The Ad-hoc Housing Diversity Study Committee (HDSC) submitted their 360-page Final Report on December 31, 2023.  In connection with recommendations from the 2019 Comprehensive Plan, the Cape Elizabeth Town Council formed the Ad-Hoc Housing Diversity Study Committee on May 9, 2022 to research housing needs and issues as perceived by the residents of Cape Elizabeth and as addressed in the 2022 Housing Diversity Study prepared by Camoin Associates.  

The HDS was tasked to make recommendations to the Town Council that are financially and practically viable with demonstrated success and/or applicaltion in other communities.  The Final Report contains recommendations that will assist with the Town’s desire and charge to create a more diverse and affordable housing and to provide access to young families, seniors, adult children, and the Town’s workforce to live and thrive in Cape Elizabeth.

As listed in the Final Report, the Summary of Recommendations listed below, fall broadly into a few major areas:

1. Aligning land use and regulatory policy to achieve housing creation goals.
2. Enabling homeowners and businesses to have more flexibility in determining the proper land use situations based on their needs.
3. Utilizing town-owned and/or available resources to partially meet affordable housing creation goals.
4. Allowing the town to achieve housing creation with as minimal an impact on town taxpayers as possible by leveraging private funding and existing state and federal programs.
5. Recognizing the need to remain flexible with all policies as times, markets, and participants evolve, adapting to these changes over time.
6. Creation of a 10-year housing goal of 125 affordable housing units and 50 accessory dwelling units.

On the land use and regulatory front, there are several recommendations around adapting the town’s current zoning to better align with what exists today, creating more conformity. This should allow more naturally occurring diverse forms of housing. Additionally, suggested changes around ADU and lot sizes help fulfill Recommendations #27 (conversion of single-family homes) and #30 (minimum lot size) from the 2019 Comprehensive Plan. Further alignment includes prioritizing the current growth areas and remaining flexible to expanding those areas should developers identify appropriate opportunity sites from the Housing Diversity Study. Each section of the report identifies the community support behind these recommendations.

The committee recognizes that its recommended housing creation goal will require a multipronged approach and that only by allowing multiple distinct projects will Cape Elizabeth dent its local housing crisis. To create housing at multiple price points for various potential groups of residents, strategies, and adaptations will be needed across all aspects of the situation and in multiple places within the town.

Recommendations around financial tools revolve around the current availability of financing for non-market rate properties and the need to remain open to developers proposing specific projects utilizing these means. And, as funding sources evolve, the town must be prepared to adapt to those changes.

Finally, regardless of initial changes that may occur, there needs to be a recognition throughout all changes that zoning and land use evolve, and zoning ordinances will likely become obsolete just as they have in the past, and that a constant re-evaluation will be needed to meet goals over time; the town should continually benchmark and address changes needed to enable to town to meet its long term housing and fiscal goals.

To access all documents, meetings, and video recordings associated with the HDSC, please click here.  The Final Report is available as a PDF online and as Word document for downloading.