HOUSING

	OUR VISION
	We envision a regional community that maintains an adequate variety of housing, so that all citizens can afford to live and work within our towns.

	GOALS
	The KEYS region will embrace a diverse housing stock as necessary to maintaining a healthy economy and will work to achieve an adequate inventory of quality housing for working families and seniors of modest means. KEYS region communities will work to ensure that local regulations, including growth control measures, do not create barriers to the creation of workforce housing. KEYS region communities will plan for adequate transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure in order to accommodate housing. KEYS regions communities will actively seek alternative funding sources for the creation of workforce housing. KEYS region communities will balance conservation with the need for workforce housing; explore creation of a community land trust, in collaboration with conservation land trusts.

next steps

a. Conduct additional forums

b. Public education, using success stories and visuals

c. Work with interested towns to adopt workforce housing ordinances

REGIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Creation of Workforce Housing Coalition (2001)
Housing Partnership increases KEYS affordable and workforce housing by 85 units in Kittery and South Berwick (1996-2005)
S. Berwick affordable housing, integrated into downtown (2000)
Increase in newspaper coverage of affordable/workforce housing issues (currently)
United Way of the Greater Seacoast Strategic Impact Funding (2006-2009)

IT'S ALL CONNECTED

Housing connects to the economy and child well-being: when workers have to travel distances to affordable housing, commuting costs and times increase, leading to longer childcare hours (increased costs) or older children being home alone more hours. The longer commuting time also increases air pollution, unless public transportation is available.

Resources

Seacoast Workforce Housing Coalition www.seacoastwhc.org
Maine State Housing Authority www.mainehousing.org/
GrowSmart Maine www.growsmartmaine.org/

More Resources

South Berwick Affordable Housing

Community Indicators

Percentage of Income spent on housing

• 1,345 KEYS homeowners pay at least 30% of their income for housing costs (23.3% of York homeowners are in this category).

Percent of home-owning households with housing costs at least 30%of income (Census 2000)

Housing Prices

(See "Read more" link below for a comparison of income increases to housing price increases.)

Median value owner-occupied housing units (Census 2000)

citizens say...

"... keep our communities diversified and affordable."
--Participant comment, Our Future By Design Community Forum, Sept. 29, 2005

Link to all citizen comments about housing.