Housing Committee — Portland, ME
Date: 2020-01-09
Time: 17:30

HOUSING COMMITTEE

DATE: Thursday, January 9, 2020
TIME: 5:30 PM
LOCATION: Council Chambers

 AGENDA

 Review and accept Minutes of previous meeting held on November 13,
1.
 2019


 a. Minutes of previous meeting held on 11­13­19

2. 2020 Work Plan Discussion


 a. 2020 Housing Committee Work Plan Memo

3. Communication Items:


 a. Communication Item Follow Up Response re: 2019 Housing Report

 b. Communication Item Bayside Village Memo

 c. Communication Item Subsidized Housing Development Update



Next Meeting Date:

February 12, 2020




 389 Congress Street / www.portland.gov / tel, 207­874­8720 / tty, 207­874­8936 / fax, 207­756­8258

HOUSING COMMITTEE

DATE: Thursday, January 9, 2020
TIME: 5:30 PM
LOCATION: Council Chambers

 AGENDA

 Review and accept Minutes of previous meeting held on November 13,
1.
 2019


 a. Minutes of previous meeting held on 11­13­19

2. 2020 Work Plan Discussion


 a. 2020 Housing Committee Work Plan Memo

3. Communication Items:


 a. Communication Item Follow Up Response re: 2019 Housing Report

 b. Communication Item Bayside Village Memo

 c. Communication Item Subsidized Housing Development Update



Next Meeting Date:

February 12, 2020




 389 Congress Street / www.portland.gov / tel, 207­874­8720 / tty, 207­874­8936 / fax, 207­756­8258
 Housing Committee

 Minutes of November 13, 2019 Meeting

NOTE: The Housing Committee meetings are now live-streamed, which can be viewed at this link:
http://townhallstreams.com/stream.php?location_id=42&id=16398 These minutes provide a
record of those in attendance, general discussions taking place, and motions made.

 A meeting of the Portland City Council’s Housing Committee (HC) was held on Wednesday,
 November 13, 2019 at 5:30 P.M. in room 209 of Portland’s City Hall. Councilors present at the
 meeting included Committee members Councilor Kim Cook, Councilor Spencer Thibodeau, and
 Councilor Jill Duson, Chair of the Committee. City staff present included Mary Davis, Division
 Director Housing and Community Development, Victoria Volent, Housing Program Manager,
 Greg Mitchell, Director Economic Development, and Michael Goldman, Corporation Counsel.


Item 1: Review and accept Minutes of previous meetings held on October 9, 2019
Councilor Cook requested a change on page 3 from “requested information” to “renewed their request
for information”. Motion by Councilor Thibodeau to move for adoption of the minutes with revision
from October 9, 2019. Motion was seconded by Councilor Cook and minutes were approved 3-0.


Item 2: Action Item: Review and Recommendation to the City Council on Disposition of Tax
Acquired and City-Owned Property.
Greg Mitchell explained the process of disposition, provided a review of recently disposed properties,
updated the activity on the parcel located at 99 Capisic Street, and furnished an overview of the parcels
located 91 Douglass Street (West School site), 21 Randall Street, and 165 Lambert Street.
As part of the disposition process, the City Manager presented a recommendation to the Housing
Committee to sell 43 and 91 Douglass, 21 Randall, and 165 Lambert Street for housing development.

21 Randall is a .32 acre, or 13,956 sq. ft., parcel of City-owned land in the R-5 zone that abuts the Portland
Housing Authority’s Front Street development project and has an assessed value of $11,900.

Portland Housing Authority (PHA) has indicated the agency is interested in this parcel as it abuts other
property owned by PHA. There are development challenges with the site and the PHA has not had an
opportunity to complete any due diligence. PHA hopes the city would make the property available at no
cost to facilitate the creation of affordable housing.

The City-Owned and Tax-Acquired Property Committee (COTAPC), at its October 22, 2019 meeting,
recommended to the City Manager that this property be placed out for sale. In his memo to the Housing
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Committee, the City Manager presented a recommendation to sell the parcel at 21 Randall Street for
housing development.

165 Lambert Street contains 13.38 acres; the topography is very challenging and does provide for some
wetland mitigation.

