Senior housing zone OK’d

Change clears the way for 44-unit complex in South Portland.

SOUTH PORTLAND — The South Portland City Council last week unanimously approved a zoning change that clears the way for a 44-unit elderly housing complex, "three or four stories high," to be built by the nonprofit South Portland Housing Authority (SPHA) on land it owns off Huntress Avenue.

The 4.3-acre vacant lot abuts SPHA's Ridgeland Estates facility, which is in the "Contract Residential District," or G-2 zone, where multi-unit "congregate care" buildings for seniors and the handicapped are allowed. The primary difference between that and "Residential District" Zone A, in which the Huntress Avenue lot was previously classified, is the number of housing units allowed per acre. According to City Manager James Gailey, the limit in Zone A is four units per acre, while the G-2 zone allows 14.84.

The Planning Board recommended the zoning change by a 7-0 vote at its May 23 meeting.

But when it came before the council for a first reading June 20, Councilor Tom Blake took the opportunity to suggest South Portland may be doing "more than its fair share" to create affordable housing, at least compared to surrounding communities.

When it comes to the amount of housing stock set-aside for low-income residents, Blake claimed, South Portland has "gone beyond [the] 10 percent," called for in its comprehensive plan. He also said the housing authority enjoys a "tremendous deal," paying just $168,000 in property taxes on the 641 units it has now.

"We are continuing to put more of a burden on our taxpayers," said Blake, "because we have hundreds of properties which pay no property taxes at all, and we have hundreds, if not thousands, which pay reduced taxes."

Last week, however, Blake limited his questions to timetables for construction.

SPHA Executive Director Michael Hulsey said his agency will apply for financing this fall from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, administered by the Maine Housing Authority using federal dollars. Each year, Maine Housing doles out $20 million in tax credits on the basis of competitive bids. Grant winners like SPHA then sell those credits to corporate investors, using the revenue as capital for construction projects.

Hulsey said if the housing authority gets tax credit funding from Maine Housing, construction would begin next spring, and the first seniors on its waiting list of 760 applicants could move in as early as July 2012.

“If we don’t [get Maine Housing money], we might apply again the following year, or else look for alternative means of financing,” said Hulsey.