BRUNSWICK — In the 15 years since Brunswick created a community action plan to tackle Brunswick’s affordable housing shortage, real estate agent and Town Councilor Jane Millett said she’s seen “a lot of talk but not a lot of action.”
While organizations like the Brunswick Topsham Housing Authority are designed to help people in need, there a high demand for apartments. There are 400 people looking for subsidy vouchers on a waiting list 10-years long.
From July 2017 to September 2018, of the 80 vouchers that were issued, only 50 percent of those “leased up,” due to rising rent prices and housing standards, according to Brunswick Topsham Authority Director John Hodge. This was the worst percentage Hodge has seen in his 21 years with the organization, he said, adding that the number is generally around 90 percent. The housing authority has 400 people with vouchers already out the community and 300 of their own public housing units to rent out to people.
The subsidies are “few and far between,” Hodge said.
“We have a greater demand than we can offer,” Hodge said, speaking at a forum Tuesday at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick.
On average, the subsidies mean that people pay 30 percent of their income on housing and the organization makes up the difference. Brunswick Topsham Housing Authority generally works with people making half the area’s median household income or less, which is around $71,300 in Brunswick. That being said, the median income needed to afford a mid-range home is around $90,000.
“People earning the median income ought to be able to afford a median-priced home,” Hodge said, but “that is not supported” in Brunswick.
Of the people they serve, one third are families (80 percent of which are working families) and the other two-thirds, are the disabled and elderly.
Tuesday’s forum was part of a series on housing vulnerability and homelessness that seeks to take action on a problem that is only getting worse across the region, state and country.
According to forum organizer Mary O’Brien, 45 percent of Mainers cannot afford a $400 emergency expense and struggle to pay their bills. Some of them are people like Kelly Doyle who spoke about living out of her car since late August, searching for a place to live and exhausting her options.
“Ray of hope”
The River Landing housing development in Topsham is an affordable housing unit for the elderly developed by Kevin Bunker’s company in 2014. The 36 units run around $700 to $800 for the average tenant, Bunker said.
The $5.5 million tax credit project, which was built with the help of density bonuses in Topsham’s zoning ordinance, was a “ray of hope” for affordable housing projects. The units fill up quickly, and thus are not a solution to the larger shortage problem.
“There’s always more that can be done,” Bunker said, adding that projects like that rely on community support, having honest conversations about what the impacts of these developments might be.
Millett suggested requiring developers coming before the planning board to include affordable housing within their development with the assurance that it would remain affordable.
The town council is also working on a Property Tax Assistance Program which would establish a property tax and rent rebate program for homeowners 70 years old and older. A public hearing date has been suggested for Dec. 3 and will likely be confirmed at Monday’s town council meeting.
When it comes down to it, “people want a stable place to live,” Millett said, acknowledging that home ownership is not for everyone. With 42 years in real estate, she has seen how costly it can be. For a $240,000 home, with a 5 percent down payment and after taxes are figured in, the average monthly mortgage payment would be $1,640, requiring at least a $56,000 salary. This would be about $26 per hour, far above Maine’s current $10 minimum wage.
With so many looming issues and questions concerning affordable housing, it can seem hard to know how to move forward.
The third and final session will discuss promising practices on Nov. 29 and then moving into 2019 there will also be action groups dedicated to using the information to facilitate change.
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