One of the goals established by the Town Council in February is to “develop a basis for defining an affordable and workforce housing policy.” Regardless of the extent to which individual members support additional housing development in Scarborough, there was unanimous agreement that we should make sure we are fully informed about the market and are intentional about local policies that impact housing availability and costs. Housing is a key piece of the puzzle when we think about how to manage growth and promote economic opportunity in our town.

Action items under the housing goal are:

• Host a workshop to discuss Council thoughts on affordable and workforce housing

• Determine data points and needs, possibly with the help of a housing needs assessment

• Engage the public in a discussion on affordable and workforce housing

• Define clear housing policy objectives for the next 10 years, including goals for the number and types of units

• Refine Scarborough’s Credit Enhancement Agreement (CEA) property tax relief provisions around eligibility and process for affordable housing projects (revisions were approved during the Feb. 19 Council meeting, and could be modified further as the housing goals are fleshed out)

• Create a short-term rental ordinance to align with the Town’s objectives on housing, and to ensure responsible growth

When any group of people with varying perspectives sets out to formulate a strategy around a contentious issue, a critical first step is to ensure that everyone is operating from a common set of facts. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that a lack of housing options is creating hardships for individuals and employers alike. The dearth of attainable housing is routinely cited by employers — including our police and fire departments — as an impediment to the hiring and retention of qualified staff. We as a Council need to supplement those accounts with hard data so we can consider policy options and make informed decisions. That data should include both housing-specific metrics and growth-oriented variables such as school enrollment trends and property tax revenue.

It’s also important to make sure we’re speaking the same language when we talk about housing affordability. What do we mean by “affordable” or “workforce” housing anyway? The widely accepted rule of thumb is that no household should spend more than 30% of its gross income on their mortgage or rent payments. Rental affordability programs like the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit consider a rent affordable if it is at or below 60% of an area’s median annual income, while “workforce” generally refers to housing that’s affordable to people in the 80%-120% range — sometimes called the “missing middle” since that type of housing is increasingly hard to find in the market and there are no federal or state programs subsidizing it.

Once we have the lay of the land and have agreed on definitions, the focus will turn to objectives. How much more housing do we need? How much of it should be rental versus homeownership? What’s the right balance of family and senior housing? Should we further incentivize multifamily housing, accessory dwelling units, or even so-called tiny homes in the interest of promoting a wider range of options? How do we balance housing development with our commitment to protect our natural environment? I’m framing these as questions and not policy declarations since we are just starting this process; while I have my own thoughts on priorities and strategies, I don’t pretend to have all of the answers and am going into this exercise with an open mind.

Local government has only so much direct influence on housing. Variables like broad demographic trends, interest rates and the cost of building materials are obviously beyond our control. But we do have levers we can pull, such as our zoning and building codes, rate of growth ordinance, and financial tools such as CEAs and direct support from the Scarborough Housing Alliance. Before we reach into that toolbox, we will need to make sure we understand the scope of the project in front of us and think carefully about how to approach it. I look forward to tackling that job with my fellow Councilors.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Scarborough Town Council.