March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Hearing set on Greenville housing needs

GREENVILLE — Affordable and available housing is viewed by Greenville town officials as necessary for economic growth, but the town appears to be lacking in both.

For weeks, a local committee has been studying the housing issues in this Piscataquis County town and the results of that study will be shared with residents at a public hearing at 7 p.m. Jan. 5, at Greenville High School. Shirley residents have been invited to come to the meeting.

Town officials hope residents will attend the meeting, comment on the committee’s recommendations or make suggestions of their own. From there, the report of the Housing Assessment Study Committee will be revised, if necessary, in order to possibly apply for a state planning grant. The planning grant would allow town officials to develop better numbers and arrive at a more specific action plan for the future, according to Town Manager David Cota.

Cota said the committee focused on the needs relating to low-income housing, rental housing, senior citizens housing, and low- and moderate-income housing rehabilitation, needs that were first identified in the town’s comprehensive plan.

From their research, the committee found that:

Rentals in the $400 to $600 a month range are badly needed.

Very little new residential or rental housing construction has taken place.

There is a lack of quality housing available for rent or sale.

It is difficult to develop in outlying areas of Greenville because of Land Use Regulation Commission restrictions.

Modest and low-income housing is being purchased for seasonal homes by recreational enthusiasts, removing those homes from the grasp of year-round residents.

One local housing project has a waiting list of 12 to 15 families in need of subsidized units.

The committee also found that the Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home has good jobs available that have not been filled because potential employees cannot find suitable housing, which hurts the viability of the hospital, according to Cota.

According to the study, there were not enough people to make a boarding house or assisted-living housing viable.

Ron Harriman of Harriman Associates, a planning consultant assisting Greenville town officials, believes many of the issues discussed by the committee are relevant to community development planning and economic development.


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