data," said Laura Mitchell, executive director of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition. Current home production estimates have been shown to be about 15% higher or lower than actual counts and don't account for housing units that have been lost to demolition or change of use, Mitchell said. The Maine Association of Planners supported the bill but said it wouldn't work as an unfunded mandate to municipalities. Instead, the association suggested directing the Housing Opportunity Program to gather a wide variety of data related to home production from municipalities and other sources and compile it into an annual housing report. "As written, this bill will not produce the desired outcome because most towns and cities simply cannot produce the annual reports proposed," said Eli Rubin, an association leader who is a community planner in South Portland. The Maine Municipal Association opposed LD 1184, saying that many municipalities lack the staff and technology to gather the desired information and the state lacks an adequate database for it, said Rebecca Graham, the MMA's senior legislative advocate. And while the legislation said the cost to municipalities would be "insignificant," Graham said "the technology needs alone for this new activity to occur would be significant." "This would be a significant expansion of (code enforcement officer) duties in the vast majority of municipalities," Graham said. "Officials ask respectfully that you build the statewide plane before you ask local government to fly it, and if you choose to advance this new obligation, that you commit to paying for it as enthusiastically to match the burden it will create statewide." Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. 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Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill would offer more accurate data on number of homes built in Maine
Apr. 9—When state officials issued a report in late 2023 saying that Maine needed to build 84,000 new homes over the following seven years to accommodate its current and future population, housing advocates knew it would be difficult to accurately track progress toward that goal. That's because Maine, like most states, doesn't have a uniform system to collect home production data that's already available in many city and town offices. Instead, MaineHousing and other agencies rely on construction estimates based on data that some municipalities provide voluntarily to the U.S. Census Bureau. LD 1184 would take some of the guesswork out of fixing Maine's housing crisis by requiring municipalities to report annual home construction data — including building, demolition and occupancy permits — to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. The data would be overseen and organized into an online portal by the department's Housing Opportunity Program, which promotes residential development that's affordable to low- and moderate-income Mainers. In gathering more accurate housing data, Maine would become the second state in the nation to tackle its housing crisis in a more accountable way. Connecticut began closely tracking home construction and demolition data in recent years. LD 1184 would allow Maine to "manage and measure" its progress in promoting home construction, said Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport, the bill's primary sponsor, testifying Tuesday before the Legislature's housing committee. Currently, Maine estimates home production at the state and county levels based on building permit data submitted voluntarily to the Census Bureau, said Hilary Gove, a Housing Opportunity Program coordinator. Because it's voluntary, many Maine municipalities don't collect or report building permit data to the bureau, resulting in data gaps, Gove told the committee. "Relying on this building permit data is not an exact measure of housing production because not all reported building permits for housing units result in completed housing units," Gove said. "By requiring municipalities to collect and report (comprehensive housing data) on an annual basis, we will have a more precise picture of housing production from year to year." Committee member Rep. Amanda Collamore, R-Pittsfield, questioned whether reporting housing data would be mandatory, which would require the bill to get two-thirds House approval, a requirement outlined in the Maine Constitution. Collamore also questioned whether smaller towns would have a difficult time complying with limited staffing and budgets and whether municipalities would be penalized if they didn't participate. Gere said the bill doesn't call for penalties, the reporting form would be designed to not be "burdensome," and sponsors were open to making compliance optional — which prompted committee member Rep. Mark Walker, R-Naples, to question whether optional reporting would diminish the purpose of the legislation. Eamonn Dundon, advocacy director for the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, spoke in favor of the bill, noting the need for accurate home construction data and the success of a pilot program conducted by the Greater Portland Council of Governments. Kristina Egan, executive director of GPCOG, said the pilot program drew voluntary compliance from 26 of 29 communities in Cumberland County and tallied