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<DIV>Hi All, I know we have a full agenda tomorrow nite, but could
you please review this section of the Comp Plan that has been revised at our
request. Thanks, Mark</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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From: cmcduffie@earthlink.net<BR>To: Mlongreene2@aol.com<BR>Sent: 1/13/2008
1:12:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time<BR>Subj: housing section<BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2>Below, for your review, is the current draft of the
housing section. We <BR>are asking Alden to update the valuation amounts
(highest and lowest) <BR>from the recent re-valuation, and we need to have the
answer to the <BR>question I just sent you, but otherwise this is the state of
our work. <BR>Please share it with your committee(s). We welcome your comments
and <BR>criticisms.<BR>Thanks,<BR>Chris<BR><BR>Town of Long Island
Comprehensive Plan<BR>Housing<BR>1/13/08 DRAFT<BR><BR>A thorough inventory of
housing was accomplished in the fall of 2006 by <BR>using real estate tax
maps, other Town records and walking/driving <BR>through all neighborhoods.
Present housing on Long Island includes:<BR>
Last Plan (Fall 1993)
Fall 2006<BR> Types
Numbers
Numbers<BR>Single family frame dwellings 308
308 dwelling units 362 362
<BR>dwelling units<BR>Two family frame dwellings
4 8 dwelling units
2 4 <BR>dwelling
units<BR>Three family dwellings
1 3 dwelling units
0 0 <BR>dwelling units<BR>Mobile homes
3
3 dwelling units 1
1 dwelling unit<BR> Total
322 dwelling units
367 dwelling units<BR><BR> Use<BR>In winter
use 80
97<BR>Seasonal use
242
270<BR> Total
322 dwelling units 367
dwelling units<BR><BR> Age<BR>Under 25 yrs. old
42
80<BR>Over 25 yrs. old
280
287<BR> Total
322 dwelling units
367 dwelling units<BR><BR>As of the fall of 2006 there were
known to be on the market: 5 winter <BR>and 2 seasonal
dwellings<BR><BR>Existing Housing<BR><BR>Almost all frame dwellings are free
standing single-family homes. There <BR>are only 3 exceptions. Most dwellings,
with a few exceptions of long <BR>unoccupied structures, are in moderate to
good repair. House lots range <BR>in size from 1750 sq. ft. to 698,688 sq. ft.
Valuations for property <BR>tax purposes range from $15,560 to $612,980. Homes
are served by <BR>private wells and septic systems. There is no municipal
water supply <BR>servicing Long Island. Housing development possibilities are
limited by <BR>our ground water resources and the ability of our soils to
handle our <BR>septic wastes.<BR><BR>Recent Development<BR><BR>Since the last
Comprehensive Plan a \u201cbulge\u201d in home building resulted <BR>from one
subdivision, done by Northland in the 1990s at the Tank Farm <BR>location
involved 27 lots with deed restrictions which do not allow <BR>further
subdivision of these lots. These lots range from 1.1 acre to <BR>4.25 acres.
Some of these 27 lots are zoned for business. Although many <BR>homes have
been built since the last Comprehensive Plan, 111 surveys <BR>thought this
rate of growth was "too fast", while 110 thought it was <BR>'just right",
while 4 thought it was "too slow". Questions of water and <BR>sewage disposal
may limit future housing development even though there <BR>is sufficient
undeveloped land. The strongest response to any of the <BR>questions on the
Plan Questionnaire was to the question: "Should Long <BR>Island take steps to
retain its rural character?" The answers were 213 <BR>-yes, 17 -no, and 3- no
opinion.<BR><BR>Two modifications in the zoning ordinance which were adopted
at the <BR>Town Meeting in 2007 may result in more housing units. One is
<BR>permitting, as a conditional use in the three zones IR-1, IR-2 and IB
<BR>where single family residential use has been permitted , \u201caccessory
<BR>dwelling units\u201d which are \u201cto provide enhanced opportunities to
<BR>accommodate housing for family/relative members while protecting the
<BR>single -family character of existing residential neighborhoods\u201d. They
<BR>must be \u201cprimarily accessed through the existing living area of the
<BR>primary structure\u201d, designed to be \u201csubordinate in scale and mass\u201d,
<BR>have at least 500 sq. ft. and not exceed 50% of the floor area of the
<BR>main dwelling unit, and the septic system must meet the standards of
<BR>the Maine Plumbing Code for the number of bedrooms proposed. It is
<BR>thought that such accessory dwelling units might help address some of
<BR>the needs of older residents who need some in-home assistance.<BR><BR>The
second ordinance change would allow multi-family dwellings as a
<BR>conditional use in the I-B Island Business Zone. A multi-family
<BR>dwelling is defined as a \u201cdetached building used exclusively for the
<BR>residential occupancy by two (2) or more families and containing two
<BR>(2) or more dwelling units.\u201d The septic system must be certified by
a <BR>licensed Site Plan Evaluator that it meets the standards of the Maine
<BR>Plumbing Code for proposed multi-unit dwelling.<BR><BR>Although the
\u201cbulge\u201d resulting from the Northland lot development may <BR>be over, these
new ordinances may create a new spurt of building.<BR><BR>Seasonal vs Year
Round Occupancy<BR><BR>Long Island has a large seasonal population. Of the 367
dwelling units, <BR>270 are used seasonally and 97 are occupied year round.