COTAPC’s recommendation to the City Manager was to move forward with a sale, noting the potential
to reserve a conservation easement for the non-developable area. In his memo to the Housing Committee,
the City Manager presented a recommendation to sell the parcel for housing development.

At this point in the meeting, Victoria Volent was invited to provide additional details on the three parcels
presented for disposition. In the interest of time, she noted Greg Mitchell’s overview was a thorough
review.

Within the West School Site (91 Douglass Street), Parks and Recreation identified a potential future
development site that is not needed for the Dougherty Field Master Plan (the development site is known
as Option B). The Option B site is 2.85 acres. The Option B site does not include the abutting City-owned
lot 078 C002 (43 Douglass Street) that is .40 acres but it does include the ROW located between 91 and
43 Douglass Street. The total West School site is 3.25 acres or 141,570 sq. ft. Land owned by the Maine
Department of Transportation is not included in the parcel for disposition under review.


At 6:15, Councilor Thibodeau left the meeting to attend the District 2 annual meeting.
Councilor Duson opened the meeting for public comment.
George Rheault supports a discussion to re-zone the three sites under review.
Seeing no further comments, Councilor Duson closed the public comment period.
There was consensus from the Committee for the Council to review rezoning requests.
Councilor Duson supports options to maximize the opportunities to provide housing on these locations.
A motion was made by Councilor Cook to propose disposal of three City-owned properties and request
Council to express commitment to rezoning and request policy recommendations from staff on zoning
options to maximize housing opportunities. The motion was seconded by Councilor Duson and motion
was approved 2-0.
Councilor Cook requested staff to bring forward information regarding parcels not yet reviewed by the
Housing Committee such as Angelo’s Acre, a property near Reiche School, and a parking lot in Bayside.
Councilor Duson would like to forward a matrix to the next Housing Committee regarding City-owned
properties that could be included in the 2020 work plan.
A motion was made by Councilor Cook to enter into Executive Session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. Section
405(6) (C ) and ( E) to consult with the City’s Attorney regarding legal rights and responsibilities
concerning City-owned property located at 0 Gray Road in Falmouth. The motion was seconded by
Councilor Duson and motion was approved 2-0.

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Councilor Duson open the meeting to public comment regarding entering into executive session. Seeing
no one, Councilor Duson closed the public comment period.
The Housing Committee entered into Executive Session at 6:37.
The Housing Committee exited from Executive Session at 6:53.
Councilor Duson closed item two of the agenda.



Item 3: Review and Recommendation to the City Council- Affordable Housing Development Loan
Program Modification and Refinance Request for Avesta’s Unity at Bayside development
Mary Davis introduced this item to the Committee. Avesta Housing Development Corporation (AHDC)
has submitted a request to modify the terms of three loans from the City of Portland and reinvest those
funds in a refinancing of the project known as Unity at Bayside in order complete repairs to the property.
Unity at Bayside was constructed in 2001. The development consists of 33 units in four buildings. The
buildings are located at 255 Cumberland Avenue, 10 Stone Street, 24 Stone Street and 180 Oxford Street.
There are six one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units and 17 three-bedroom units. Unity at Bayside is
a mixed income development for individuals and families with incomes ranging from 40% of the area
median income (AMI) to market rate. Twenty-six of the units are affordable at or below 60% AMI.

AHDC intends to submit a 4% tax credit application to MaineHousing. If approved, the refinancing will
provide financing to make needed repairs to the properties.

Per Avesta, the long term stability of the property and the City’s investment warrants approval of this
request. The modified loan terms are similar to the terms provided to the most recent developers of
affordable housing projects in which the City invested HOME funds. These terms would not be outside
of the bounds of the City’s current lending practices.

Staff supports approval of the request to modify the loan terms and reinvest the debt into the Unity at
Bayside project; staff requests the Committee recommend approval to the City Council subject to
conditions.

The Committee had clarifying questions, which staff addressed.

Councilor Duson opened the meeting for public comment.

Patrick Hess of Avesta Housing thanked the Committee for their consideration and noted the importance
of the request.

