[yrhasc] Fwd: Housing section revised
JudyP
judyp at tpda.com
Mon Jan 21 15:18:53 EST 2008
They are coming to me in duplicate, too, but I think that is because
I am on both YRHC and YRHASC email lists. Looks like these last few
emails went to both. That could be the reason.
>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.
><http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489>Easy
>ways to stay in shape in the new year.
>
>_______________________________________________
>yrhasc mailing list
>yrhasc at townoflongisland.us
>http://townoflongisland.us/mailman/listinfo/yrhasc_townoflongisland.us
--
Judy Paolini
TPDA
207-871-1813 office
207-329-6153 cell
judyp at tpda.com
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