Low-income housing is designed to provide for those primarily receiving Social Security Disability. Our low-income housing system does many amazing things, but providing housing for the working/middle class is not one of them. A starting single teacher may qualify to live in local low-income housing for a short while, until they are over income due to raises, summer jobs or marriage.
Nothing about L.D. 2003 provides “low-income housing.” There are no housing subsidies or income qualifications.
L.D. 2003 allows a modest increase in privately owned duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes rented at market rates. These economically and functionally target the working and middle classes (not low-income). It’s housing a teacher, tradesperson, young family, farm worker, police officer or a fixed-income retired resident could live in long-term. It’s exactly the type of housing resident surveys and council members of every stripe in Cape Elizabeth have expressed consensus about developing in our town.
Accessory dwelling units up to 1,100 square feet fulfill a similar demographic purpose. In-law apartments provide housing for loved ones. Smaller ADUs cut out the young families and aged we want to keep in our community in favor of offices.
Modest increase of multifamily and 1,100-square-foot ADUs allow market capitalism to drive increased working/middle class housing. If these policies are scrapped by the new Town Council, we are left with heavily tax-subsidized low-income housing that can’t meet the working-class needs nearly as effectively or affordably. Please ask the Cape Elizabeth Town Council to not discard these vital policies by keeping L.D. 2003 as is.
Jennifer Bodenrader
Cape Elizabeth
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