George Rhault of West Bayside indicated this was an opportunity for the Council to educate the city on
how affordable housing is financed. Creating affordable housing also creates a problem down the road
when the public needs to renovate the development projects. Where is the reserve money that was
supposed to be in the project go, why it is not enough, and where might we be with this project twenty
years from now? If we come back in twenty years to revisit the rehabilitation of this project, then the City


 3
should budget for that and the housing plan should include what happens if a project does not have an
appropriate funding mechanism for renovation and replacement.

Dana Totman of Avesta Housing spoke on the refinancing of housing projects and noted it is not unusual
for a project (and some date back to 1972) to be refinanced two or three times to ensure the project
maintains affordability and is not lost to the market. Affordable housing projects tied to the tax credit
program were introduced to Maine in the late 1990’s. These earlier projects have reached a point in which
the time is now appropriate to refinance and take advantage of the 4% tax credit, which are plentiful. As
for maintaining a capital reserve, Avesta does maintain a healthy amount of replacement reserves that do
pay for general repairs. Requiring a greater amount of revenue into the replacement reserve would
negatively affect the affordability of a project.

Tim Wells of Portland spoke of the importance of educating everyone on how refinancing an affordable
housing project works and what the total costs are to build and maintain affordable housing. This
knowledge will assist with making better policy decisions that will lead to cost savings when building
affordable housing.

Councilor Duson closed the public comment period.

A motion was made by Councilor Cook to approve the Affordable Housing Development Loan Program
modification and refinance request for Avesta’s Unity at Bayside development. The motion was seconded
by Councilor Duson and motion was approved 2-0 (Councilor Thibodeau was absent).

Item 4: Review of the Draft 2019 Biennial Housing Report
Victoria Volent presented changes to the Housing Report based on comments received from the Housing
Committee during their October 9 meeting. The chapter “Index and Definitions” now includes an
attachment regarding the definitions of area median income and associated metrics. The definition of
American Community Survey has been expanded. The definition of Household, Fair Market Rent, and
Income have been added. Moreover, the definition of Portland, ME HUD Metro Fair Market Rent Area
(HMFA), Portland-South Portland Housing Market Area (HMA), and Portland-South Portland, ME
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) have been edited. Within the chapter “Executive Summary”, an
introduction has been added explaining the impetus and intent of the report, and the term median income
was reviewed to ensure it reflects the correct metric. The chapter “Housing Demographics” includes a
new paragraph explaining the term median income - how it is defined, and how it is differentiated by
users. The term median income was reviewed within the chapter to ensure it reflects the correct metric.
The chapters “Housing Supply”, “Housing Demand”, and “Housing Resources” were not amended. The
chapter “Housing Toolbox” now includes the chart Inclusionary Zoning Development Projects: December
2015- October 2019. The newly drafted Attachment is an extended examination and explanation of the
term Area Median Income along with a comprehensive explanation of the metrics; Portland – South
Portland, ME Metropolitan Statistical Area; Portland, ME HUD Metro Fair Market Rent Area; Portland
– South Portland Housing Market Area; and MaineHousing’s Portland – South Portland Metropolitan
Area Housing Market. Moreover, HUD income limits were added and defined.

The Committee discussed the report and the requested changes. The report will be forwarded to the City
Council as a communication item for the December 16 meeting.


 4
Item 5: Review of the 2019 Annual Housing Committee Report
Mary Davis introduced this item. The Annual Housing Committee Report is designed to be an annual
accounting of the activity and accomplishments of the Housing Committee. The 2019 Housing Committee
goals, priorities, and workplan are outlined in the first two pages of the report. Beginning at the bottom of
page 2 are Committee accomplishments. The Committee discussed the report and requested the report be
forwarded to the 2020 Housing Committee, and the City Council as a communication item for the
Council’s December 16 meeting. The Committee discussed cancelling the December 11 meeting of the
Housing Committee.

Item 6: 2019 and 2020 Work Plan Discussion
Mary Davis handed out the Draft 2020 Housing Committee Schedule.




Motion to adjourn by Councilor Cook, seconded by Councilor Duson (approved 2-0, Thibodeau absent)
the meeting adjourned at 7:56 P.M.


