Sanford Building Boom Still Not Enough

Photo: Government of Prince Edward Island

By Lee Burnett, Submissions Editor

Even as new homes are increasing faster than ever, city leaders are looking at ways to boost production. Two forums held last week addressed the housing shortage, particularly the housing that people of average means can afford.

The City Council held a housing workshop Sept. 24 that highlighted the gravity and complexity of the crisis. The next evening, the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee heard similar presentations and also considered how zoning and ordinance incentives might ease the shortage.

According to Dan Coyne, the chief of impact and governance officer at United Way of York County those traditional measures don’t begin to capture the financial burden of current housing costs. The federal government defines financial hardship by the poverty level, which in York County is nine percent. He explained that a far more accurate measure is Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE), which encompasses an additional 31 percent of households in York County. The ALICE numbers in Sanford are even higher than the York County average. “Forty eight percent of Sanford households struggle paycheck to paycheck,” Coyne said.

A message that came through loud and clear on both nights was that solving the housing crisis requires a comprehensive approach that addresses not only the spectrum of housing types but is also integrated with strategies to improve workforce development, economic development, child-care, roads and parks. City Manager Steven Buck described it as an “interconnected conundrum,” but he also asserted the primacy of housing. Without adequate housing, vacant jobs go unfilled, businesses can’t expand and the entire local economy suffers.

“I used to think housing was a critical component,” Buck told the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. “Someone in this room has convinced me that housing is key to everything.”

The problem has been building for years as the rate of new housing has fallen while demand has been rising. Labor and material shortages have slowed new construction, which has been compounded by an aging housing stock leaving some homes uninhabitable or undesirable. Meanwhile, immigration since Covid by people who earn $10,000 more than the median has increased competition and a high number of seasonal homes.

Town Planner Erin Moriarty called it “historic under-production” and said it amounts to a shortage of 3.8 million homes nationwide. The regional vacancy rate of 2.3 percent is less than half of the 5 percent that is considered a healthy rate, she said.

Widely differing projections were offered for how much new housing Sanford needs to support a healthy economy. RKG, the city’s market research consultants, has estimated that population trends indicate Sanford will need 717 new housing units by 2040. However, Moriarty has extrapolated from state forecasting models to estimate that Sanford may need 1,750 new housing units by 2030. “We’re looking at a hell of a lot more than 700,” said Moriarty.

Sanford Planning Director Jamie Cole pointed out the current pace of new housing construction is far behind either housing projection. 127 occupancy permits issued so far this year is higher than the 122 in all of 2023, but the rate needs to be two or three times higher to meet projections.

The current movement in planning circles is to allow greater housing density in core urban areas. “Two such housing development incentives are already in place, although results may take a while to see,” Moriarty said. Construction of so-called “mother-in-law” apartments, also known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs, are allowed throughout the city. In addition, four-unit multi-family units are allowed in the city’s zoned growth area. That change, mandated by state law, increases from 8 to 13 percent the land area in Sanford where multi-family apartment buildings may be built.

According to Moriarty, one reason for the delay effect is the city ordinances are opaque to the lay person. Under current rules, developers have “carte blanche” to build pretty much anything they want in the growth area, though it takes an expert reader of ordinances to grasp that. She said additional incentives that increase housing density in the core, are probably warranted. “By all accounts building is going gangbusters. We’re building as fast as we can, but we’re still not hitting the numbers the state thinks we need to support a mediocre slash thriving economy,” she said.

Public Works Director Matt Hill told the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee that what is needed to ramp up housing production is the same level of commitment and political support that resulted in the city securing a $25 million federal grant to rebuild downtown infrastructure. The successful RAISE grant campaign began years earlier with a conscious decision by city leaders to prioritize the downtown revitalization. It included building grassroots support and developing partnerships with state and federal agencies. “Through this process, we need to develop that same type of support for housing. Target where we want it, be good partners and invite others in,” he said.

Eliminating a requirement to build sidewalks in new subdivisions was discussed as a potential incentive to developers, although there was strong push back on that suggestion. Planning Board Member Jack McAdam said he doesn’t see the wisdom of requiring subdivision developers to construct “sidewalks to nowhere” that don’t connect to other sidewalks. City Manager Buck pointed out that the hundreds of units of housing in the Patriot Place area were allowed to be constructed without sidewalks and now there is pressure on the city to build them at taxpayer expense. Buck said, “Patriots Lane was a sidewalk to nowhere, at one point in time. It’s not anymore.”