12/12: Maine criticizes IRS for reversal over taxing $450 heating aid checks
AUGUSTA, Maine — The administration of Gov. Janet Mills objected Tuesday to a reversal by the Internal Revenue Service that would tax $450 winter energy relief payments issued to Mainers in early 2023. The IRS published guidelines this summer indicating the payments distributed between January and March to more than 880,000 people would not be subject to federal taxes before verbally informing Maine’s tax agency on Dec. 7 that they would be taxable, according to a Tuesday news release from the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services.
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12/13: Portland's rental market is cooling for the 1st time in years
PORTLAND - Landlords in Maine’s largest city report that the rental market is cooling down for the first time in years, with demand lessening for the generally pricey units that are now available.
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12/13: County to host listening session on homelessness in Lakes Region
When you hear about people struggling with homelessness, it’s natural to think of the growing crisis in Portland and other big cities. But a person can experience homelessness or housing insecurity anywhere – including the Lakes Region. We know this to be true; we’ve heard too many examples in our small towns of families living in their cars, seniors seeking emergency support, young people (including students) couch-surfing without a place to call home, and even people here living outside as the frigid Maine winter takes hold.
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12/14: As real estate market cools, MaineHousing programs face steep cuts
State housing officials are warning that a slowing real estate market, and legislative requirements, could diminish revenues for assistance to shelters and other housing initiatives. The Housing Opportunities for Maine Fund relies on the state's real estate transfer tax to fund several programs, including shelter, rental and homeownership programs.
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12/18: Portland council approves funding for North Deering affordable housing plan
The Portland City Council voted unanimously Monday night to help fund a new affordable housing development in North Deering. The developers, Maine Cooperative Development Partners, bought three parcels of land at 165 Lambert St. in May 2022 and initially proposed building limited equity cooperative housing. But the group has since decided to turn at least some of those units into traditional affordable housing after partnering with Preservation of Affordable Housing.
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12/18: For renters on the edge of eviction, tenants unions are increasingly part of the answer
Spencer Jacob wants to form a tenants union at Redbank Village, a neighborhood of modest duplexes built as workforce housing in the 1940s in South Portland. But other Redbank renters, many of whom are living on the edge of eviction and unable to afford higher rent elsewhere, are fearful.
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12/19: EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Newly Inaugurated Portland Mayor Mark Dion on Homelessness, Rent Control, Welfare, & Socialists
The Maine Wire sat down Wednesday with the City of Portland’s newly elected and inaugurated Mayor Mark Dion for an interview on his outlook for the city’s future and several of the issues he will confront during his term. Dion, former Cumberland County Sheriff and District 5 City Councilor, won the city’s mayoral election in a rank choice runoff after receiving nearly 40 percent of the Election Day vote.
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12/20: York Beach property owners fight new rules for Airbnb, Vrbo rentals, calling it a 'tax'
YORK, Maine — Owners of short-term rentals called newly proposed regulations for their industry unnecessary Monday, arguing York has had seasonal rentals for a century without oversight. The proposed regulations, presented to the town's Selectboard Monday, could go to voters for approval in May. The proposal comes amid a rapid rise in online rentals like Airbnb in town and complaints from residents.
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12/20: Maine lawmakers learn about social housing in other states
One of the ideas currently being considered by Maine lawmakers is to create publicly-owned housing, also known as social housing, that the tenants themselves would manage. A bill, LD 1867, which would create the Maine Community Housing and Rural Development Authority, would do just that.
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12/19: City of Portland postpones sweeping Maine's largest homeless encampment
The decision came early Tuesday morning after councilors voted 7-2 Monday night in disapproval of sweeps. The move comes after a storm destroyed tents and clothes.
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12/19: Lewiston City Council unanimously passes measures to increase housing
Lewiston City Council unanimously approved amendments Tuesday which will encourage affordable housing in line with LD 2003 which Maine's legislature passed in 2022. The City Council unanimously passed more than a dozen measures Tuesday, bringing the city into compliance with state legislation to increase housing.
Councilors also unanimously approved amendments to the interlocal agreement with the Auburn Water District, which adopts new boundaries for the watershed district on Lake Auburn.
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12/20: Habitat for Humanity accepting applications for homes in Saco and Sanford
With housing prices out of reach for so many, Habitat for Humanity offers households an alternative to the traditional housing market. Habitat partners with local York County households who have a need for safe and affordable housing and have the ability to pay an affordable mortgage. Homes are constructed using volunteer labor, donated materials, and fundraising. Once the home is completed the homeowners’ mortgage payments are recycled to support the construction of future Habitat for Humanity homes.
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12/20: Bowdoin College to help employees find housing with forgivable loans
BRUNSWICK - Bowdoin College is trying to help employees find housing by giving them forgivable loans. Bowdoin is offering employees up to $50,000 in loans. The only criteria are that the employees must be buying their first home within 40 miles of campus and stay with the school for 10 years to have loans forgiven.
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12/21: Cape Elizabeth affordable housing panel to recommend 125 units be built over next decade
Cape Elizabeth’s Housing Diversity Study Committee next week will finalize its long-awaited report with over 60 recommendations on how to create more housing options in Cape Elizabeth. Recommendations include setting a goal of building 125 affordable housing units in the next 10 years and considering some town-owned properties for housing, both of which the committee debated at a meeting on Monday.
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12/21: Lincoln Village development applicant sues Saco over Planning Board decision
SACO -The applicant behind Lincoln Village, a 332-unit proposed residential development that the Saco Planning Board rejected earlier this year, is suing the city of Saco in Maine state court. The applicant and plaintiff in the case, 321 Lincoln Street Development LLC, alleges that the Saco Planning Board’s decision was “arbitrary, capricious, unlawful, legally erroneous, and unsupported by the evidence in the record” when it voted down the development’s final application on Oct. 24.
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12/21: Homebuilders step up construction of single-family homes as 30-year mortgage rate eases
Single-family housing starts have now risen 3 months in a row and are outpacing home completions for the first time since the spring of last year.
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12/22: Maine’s new ‘land bank’ for vacant properties is still debating its mission
Maine cities and towns will soon have a state agency they can turn to for help redeveloping vacant properties. First, those running the new “land bank” need to settle on a mission. The Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority was established by lawmakers in April 2022 to help municipal planners and governments redevelop vacant properties, putting Maine among 21 other states to set up such a program at the state level.
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