 Respectfully submitted,


 Victoria Volent




 5
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 Planning & Urban Development
 Christine Grimando, AICP, Director



To: Councilor Duson, Chair and Members of the Housing Committee

From: Christine Grimando, Director, Planning & Urban Development
 Mary Davis, Division Director, Housing & Community Development Division

Date: January 3, 2020

RE: Housing Committee Workplan


Building on the achievements of the Housing Committee in 2019, staff has identified a number of policy
initiatives for continued or new attention in 2020 for the Committee’s consideration.

Inclusionary Zoning
The City’s current Inclusionary Zoning requirements (Ensuring Workforce Housing, Sec. 14-487 of the City’s
Land Use Code) have been successful as adopted, but the standards could be modified, such as:
 • Explicitly exempting projects already proposed to be affordable, and defining which of these
 qualify;
 • Evaluating whether the affordability thresholds are still the appropriate and desired levels, or
 whether some or all of the required units should be affordable rather than workforce affordability
 levels;
 • Adjustments to or elimination of the off-site workforce unit option (rather than the requirements
 being met onsite or a fee-in-lieu fee being made to the Housing Trust Fund)
 • Analysis of the effectiveness of the fee-in-lieu amount of $100,000 per unit to better meet the
 actual costs of creating housing units.

Lodging Houses
Staff has been working to develop new, consistent lodging house requirements. Lodging Houses are not
consistently treated as a residential use in City regulations, but could potentially be subject to Inclusionary
Zoning requirements.

ReCode
Phase I of ReCode Portland, the creation of a new Land Use Code, addresses two areas with particular
implications for housing creation and housing costs: Accessory Dwelling Units and modifications to parking
standards, both with substantial implications for housing production and diversity. Both topics received


 389 Congress Street • Portland, Maine 04101

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direction from the Ad Hoc ReCode Committee. The entire document is currently being reviewed by the
Planning Board, which will make a recommendation to the City Council for final review and adoption.
ReCode Phase I also includes an amendment to the standards for legalization of nonconforming dwelling
units.

ReCode Phase II will involve looking at more substantive issues of how our Land Use Code aligns with the
goals of Portland’s Plan 2030, including questions of residential density, other dimensional requirements,
allowed uses, zone boundaries, and more. One principle in the Code particularly pertinent to this effort is
Complete Neighborhoods (Portland’s intent for its predominantly residential neighborhoods is one where all
residents regardless of age, ability, or income have access to the basic necessities of daily life - high quality
and affordable housing, schools and other civic functions, food, open space, other amenities and services -
within a walkable, bikeable
distance. Future Land Use, p. 79),
as well as identification of priority
nodes and corridors that require
planning focus and that can
accommodate additional
development.

These are other tools ReCode
Phase II will explore, such as
mechanisms to allow existing
non-residential structures
(hospitals, schools, places of
assembly) to be repurposed to
multi-family use in residential
zones as well as potential density
incentives. Technical, spatial
analysis on current land use
patterns and regulations will be a
part of the evaluation of the
existing

 1 Future Nodes & Corridors Map
Street Standards
Modifications to City street standards that would grant additional flexibility for potential housing
development are being looked at by staff.

Resiliency
Anticipating the need for resilient buildings in response to a changing climate will be an important policy
area for Portland in the coming year(s). Planning and the Sustainability Office did some initial work on a
potential code change on this topic, and will reevaluate the potential for this and other code changes
following release of the full suite of recommendations of the Climate Action Plan.

Funding Models
Staff will continue to support encouraging and supporting the creation of additional low income and
workforce housing through innovative funding and housing models, including incentivizing the development


 389 Congress Street • Portland, Maine 04101

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of Housing First projects, and exploring additional, sustainable means of capitalizing the Housing Trust
Fund.

City Owned Property

Staff will continue to identify and provide for review City-owned property that holds the potential for future
housing development. The Housing Committee has reviewed and discussed opportunities to engage the City
in a public/private partnership to add housing units to the City’s housing inventory utilizing City-owned and
tax acquired property. The Housing Committee provided direction on six promising, but challenging sites.
Three of these sites have been moved forward for disposition and three lots are pending additional
information for a final Committee recommendation. Four other lots are scheduled for presentation to the
Committee during their February meeting. (See attached City-Owned Property Matrix)

Rental Housing Advisory Committee (RHAC)

The Rental Housing Advisory Committee is ready to present their first recommendation to the Housing
Committee. Staff anticipates RHAC will bring forward additional recommendations and proposals for
improvements, modifications, or changes regarding landlord and tenant policy issues, and identify
educational opportunities, seminars, and materials that would be useful to landlords and tenants.

