[yrhasc] Fwd: Housing section revised
Town of Long Island
townoflongisland at verizon.net
Mon Jan 21 14:58:01 EST 2008
Hi Mark, For some reason e-mails that you have sent to the Housing
Committee, are coming to me in duplicate - Weird!!!
_____
From: yrhasc-bounces at townoflongisland.us
[mailto:yrhasc-bounces at townoflongisland.us] On Behalf Of Mlongreene2 at aol.com
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 2:27 PM
To: housingcommittee at townoflongisland.us
Cc: yrhasc at townoflongisland.us; cmcduffie at earthlink.com
Subject: [yrhasc] Fwd: Housing section revised
Hi All, I know I sent a previous draft of this for your review. This is a
further modified one in response. PLEASE GIVE THIS DRAFT A FINAL REVIEW
ASAP so the Comp. Plan folks can put it to bed.
My personal opinion is that they have done a great job accommodating our
concerns and progress, but further input is welcome. Please reply to Chris
McDuffie, but feel free to copy me if you want. Mark
_____
From: cmcduffie at earthlink.net
To: Mlongreene2 at aol.com
Sent: 1/21/2008 11:45:41 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Housing section revised
Town of Long Island Comprehensive Plan
Housing
1/13/08 DRAFT
A thorough inventory of housing was accomplished in the fall of 2006 by
using real estate tax maps, other Town records and walking/driving
through all neighborhoods. Present housing on Long Island includes:
Last Plan (Fall 1993)
Fall 2006
Types of Dwellings Numbers Numbers
Single family frame dwellings 308 308 dwelling units 362 362
dwelling units
Two family frame dwellings 4 8 dwelling units 2
4
dwelling units
Three family dwellings 1 3 dwelling units 0
0
dwelling units
Mobile homes 3 3 dwelling units 1 1
dwelling unit
Total 322 dwelling units 367 dwelling units
Use of Dwellings
In winter use 80 97
Seasonal use 242 270
Total 322 dwelling units 367 dwelling units
Age of Dwellings
Under 25 yrs. old 42 80
Over 25 yrs. old 280 287
Total 322 dwelling units 367 dwelling units
As of the fall of 2006 there were known to be on the market: 5 winter
and 2 seasonal dwellings
Existing Housing
Almost all frame dwellings are free standing single-family homes. There
are only 3 exceptions. Most dwellings, with a few exceptions of long
unoccupied structures, are in moderate to good repair. House lots range
in size from 1750 sq. ft. to 698,688 sq. ft. Valuations for property
tax purposes range from $15,560 to $612,980. Homes are served by
private wells and septic systems. There is no municipal water supply
servicing Long Island. Housing development possibilities are limited by
our ground water resources and the ability of our soils to handle our
septic wastes.
Recent Development
Since the last Comprehensive Plan a "bulge" in home building resulted
from one subdivision, done by Northland in the 1990s at the Tank Farm
location involved 27 lots with deed restrictions which do not allow
further subdivision of these lots. These lots range from 1.1 acre to
4.25 acres. Some of these 27 lots are zoned for business. Although many
homes have been built since the last Comprehensive Plan, 111 surveys
thought this rate of growth was "too fast", while 110 thought it was
'just right", while 4 thought it was "too slow". Questions of water and
sewage disposal may limit future housing development even though there
is sufficient undeveloped land. The strongest response to any of the
questions on the Plan Questionnaire was to the question: "Should Long
Island take steps to retain its rural character?" The answers were 213
-yes, 17 -no, and 3- no opinion.
Two modifications in the zoning ordinance which were adopted at the
Town Meeting in 2007 may result in more housing units. One is
permitting, as a conditional use in the three zones IR-1, IR-2 and IB
where single family residential use has been permitted , "accessory
dwelling units" which are "to provide enhanced opportunities to
accommodate housing for family/relative members while protecting the
single -family character of existing residential neighborhoods". They
must be "primarily accessed through the existing living area of the
primary structure", designed to be "subordinate in scale and mass",
have at least 500 sq. ft. and not exceed 50% of the floor area of the
main dwelling unit, and the septic system must meet the standards of
the Maine Plumbing Code for the number of bedrooms proposed.
The second ordinance change would allow multi-family dwellings as a
conditional use in the I-B Island Business Zone. A multi-family
dwelling is defined as a "detached building used exclusively for the
residential occupancy by two (2) or more families and containing two
(2) or more dwelling units." The septic system must be certified by a
licensed Site Plan Evaluator that it meets the standards of the Maine
Plumbing Code for proposed multi-unit dwelling.
Although the "bulge" resulting from the Northland lot development may
be over, these new ordinances may create a new spurt of building.
Seasonal vs Year Round Occupancy
Long Island has a large seasonal population. Of the 367 dwelling units,
270 are used seasonally and 97 are occupied year round. Both categories
have grown since the last Comprehensive Plan, but the proportion of
three-quarters of the dwelling units on Long Island being seasonal has
remained nearly the same. Some seasonal cottages have been, and are
being, converted for winter use. Some new homes have been built to
accommodate year round use, but are being occupied seasonally. Some
folks, who may or may not have been seasonal residents of Long Island
during their working lives, are retiring to become year round residents
on the island. Some year round island residents are retiring and
becoming seasonal island residents as they spend a long winter season
in warmer climates, often changing their legal residence when they do
so because of more favorable tax laws in other states.