nearly 1,600 new homes in the region in 2024. Moreover, municipal staff who provided housing data said it took one to two hours to fill out the online form. The pilot revealed significant discrepancies in census-based home construction estimates, according to a GPCOG report. While the regional census estimated that 1,392 homes were built in the region last year, the municipalities counted 1,568 homes — an 11% increase, or 176 additional homes. Looking at data for individual communities, the census estimated that 47 homes were built in Cape Elizabeth, while the town counted only 16 homes — a 194% difference, or 31 fewer homes. And the census estimated that three homes were built in Yarmouth, while the town counted 13 homes — a 77% difference, or 10 additional homes. Gove, the state Housing Opportunity Program coordinator, suggested a few bill amendments, including the addition of a yearly deadline of Jan. 31 to submit data. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill would give Maine more accurate home construction data
Apr. 9—When state officials issued a report in late 2023 saying that Maine needed to build 84,000 new homes in the next seven years to accommodate its current and future population, housing advocates knew it would be difficult to accurately track progress toward that goal. That's because Maine, like most states, doesn't have a uniform system to collect home production data that's already available in many city and town offices. Instead, MaineHousing and other agencies rely on construction estimates based on data that some municipalities provide voluntarily to the U.S. Census Bureau. LD 1184 would take some of the guesswork out fixing Maine's housing crisis by requiring municipalities to report annual home construction data — including building, demolition and occupancy permits — to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. The data would be overseen and organized into an online portal by the department's Housing Opportunity Program, which promotes residential development that's affordable to low- and moderate-income Mainers. In gathering more accurate housing data, Maine would become the second state in the nation to tackle its housing crisis by the numbers. Connecticut began closely tracking home construction and demolition data in recent years. LD 1184 would allow Maine to "manage and measure" its progress in promoting home construction, said Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport, the bill's primary sponsor, testifying Tuesday before the Legislature's housing committee. Currently, Maine estimates home production at the state and county levels based on building permit data submitted voluntarily to the Census Bureau, said Hilary Gove, a Housing Opportunity Program coordinator. Because it's voluntary, many Maine municipalities don't collect or report building permit data to the bureau, resulting in data gaps, Gove told the committee. "Relying on this building permit data is not an exact measure of housing production because not all reported building permits for housing units result in completed housing units," Gove said. "By requiring municipalities to collect and report (comprehensive housing data) on an annual basis, we will have a more precise picture of housing production from year to year." Committee member Rep. Amanda Collamore, R-Pittsfield, questioned whether reporting housing data would be mandatory, which would require the bill to get two-thirds House approval. Collamore also questioned whether smaller towns would have a difficult time complying with limited staffing and budgets and whether municipalities would be penalized if they didn't participate. Gere said the bill doesn't call for penalties, the reporting form would be designed to not be "burdensome," and sponsors were open to making compliance optional — which prompted committee member Rep. Mark Walker, R-Naples, to question whether optional reporting would diminish the purpose of the legislation. Eamonn Dundon, advocacy director for the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, spoke in favor of the bill, noting the need for accurate home construction data and the success of a pilot program conducted by the Greater Portland Council of Governments. Kristina Egan, executive director of GPCOG, said the pilot program drew voluntary compliance from 26 of 29 communities in Cumberland County and tallied nearly 1,600 new homes in the region in 2024. Moreover, municipal staff who provided housing data said it took one to two hours to fill out the online form. The pilot revealed significant discrepancies in census-based home construction estimates, according to a GPCOG report. While the regional census estimated that 1,392 homes were built in the region last year, the municipalities counted 1,568 homes — an 11% increase or 176 additional homes. Looking at data for individual communities, the census estimated that 47 homes were built in Cape Elizabeth, while the town counted only 16 homes — a 194% difference or 31 fewer homes. And the census estimated that three homes were built in Yarmouth, while the town counted 13 homes — a 77% difference or 10 additional homes. Gove, the state Housing Opportunity Program coordinator, suggested a few bill amendments, including the addition of a yearly deadline of Jan. 31 to submit data. Copy the Story Link