Community Engagement

Changes to the housing landscape will benefit from not only the public, deliberative work of this Committee,
but conversations with community stakeholders, residents and developers and others, about the
implications of changes to housing policies on Portland’s neighborhoods. As part of ReCode Phase II, and
other initiatives as needed, Planning will initiate additional community forums.

City Council Proposed 2020 Housing Goals

Members of the City Council submitted their proposed 2020 Common Goals during a recent workshop of the
City Council, which included increasing access to rental and homeownership housing that is safe, affordable
and accessible. A broad summary of these goals includes a focus on local and regional stakeholders efforts,
reforming the City’s land use policies, rezoning, and exploring regulatory and tax policies to ensure new
housing units become primary residences (as opposed to vacation properties) and owner-occupied for long-
term rental as opposed to short-term rental.

Next Steps
Staff welcomes Housing Committee feedback on these and any additional initiatives which the Committee
would like to pursue in the 2020 workplan or see additional information for.

Attachments

City-Owned Property Matrix
Draft 2020 Housing Committee Work Plan




 389 Congress Street • Portland, Maine 04101

 207-874-8720

 www.portlandmaine.gov
City-Owned Property

Parcel ID Lot Acres Street No. Location Assessed Assessed Assess. Note
 Land Value Building Total

City-Owned Property for review in 2020
033 C012001 0.03204 33 Portland St. $ 190,600 $ 37,380 $ 227,980 B-2b Parking Lot (used by School Department)
043 C006001 1.2912 431 Commercial St $ 562,500 $ - $ 562,500 B-5b ("Angelo's Acre")
045 E031001 0.1942 157 Brackett St. $ 126,300 $ - $ 126,300 B-1 Parking Lot (Reiche School, area businesses)
056 B012001 0.1679 176 Clark St. $ 79,500 $ - $ 79,500 R-6 Parking Lot (Reiche School, area businesses)

City-Owned Property previously reviewed/action pending additional information

385 B027001 0.6721 200 Lambert St. $ 43,900 $ - $ 43,900 R-2 Under Review by COTAPC
385 D08001 4.8448 622 Auburn St. $ 89,700 $ - $ 89,700 R-2. Under Review by COTAPC
Falmouth, ME 0 Gray Rd $ 52,600 $ - $ 52,600 Mixed-Use Cluster. Under Review by COTAPC

City-Owned Property for Disposition by City Council

078 B007001 4.4915 91 Douglass St $ 489,100 $ - $ 489,100 R-5 (location of former West School)
078 C002001 0.3981 43 Douglass St $ 49,000 $ - $ 49,000 R-5 (location of former West School)
166 B014001 0.3204 21 Randall St $ 11,900 $ - $ 11,900 R-5
385 A001001 13.3874 165 Lambert $ 558,700 $ - $ 558,700 R-2


COTAPC- City-Owned and Tax Acquired Property Committee
 Draft 2020 Housing Committee Work Plan
 as of January 3, 2020



