ROCKLAND, Maine — The dearth of affordable housing is keeping millennials out of Rockland, and Councilor Valli Geiger hopes one action by the city council will offer some relief.
The council gave unanimous final approval Monday night to amending the city law that regulates the way the municipality disposes of tax-acquired properties. The change will allow the council to consider whether the homes or land it acquires would best be used as affordable housing for people with low incomes or for middle class workers.
Previously, if the city did not return the properties to the former owners, which is done in the majority of times Rockland forecloses on properties for nonpayment of taxes or sewer fees, the city would sell to the highest bidder.
But Geiger said this has had unforeseen consequences.
“There have been a couple of houses we have sold to the highest bidders, and essentially they were left vacant and everything salvageable was ripped out,” Geiger said.
Her hope is that the city could sell tax-acquired properties to nonprofit organizations that would renovate the homes and return them to the tax rolls as affordable housing.
Mid Coast Habitat for Humanity has built 30 homes in Knox County since it was formed in 1990. The most recent two were during a weeklong building blitz in June when volunteers constructed two single-family homes on Brewster Street in Rockland. That property was acquired by Habitat from a private individual.
Penquis, the regional community action agency that covers Knox, Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, had been looking for locations to build 25 to 30 apartments for low-income tenants. The sites looked at included the former MacDougal School property the city owns.
Jason Bird, the housing development director for Penquis, said the agency has not found any land suitable for development other than the MacDougal property.
“It appears that the city is going a different route with the MacDougal school site,” Bird said. “Penquis remains committed to addressing the affordable housing problem in Rockland and all of Knox County. To that end, we’ve begun to broaden our search to other communities.”
The most recent statistic for the Rockland area shows the median household income for Rockland residents is $40,866, well below the state median of $52,165 and the Knox County figure of $50,703.
Bird sent a letter March 25 to the city council in which he said the lack of affordable housing in Rockland was both an economic and community development concern. He said businesses have a difficult time attracting employees because of the lack of affordable housing and the high cost of living.
“Furthermore, younger adults drawn to Rockland for its vibrant downtown and the city’s arts and culture scene are unable to afford its rental options due to the city’s recent economic growth,” Bird said.