It’s with a tinge of irony that I write my first column in this new iteration of The Times Record about change. Accepting change is perhaps the most meaningful conversation we can have right now, and to be honest, it isn’t going well on all fronts. For all the positive strides our communities are taking with inclusion efforts and welcoming New Mainers both from abroad and from other parts of the United States to our corners of the Midcoast, there is also a resistance to change percolating in a very unproductive way. When I say that, I’m not referring to the resistance to New Mainers by a handful of vocal, local opponents of migration, but rather I’m referring to the things we agree on in principle but oppose in reality.

Here’s a great example: housing. We all see the need for more affordable housing, including lower rents, more rental properties, a diversity of housing on the market (meaning single-family homes, condos, apartments, duplexes, etc.), more affordable mortgages and more entry-level housing. We all know that the current levels are not sustainable. We know the current pricing is unsustainable for a growing region. We can’t continue to grow businesses and recruit employees if they have no place to live. People love to retire here, so fewer people who work locally move away in their retirement years (which is great); but in other communities, those people retire elsewhere, and then their home opens up for the new recruit who will work in those companies, and that’s not the case here.

We all agree this needs to get fixed.

However, when new housing goes up people say, “What happened to the trees?” Or they say, “I used to love to walk my dog in that field,” or “We don’t need a multi-family unit in our part of town — think of all the traffic it will cause.” Or even, “There’s land across town that would be perfect for a housing development — not here, though. It will hurt my property value.”

Which is it? Do we want housing or not? We agree in principle on the overwhelming need and recognize the new housing means more people on the tax rolls, which, in theory, means more properties to split the tax bill with and more employees living here to work in the businesses that we rely on for our products and services. However, if it impedes us in any way, some people are against it. Are people actually saying, “I want progress, so long as I don’t have to see it, hear the noise from it, deal with more traffic because of it or cut down a tree to make way for it?”

Keep in mind, housing is just one example of an issue, but let’s stick with it as an example. Over the past six months, I’ve been meeting with the unbelievable analysts and staff from the Midcoast Economic Development Department and Midcoast Council of Governments, along with a dozen or so leaders from our coastal communities to discuss housing specifically. After analyzing several different studies of housing in our region, including short-term rental policies, age of housing stock, affordability by community and much more, we’ve begun to formulate some initial ideas on best practices that we could present in the months ahead. However, the first conversation we need to have is with the citizens of the communities and town councilors to make them see that change is not a bad thing. It’s inevitable and it’s hard, but it’s necessary because the systems currently in place are not sustainable.

We need to stop looking six months or a year down the road and begin to look at where we want our region to be in 20 and 30 years. From there, we need to backtrack to put in place the action steps that need to happen to get there.

All of this will take investments of two precious commodities: money and time. Money is hard to come by as no one wants their taxes to increase and businesses don’t want additional tax burden; however, this change will require money. In terms of time, that’s just as hard to come by, as those most equipped to solve these issues are some of our busiest people.

It’s not fair to ask for either of these commodities from overstressed folks, but if we don’t, if we ignore these issues and push them down the road to others, then we are no better then those who pushed them down the road to us (which in many cases were younger versions of ourselves). What’s more, if we don’t start making the adjustments now, we are adding additional burdens to future generations because we don’t want to be inconvenienced.

My father passed away at 56 years old, and as I get closer to that age over the next decade, I think, considering my legacy and what I leave behind for my boys and their generation, it will weigh on me even more. I want to be remembered as someone who stepped up and tried to make everything better for those around me and for those that come after me. I’ll take the inconvenience of more traffic, construction noise or a view once unencumbered but now filled with families and community members living their own fruitful lives.

It’s going to take all of us giving a little bit, and that’s not easy. My family feels the same weight of housing costs, inflation, child care costs, limited transportation, health care costs and all of these other societal pressures. It’s not easy to raise a family right now — but it’s worth it. And as I do raise a family here, I want to make all the changes I can to make this the best place they can live. I hope when it comes time for you to make that decision that you’re willing to invest in the necessary action steps, too.

Cory King is the executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber.

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