January 9, 2020 (Thursday)
 1. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
 2. Communication Item(s): Follow-up Response to Comments regarding the 2019 Housing Report, and Bayside Village
 Follow-up
February 12, 2020
 1. Rental Housing Advisory Committee Policy Recommendation
 2. (Action Item) Housing Program Budget - Review and Recommendation to the City Council
 3. (Action Item) Renewal of Membership in the Cumberland County HOME Consortium
 4. Presentation of City-Owned Property for Review
 5. 2020 Work Plan Discussion – Housing Committee Goals for 2020
March 11, 2020 (NLC Week will need to reschedule)
 1. (Action Item) Review and Recommendation to the City Council of the 2020 Housing Trust Fund Annual Plan
 2. (Action Item) Affordable Housing Development Application - Review and Approval to Issue by the Committee
 3. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
April 8, 2020
 1. Communication Item: Community Development Week – April 13-18/Fair Housing Month
 2. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
May 13, 2020
 1. Communication Item FY21 HUD Annual Allocation Plan
 2. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
May or June, 2020 (Possible Joint Meeting with Economic Development Committee)
 1. (Action Item) Review and Approval of Affordable Housing TIF Applications
June 10, 2020
 1. (Action Item) Review and Approval of Funding Requests Received from the Affordable Housing Development
 Applications
 2. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
July 8, 2020
 1. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
August 12, 2020
 1. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
September 9, 2020
 1. Presentation, Overview and Integrated Report from Permitting and Inspections and Fire Department re: Short-term
 and Long-term Rental Housing Safety & Inspection Program - Implementation and Financial Report (Public
 Comment)
 2. Presentation, Overview and Report from the Rental Housing Advisory Committee (Public Comment)
 3. Communication Item: FY20 HUD Consolidated Annual Performance Report
 4. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
October 14.2020
 1. Presentation of 2020 Interim Housing Report
 2. 2020 Work Plan Discussion
November 11, 2020 (Veterans Day – will need to reschedule meeting date)
 1. Review of 2020 Annual Housing Committee Report
 2. 2020 and 2021 Work Plan Discussion (new and/or updated recommendations to forward to the 2021 Housing
 Committee)
December 9, 2020 – no December meeting?

 COMPLETED WORK

 1
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 Planning & Urban Development Department
 Housing and Community Development Division


TO: Jill Duson, Chair
 Members of the Housing Committee

CC: Jon P. Jennings, City Manager

FROM: Mary P. Davis, HCD Division Director
 Victoria Volent, Housing Program Manager

DATED: January 3, 2020

RE: Response to Citizen Comments re: 2019 Housing Report


Introduction

On December 16, 2019, members of the City Council received an email with several
questions and comments regarding the 2019 Housing Report. The purpose of this
memo is to provide a response to those questions and comments.

Background

In 2017, as part of the work plan priorities of the Housing Committee, staff was
directed to compile and produce a “…current situation report on housing policy,
availability and affordability…” that would include “…an update on the
implementation of policies e.g. inclusionary zoning.” It was determined that the
report would be produced biennially with a data update provided in the interim year.
The scope of the report was never intended to be an exhaustive analysis on all
housing related issues and data. The Housing Committee determines the type and
scope of information included in the report.

Two edits were made to Page 13 and Page 31 of the report. An updated report has
been posted on the city’s website. A graphic inadvertently cut off the end of the
narrative on Page 13. On Page 31, a project was referred to as 173 Kennebec. The
correct address is 178 Kennebec. The reference to the number of units in the project
refers to the number of low-income rental housing units and is correct at 40. As a
point of reference in this memo, the total number of units in the project is 51.

Several of the items mentioned were determined to be beyond the scope of the
report.

 Population Growth: Why did Lewiston & Bangor (both poorer and commonly

 1
 believed to be less economically vibrant than Portland) add more people
 (both on an absolute and percentage basis) than Portland did from 2010 to
 2018?

 Housing Safety Office: How many fines have been collected from violators
 of housing safety requirements or landlord registration requirements since the
 HSO was created?

 Page 33 - Student Housing: How much new housing has been explicitly
 absorbed by institutions of higher education since 2014 (443 Congress Street
 is one such project that comes to mind)?

Responses to several other questions or comments are provided below.

• Median Income Changes for Renters and Homeowners 2011-2017: Why is the
 absolute increase for homeowners ($8,200) cited in the report but not for
 renters? It appears that Portland is less impoverished than it was in 2011
 (though data not provided to confirm this), but that those renters who remain in
 Portland saw very little improvement in income since 2010-2011 unlike
 homeowners. Was this entirely due to the dramatic improvement in home values
 (and thus in home equity) during this time span?

 Response: The absolute increase of the median income for renters was not cited
 in the report due to an oversight. The question of changes to Portland’s level of
 poverty is beyond the scope of this report.

• Planning Approvals/Building Permits/Certificates of Occupancy: The charts on
 pages 21, 24 and 25 summarizing various accumulations of new
 construction/renovation activity are not accompanied by the specific source data
 used to compile the charts. Therefore it is impossible to contextualize the charts
 fully. An appendix attachment for each chart should be provided so that the
 public can understand fully each individual project that was included to arrive at
 the numbers depicted/broken down in each chart. These charts also exclude
 any calculation of existing housing lost due to redevelopment activity (the net
 number is ultimately what is most important) and also excludes housing
 loss/creation as the result of Level 1 or 2 site plan approvals/construction (for
 example a 3-unit building demolished to create by right a single-family unit or a
 single-family unit created by right on a vacant lot).

