Committee Unanimously Advances Speaker Fecteau’s Bill to Increase Housing Development
LD 1829 would remove roadblocks to encourage construction
AUGUSTA – In a unanimous vote, the Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee this week advanced LD 1829, sponsored by Speaker Ryan D. Fecteau (D-Biddeford), to the full Legislature. The bill would make it easier to build new housing units by amending zoning requirements and providing clarity for municipalities, developers, and Maine people.
“Hard-working Mainers need housing they can afford without having to leave their town for another. The goal of this bill is to make it easier and more cost-effective to build that housing,” said Speaker Ryan Fecteau. “By cutting a web of red tape, we can empower everyday Mainers to build housing for their own families and neighbors. LD 1829 is about fewer government roadblocks, more power to the people, and in turn more housing where it is needed most.”
LD 1829 proposes to:
Reduce minimum lot sizes to no more than 5,000 square feet in designated growth areas.
Remove owner occupancy requirements for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to unlock financing for construction.
Update sprinkler requirements for ADUs to make building more cost-effective without compromising safety.
Streamline municipal review for smaller housing developments.
Create a one-story height bonus for qualified affordable housing.
“This bill would be a huge help with desperately needed housing production. It removes unnecessary, cumbersome land use barriers and red tape that only increase timelines and costs. It would create a pathway to more efficient, effective use of our state’s finite resources for affordable housing development,” said Cullen Ryan, Executive Director of Community Housing of Maine. “Maine is facing a gap of 84,000 affordable homes over the next decade. Without creative solutions like these that reduce barriers to affordable housing production, we won't make a real difference in the lives of people in Maine who need housing, and we won’t make a real difference in ending homelessness.”
“With our critical housing shortage, we need new thinking to enable the production of affordable housing. LD 1829 is a thoughtful approach to eliminating regulatory barriers and boosting private property rights to create more avenues for home ownership in Maine,” said Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), Senate Republican Lead on the Housing and Economic Development Committee.
The bill will head to the House and Senate for additional votes in the coming weeks.
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