Senior Housing and Assisted Living
A committee on Long Island has investigated the possibility of
establishing an assisted living facility on Long Island, but because
the committee found that we do not have sufficient numbers of citizens
who would require these services such a project could not be justified,
and this is not being pursued at this time. We have one private home
which provides assisted living to two senior citizens, and there are
private in-home care arrangements when needed, but our community has to
rely on off island services for nursing and assisted living situations.
It is hoped that the new accessory dwelling unit ordinance may help
address some of the needs of older residents who need some in-home
assistance.
Affordable Housing
The high cost of land, of constructing a proper septic system and of
drilling a well inhibits the building of new low cost homes as does the
higher cost of construction itself due to transportation costs from the
mainland to the island of materials and also labor, particularly if
off-island contractors are used. Manufactured, or modular, housing with
the component parts brought to the island on a barge, has been one
answer for some families to help reduce the cost of new construction.
Because many of the seasonal-to-winter conversions have been
accomplished by the homeowners themselves over a period of years with
frugally purchased materials and using their own labor, the process of
renovation has made them in some sense "affordable".
The medium income of Long Island is $35,833 according to the U.S.
Census 2000. The affordability index for Long Island is not available
because there were fewer than 4 home sales on Long (and other small
islands the year it was done - 2005) but if you check the recent
Island Indicators report on the Island Institute website, there is an
affordability index in there for many other islands. An index of
"less than "1" means the area is generally unaffordable - i.e. a
household earning area median income could not cover the payment on a
median priced home (30 year mortgage, taxes, and insurance) using no
more than 28% of gross income." Examples cited from the Casco Bay
islands are Great Diamond Island: 0.20 and Peaks Island, 0.36, and the
statistic from the State of Maine is 0.70. This suggests that the
affordablility on Long may be lower if not worse (than Peaks or Great
Diamond Island) although the substantially lower taxes on Long may help
offset this.We have a low median income in a high priced housing area.
In response to concern expressed about attracting and keeping young
year-round families on the island, a Year Round Housing Committee has
been very active for the past year and a half, working to devise a way
to create new housing for year round residents. We enjoy the vigor
young families add to the island population, and we appreciate, and
very much need, their participation in the many volunteer activities
that keep this island functioning on a year round basis.
In the early part of 2007 two surveys prepared by the Year Round
Housing Committee were sent. One survey was sent to individual
residents (one per individual resident 18 years or older) and a
different survey was sent to seasonal households (one per household).
Of 182 surveys sent to individual residents 81 were returned. Of 200
surveys sent to seasonal households 126 were returned. Although the
body of the two surveys were different, the last two questions were
asked to both surveyed groups as follows:
QUESTIONS ASKED:
"The Year Round Housing Committee is researching a proposal to build a
single-family, year-round rental house on town land. As conceived, it
would be funded primarily through grant money, low interest loans, and
would be owned and managed by a non-profit entity separate from the
Town government.
Do you think the YRHC should proceed with studying this starter
project? ___Yes ___No
Do you think the YRHC should proceed with a different project?___Yes
___No
RESPONSES from each group:
Seasonal resident households responded:
Do you think the YRHC should proceed with studying this starter
project? Yes: 77 (61%) and No: 34 (27%)
Do you think the YRHC should proceed with a different project? Yes: 23
(18%) and No: 42 (33%)
Year round individual residents responded:
Do you think the YRHC should proceed with studying this starter
project? Yes: 41 (65%) and No: 16 (25%)
Do you think the YRHC should proceed with a different project? Yes: 20
(32%) and No: 19 (30%)
The proposal of the Year Round Housing Committee has evolved since the
survey to propose, instead of rental housing, that the town lease lots
of town owned land for houses to be built by year round residents.
This proposal contributes to affordability by removing the cost of land
acquisition from the homeowner's building costs. It also honors the
reluctance shown in the Comprehensive Plan survey to the town spending
money for low cost housing, because this current proposal would
generate the same annual income for the town (in the form of rent for
the land) as if taxes were being paid, while restricting the housing
for year round use. The 2007 Town Meeting agreed to allow the long term
lease of four town owned lots for individual owner-built year round
houses. The Year Round Housing Committee continues to work to develop
the criteria and protocols for this creative effort as well as looking
at other forms of housing initiatives to further broaden the options
for the community in the future.
Housing Policy
1. It is the policy of the Town of Long Island to treat manufactured
housing the same as stick built housing.
2. It is the policy of the Town of Long Island to take steps to make
it possible and desirable for young families to locate and remain here.
3. It is the policy of the Town of Long Island to seek to achieve at
least 10% of all housing built or placed during the next decade be
affordable.
Housing Policy Implementation Strategy
The Year Round Housing Committee will continue its work to provide
affordable year round housing on Long Island.
_____
Start the year off right. Easy
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ways to stay in shape in the new year.
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