 Response: Information was gathered from multiple documents such as Planning
 Board approval letters or extracted from Energov reports. The Energov reports
 can be large (the Permits Issued by Type report is 50 pages long) and not
 feasible as an appendix or attachment to the Housing Report.




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• Short-Term Rental Regulation: How many fines have been collected from STR
 operators violating the City's STR ordinance? How many court cases have been
 initiated by the City against such STR scofflaws? Due to the high staff cost and
 longtime duration of enforcing the STR ordinance, what confidence does the City
 have that the impact of the STR phenomenon is just limited to those who have
 bothered to register their units?

 Response: Thirteen fines have been collected from STR operators violating the
 City’s STR Ordinance. The remaining questions are beyond the scope of this
 report.

• Executive Summary: With respect to the claim made therein that "Improvements
 to the city's transportation infrastructure both on and off-peninsula will in part
 better accommodate greater housing density." what specifically are these
 "improvements" (Franklin is cited later in the report but that is barely underway)
 and how much are they costing to create (local, state, federal, private) and how
 exactly do they accommodate greater housing density?

 Response: Transit oriented development supports dense, pedestrian-friendly
 neighborhoods by providing multi-purpose public transportation that is more
 conveniently located and creates a sustainable and well-functioning community.
 The cost of transportation infrastructure is beyond the scope of this report.

• Page 29 - Housing Demand: "47% of Older Boomers, buy due to retirement." -
 not clear what this sentence is meant to say - the "47%" number needs context
 and perhaps accompanying chart to show how 47% fits into 100% source
 data. Revise accordingly.

 Response: Additional context and chart may have improved comprehension of
 the information on page 29 and will be considered for the next biennial report.

• Page 32 - Who maintains/supervises the "Maine Centralized Waitlist" and how
 does the public obtain/verify data from this source?

 Response: The Maine Centralized Waitlist is maintained by Housing Data Link
 of Maine, LLC in a partnership between Portland Housing Authority, South
 Portland Housing Authority, and Westbrook Housing. Only Housing Authorities
 throughout the state are given access to the list.

• Maine Medical Center Healthy Neighborhoods Program: How many housing
 units will be created through this program? If none are required, why it is being
 referenced in the Housing Report?

 Response: The City Council approved an amendment to Chapter 14 of the City
 Code requiring Maine Medical Center to initiate and adopt a memorandum of
 understanding between MMC and the City of Portland towards a Healthy
 Neighborhoods Program. The Program shall be designed to fund and execute
 3
 housing and community improvement programs in the surrounding St. John
 Valley and other neighborhoods. The number of housing units was not stipulated
 in Council Order 221 17/18 but the program is designed to fund and execute
 housing, which is the reason it was referenced in the Housing Report.

• Munjoy Hill Conservation Overlay: Has any attempt been made to ascertain how
 much housing the enactment of this policy PREVENTED?

 Response: An analysis was not made during the drafting of this report to
 ascertain whether any housing was prevented as a result of the enactment of the
 Munjoy Hill Conservation Overlay District prevented.




 4
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 Planning & Urban Development Department
 Housing and Community Development Division

TO: Councilor Duson, Chair
 Members of the Housing Committee

FROM: Mary Davis, Division Director, Housing & Community Development

DATE: January 3, 2020

SUBJECT: Bayside Village – 132 Marginal Way
 Follow-Up


During the public comment period at the December 2nd City Council meeting,
comments were made regarding the relocation of tenants and the condition of the
Bayside Village property. This memo provides a review of the information
obtained by staff during a review of the issues raised during public comment.

The Bayside Village property is a four story building with 25 four-bedroom
(furnished) units on each floor for a total of 100 units in the property. The
property developer anticipates the renovation process to take 24-30 months, with
working being done in phases by floor.

