Pingree housing plan calls for homebuyer incentives, more trade training
Help for first-time home buyers, more training for building trades, and tax credits for lumber companies are among plans for gubernatorial candidate
Hannah Pingree was in Deer Isle for her listening tour on housing. Photo by Steele Hays.
By Steele Hays
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree brought her statewide listening tour on housing issues to Deer Isle Oct. 10 and said that if Maine does not improve the affordability and supply of housing, then “a lot of the other things we want”–such as good schools, a healthy economy and a high quality of life–“are not going to be possible.”
Pingree proposes more state funding for workforce housing initiatives, more robust financial support for first-time home buyers, increased training programs for young people seeking construction trade careers, and tax credits for lumber companies supplying building materials for affordable housing, Pingree said.
“People want to move to Maine, but they can’t afford to. Prices have doubled since 2020. Our island schools are shrinking and one of the reasons for that is the cost of housing,” she said.
Pingree stressed her connections to Deer Isle and her understanding of the housing challenges island and coastal communities face. She represented Deer Isle in the state legislature from 2003 to 201. She lives on North Haven with her husband and two children, who accompanied her at the event.
A particular challenge for coastal Maine communities is the high proportion of homes that are seasonal homes or short-term rental units, which are not available to house year-round residents, she said. An estimated 38 percent of residences in Deer Isle and Stonington are in those categories, according to Island Workforce Housing, more than twice as high as the state average of 16 percent.
The crowd of approximately 50 attendees included local leaders and affordable housing supporters, including Linda Nelson, Stonington’s economic and community development director; Pam Dewell, executive director of Island Workforce Housing; Sue Buxton, board chair of Island Workforce Housing; State Representative Holly Eaton; and Kathleen Billings, Stonington town manager and board member of HomePort, the nonprofit group that is redeveloping the former Island Nursing Home into 23 affordable housing units.
Pingree said the state needs more bipartisan cooperation. Photo by Steele Hays.
Nelson said that in recent years many Deer Isle lobstermen had been forced to move off the island to find affordable housing and now had long commutes to reach their boats.
“We need fishermen to be able to live close to their boats again,” Nelson said.
Pingree said her experience over the last six years leading the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) had given her a deep understanding of Maine’s housing problems and insights into potential solutions. Under Pingree, GOPIF advocated for increased state investment in housing, which led to Governor Janet Mills and the Legislature agreeing to allocate more than $285 million to support home construction for low and middle-income residents, and launching the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program to support affordable housing development in rural areas. Pingree and GOPIF also successfully proposed that Maine enact legislation allowing the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) on residential lots. Often called “in-law suites” or “granny flats,” ADU’s are smaller living areas built into or adjacent to primary homes for occupancy by relatives of the primary homeowners. More than 1.4 million ADU’s have been built nationally.
“We did big things in a bipartisan way,” Pingree said. “We did a lot but we need to do more.”
The event was held at Loring and Claudette Kydd’s Evergreen Farm. Earlier in the day, Pingree met with local housing leaders in Ellsworth. Previous stops on the housing tour have included Bangor, Kittery, Auburn and Dover-Foxcroft.
