A former vacuum cleaner store in Brewer sat vacant for years before a developer converted it into a duplex.
It’s an example of the type of infill development more Maine communities have been encouraged to embrace in recent years to add housing options and revitalize downtowns. But the developer, former state Sen. Matt Pouliot, says he could have doubled the number of units constructed if it weren’t for local code restrictions that held him back.
Pouliot, who runs an Augusta real estate firm, acquired the property on Brewer’s South Main street for $140,000 in early 2024 and invested $195,000 to gut and transform it into two one-bedroom apartments. When he reached out to the city about adding another two units, he was told his request would trigger a lengthy review even though it’s in a commercial area.
“It’s a very difficult process, not streamlined,” Pouliot said. “The ordinances in place are not really set up to just allow for more housing units to be added.”
Brewer is already looking at updating its zoning ordinances, which are an example of common rules that are making it harder to build housing in the parts of Maine that need it most. Rents in the Bangor area have recently risen faster than in Portland. A recent report found that by implementing lot size restrictions, Maine towns inflate home prices by thousands of dollars.
The city’s subdivision review process would have slowed the project by tacking on an additional layer of planning, design and engineering that add costs and uncertainty. Even if Pouliot had gone through the motions, the developer was told there wasn’t enough open space on the property’s quarter acre lot to add more units.
Adding those extra apartments and spreading the property tax, water and sewer bills over four units instead of two would have also lowered rents by $200, Pouliot said. As it stands, each unit is being rented for $1,500 a month. The space that would have been extra housing will be a parking lot and lawn.
“There’s a lot of municipalities that don’t understand how well-intentioned policies to create sensible growth in their community are just truly at odds with speed,” Pouliot said.
Brewer is due to reckon with that this year by updating its comprehensive plan, which was last reviewed a decade ago, Mayor Michele LaBree Daniels said. Daniels, who was elected in 2024 while pledging to prioritize housing reforms in the city, said officials there are well aware that some ordinances are obsolete or need updating.
“We’re really looking at how the land was used in the past, and what needs to be changed to the land can be used more efficiently,” Daniels said.
At the state level, Pouliot is heartened by a bill making its way through the Legislature that would increase the number of dwelling units on a tract of land before it is considered a subdivision. If that were to pass and Brewer were to relax its lot size restrictions the developer could add needed housing in the city without triggering more reviews.
“One way that municipalities could help with housing is to focus on, “how are we going to make it super easy for people to create up to four units in our community?” Pouliot said. “The hodgepodge of different zoning requirements throughout the state make it difficult for this stuff to happen quickly.”