Relocation

A November 18, 2019 letter from the Port Property Management Team to the
residents of Bayside Village is included as an attachment. The letter was
forwarded by Tom Watson to members of the City Council on December 2, 2019.
As outlined in the letter, tenants have been given three options: (1) relocate to
another room in Bayside Village; (2) relocate to another building managed by Port
Property Management; or (3) relocate to housing outside of Bayside Village. Port
Property Management is waiving early termination and re-letting fees, returning
security deposits in full and allowing residents to take bedroom furniture at no
cost.

I spoke at length with Tom Watson who reiterated that the goal is to work with
each tenant during the transition and provide financial assistance on a case-by-
case basis to assist tenants with relocating from Bayside Village.

Condition of the Property

The Port Property Management Team indicates that the property was in poor
condition when the property was conveyed by Blue Atlantic Portland to West
Bayside Partners, LLC (c/o Tom Watson & Co.) on September 24, 2019. Port
Property Management assumed property management responsibilities at that
time.

 389 Congress Street Room 312 • Portland, Maine 04101
 207- 874- 8711 mpd@portlandmaine.gov • www.portlandmaine.gov
On September 20, 2019 Permitting and Inspections received a complaint request
from Port Property Management to check the common areas for trash and the use
of the common spaces by tenants. Per Permitting & Inspections, all hallways were
clear of trash and “there was no indications of any on-going trash issue”.
Permitting & Inspections also noted that the property is inspected on a regular
basis for General Assistance inspections.

On November 3, 2019 dispatch was contacted at 1:15 a.m. regarding a kitchen
fire in unit #224. Sprinklers were activated and caused water damage in four units
(#224, #124, #122, #126). Permitting & Inspections determined those units were
unfit for human habitation due to extensive water damage. Port Property
Management was notified of this violation that same day. The tenants were
relocated and the units secured. In addition to complying with the action plan
prepared by the City, the bathroom ceiling fixtures were removed in unit #122
and #126 as a precaution. On November 20, 2019 a master electrician certified
the electrical panel feed into units #224, 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 125, 120, 122,
124, 126 and 128 as required by the National Electrical Code.

The Permitting and Inspections Department has not received any complaints
regarding heating at Bayside Village.




 389 Congress Street Room 312 • Portland, Maine 04101
 207- 874- 8711 mpd@portlandmaine.gov • www.portlandmaine.gov
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 Planning & Urban Development Department
 Housing and Community Development Division

TO: Councilor Duson, Chair
 Members of the Housing Committee

FROM: Mary Davis, Division Director, Housing & Community Development

DATE: January 7, 2020

SUBJECT: Communication Item - Subsidized Housing Development Update



Over the course of the last two years (2018 and 2019) the Housing Committee
has reviewed and made recommendations, and the City Council has approved
funding for eight projects slated to develop almost 420 units of rental housing.
The status of these projects is outlined below:

 Appropriation Construction
 Units HOME CDBG HTF TIF
 Date Loan Closing
58 Boyd Street 2018 55 $200,000 $ 30,000 $ - $2,144,566 28-May-19
Wessex Woods (977 Brighton) 2018 40 $ - $ - $300,000 $1,954,486 25-Oct-19
Deering Place 2017 & 2018 75 $500,000 $ - $ - $4,185,757 13-Sep-19
37 Front Street 2018 111 $510,174 $250,000 $925,000 $ -
178 Kennebec Street 2018 51 $370,000 $ - $ - $2,889,164 26-Aug-19
83 Middle Street 2019 44 $193,266 $ - $136,734 $ -
47 Boyd Street 2019 12 $ - $ - $425,000 $ -
66 State Street 2019 30 $299,999 $ - $ - $2,672,169



As you can see, all but one of the 2018 projects went to construction loan closing
in 2019. The Front Street project applied for Low Income Housing Tax Credits in
2019; the project received tax credits and a 2020 construction loan closing date
is expected.

Of the 2019 projects, 47 Boyd Street project is in the process of finalizing funding
sources and a 2020 construction loan closing is expected; 83 Middle Street and
66 State Street applied for Low Income Housing Tax Credits in 2019, however
neither of these projects received tax credits in 2019. It is expected that they will
apply for tax credits in 2020.




 389 Congress Street Room 312 • Portland, Maine 04101
 207- 874- 8711 mpd@portlandmaine.gov • www.portlandmaine.gov