Both categories <BR>have grown since the last Comprehensive Plan, but the
proportion of <BR>three-quarters of the dwelling units on Long Island being
seasonal has <BR>remained nearly the same. Some seasonal cottages have been,
and are <BR>being, converted for winter use. Some new homes have been built to
<BR>accommodate year round use, but are being occupied seasonally. Some
<BR>folks, who may or may not have been seasonal residents of Long Island
<BR>during their working lives, are retiring to become year round residents
<BR>on the island. Some year round island residents are retiring and
<BR>becoming seasonal island residents as they spend a long winter season
<BR>in warmer climates, often changing their legal residence when they do
<BR>so because of more favorable tax laws in other states.<BR><BR>Affordable
Housing<BR><BR>The high cost of land, of constructing a proper septic system
and of <BR>drilling a well inhibits the building of new low cost homes as does
the <BR>higher cost of construction itself due to transportation costs from
the <BR>mainland to the island of materials and also labor, particularly if
<BR>off-island contractors are used. Manufactured, or modular, housing with
<BR>the component parts brought to the island on a barge, has been one
<BR>answer for some families to help reduce the cost of new construction.
<BR>Because many of the seasonal-to-winter conversions have been
<BR>accomplished by the homeowners themselves over a period of years with
<BR>frugally purchased materials and using their own labor, the process of
<BR>renovation has made them quite "affordable".<BR><BR>In response to concern
expressed about attracting and keeping young <BR>year-round families on the
island a Year Round Housing Committee has <BR>been very active for the past
year and a half, working to devise a way <BR>to create new housing for year
round residents. We enjoy the vigor <BR>young families add to the island
population, and we appreciate, and <BR>very much need, their participation in
the many volunteer activities <BR>that keep this island functioning on a year
round basis.<BR><BR>In the early part of 2007 two surveys prepared by the Year
Round <BR>Housing Committee were sent. One survey was sent to individual
<BR>residents (one per individual resident 18 years or older) and a
<BR>different survey was sent to seasonal households (one per household).
<BR>Of 182 surveys sent to individual residents 81 were returned. Of 200
<BR>surveys sent to seasonal households 126 were returned. Although the
<BR>body of the two surveys were different, the last two questions were
<BR>asked to both surveyed groups as follows:<BR><BR>QUESTIONS ASKED:<BR>\u201cThe
Year Round Housing Committee is researching a proposal to build a
<BR>single-family, year-round rental house on town land. As conceived, it
<BR>would be funded primarily through grant money, low interest loans, and
<BR>would be owned and managed by a non-profit entity separate from the
<BR>Town government.<BR><BR>Do you think the YRHC should proceed with studying
this starter <BR>project? ___Yes ___No<BR>Do you think the YRHC should proceed
with a different project?___Yes <BR>___No<BR><BR>RESPONSES from each
group:<BR>Seasonal resident households responded:<BR>Do you think the YRHC
should proceed with studying this starter <BR>project? Yes: 77 (61%) and No:
34 (27%)<BR>Do you think the YRHC should proceed with a different project?
Yes: 23 <BR>(18%) and No: 42 (33%)<BR><BR>Year round individual residents
responded:<BR>Do you think the YRHC should proceed with studying this starter
<BR>project? Yes: 41 (65%) and No: 16 (25%)<BR>Do you think the YRHC should
proceed with a different project? Yes: 20 <BR>(32%) and No: 19
(30%)<BR><BR>The proposal of the Year Round Housing Committee has evolved
since the <BR>survey to propose, instead of rental housing, that the town
lease lots <BR>of town owned land for houses to be built by year round
residents. This <BR>honors the reluctance shown in the Comprehensive Plan
survey to the <BR>town spending money for low cost housing, because this
current proposal <BR>would generate the same annual income for the town (in
the form of rent <BR>for the land) as if taxes were being paid, while
restricting the <BR>housing for year round use. The 2007 Town Meeting agreed
to allow the <BR>long term lease of four town owned lots for individual
owner-built year <BR>round houses. The Year Round Housing Committee continues
to work to <BR>develop the criteria and protocols for this creative
effort.<BR><BR>Housing Policy<BR><BR>1. It is the policy of the Town of
Long Island to treat manufactured <BR>housing the same as stick built
housing.<BR><BR>2. It is the policy of the Town of Long Island to take
steps to make <BR>it possible and desirable for young families to locate and
remain here.<BR><BR>3. It is the policy of the Town of Long Island to
seek to achieve at <BR>least 10% of all housing built or placed during the
next decade be <BR>affordable.<BR><BR>Housing Policy Implementation
Strategy<BR><BR>The Year Round Housing Committee will continue its work to
provide <BR>affordable year round housing on Long
Island.<BR><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Start the year off right. <A title="http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489" href="http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489" target="_blank">Easy ways to stay in shape</A> in the new year. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>