Maine is the least-densely populated state east of the Mississippi. The settlement pattern is skewed to the southern parts of the state in general and to a transportation corridor extending 15 miles to either side of Interstate 95. Only 11% of the state is clear of forest cover with only 2% of Maine's land area physically covered by houses, roads, stores, and parking lots. About half of the state is organized into communities. The other half constitutes Maine's unorganized territories, mainly the northern and western parts of the state. Maine is a highly rural state with 87% of its population located outside of the urban cities of Auburn, Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland. For a state like Maine, the delivery of housing and support services is complicated by geographic distance and a lack of public transportation. In total, the geography of Maine sets it apart from its southern developed neighbors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut .
With this backdrop, the state of Maine established the following general goals to guide the development of its consolidated plan in 1995:
"...to strengthen partnerships with jurisdictions...""...to extend and strengthen partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector..."
"...to provide decent housing, establish and maintain a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunities for every American, particularly for very low-income and low-income persons..."
Staff from the Department of Economic and Community Development held a series of public hearings and advertised the Final Statement for the Community Development Block Grant program for a 30 day public comment period. Those comments were reviewed and incorporated into the final program statement, adopted in September of 1994.
Maine experienced increased ethnicity during the 1980's with Asian and Pacific Islanders nearly doubling during the time period. More than half (56%) of rural Maine's Native American households (approximately 957) and 43% of the Asian and Pacific Islander households (approximately 481) earn less than 80% of the area median income. This is compared to 40% of rural Maine's white households earning less than 80% of the median income.
Larger families, households with more than five persons, comprise nearly 9% of Maine's population. Nearly three-fourths of Maine's households have three or fewer persons, household size decreasing from 2.75 persons per household in 1980 to 2.54 in 1992. In 1940, 260 units were needed to house 1,000 persons in Maine; by 1990, 379 units were now needed.
The residence of choice for the majority of Mainers in 1990 was the single family unit. The 1990 Census reported that 68% of Maine housing units were single family structures, down from 69% in 1980. Mobile homes, as a structure type separate from single-family, comprised 9% of the housing stock as reported in the 1990 Census, up from 8% in 1980. The percentage of multifamily housing, 23%, did not change from 1980 to 1990 Censuses. Estimated 1993 data shows a continuing rise in mobile homes, representing 10% of Maine's housing units and a slight decrease in multifamily units to 22%. Mobile homes have become a more affordable housing alternative and are especially popular in the rural counties of Somerset (15% of the housing stock), Waldo (15%), and Washington (14%) where multifamily housing is lacking.
Maine offers two different housing looks. In the fast growing, coastal areas of southern Maine, 25% of the housing consists of multiple family units, while other more rural counties of Maine have as few as 10% of its stock multiple family. Cumberland and York County accounted for almost 30% of all new construction in Maine between 1990 and 1993, now housing 40% of all the multiple family units. Vacancy rates along the coastal areas are significantly lower.
Maine houses almost 140,000 persons below the poverty level, ranking 26th in nationwide median household income of $27,854. These incomes range from the lowest of $19,993 in Washington County to the highest of $32,432 in York county. At the same time, the disparity between median income and median purchase price for homes tends to be larger in the wealthier counties.
1. Housing Market Conditions. Selling prices for residential properties increased 14% between 1988 and 1992. The most dramatic price increases occurred in Lincoln (+51%), Hancock (+41%), and Piscataquis (+36%) counties. York (-1%), Cumberland (+3%), and Aroostook (+8%) counties experienced the least amount of price change. Median house prices by county in 1992 ranged from a low of $43,540 in Aroostook County to a high of $110,000 in Lincoln county with an overall state of Maine median at $81,500. The recession of the early 1990s lowered sales activity from an all-time high of 16,000+ transactions in 1987 to a low of 9,427 1991. Residential sales transactions began to inch upward in 1992 to a total of 9,504 residential transactions.
When compared to the median household income, home ownership is least affordable in Lincoln, Cumberland, Hancock, and Knox counties. In twelve of Maine's sixteen counties, more than half of the households cannot afford a median priced home. Nearly 16% (46,300) of the home owners covered by this Plan are cost burdened and pay more than 30% of their income for their housing expenses:
Low-income households in Maine have limited opportunities for home ownership. For the state of Maine, 74% of the households own their housing units, 26% are renters. Half the rental households earn 30% or less of the median income while 17% earn 95+% of median income.
Average rent in 1994 for a one bedroom apartment is $372, for a two bedroom apartment $463. Three bedroom plus apartments are rarely advertised. Three out of four renter households earning less than $10,000 annually experience cost burden, (rent exceeds 30% of income), over half of renter households earning $10,000 and $20,000 experience cost burden.
2. Affordable Housing Needs. Based on data analysis, MSHA and DECD have concluded that very low income Maine renters have more affordability and housing problems than very low income Maine home owners as a proportion of rental and owner-occupied units respectively for the areas covered by the State of Maine Consolidated Plan. However, the number of home owners that have documented housing problems exceed the number of renters with housing problems. Just over 36,000 low income renters have housing problems as compared to 52,000 low income owners. Overall, one in four households having a housing problem, live in a housing unit that has physical defects (no complete bathroom or kitchen facilities, or is overcrowded):
Nearly half (48%) of all home owner households earn more than 95% of the median income as compared to just 14% of the renter households covered by this Consolidated Plan.
As reported in the 1990 Census, more than one-third of Maine renters earn incomes of less than 50% of median family income, or $16,850. One in five Maine renters (nearly 20,000 households) earns less than $10,100, 30% of the median family income. The percentage of renter households with physical defects or overcrowding remains relatively constant at 69% of VLI and 68% for those earning between 31% and 50% of the median family income. The percentage of renter households experiencing severe cost burden (more than 50% of their income for housing costs) is 66% for those earning less than 30% of the median income and 23% for those earning between 31% and 50%. As incomes increase, even for very low incomes, cost burden improves. More than 26,300 VLI renter households experience severe cost burden, with 70% of the households earning less than 30% of the median income. Large renter families, non-elderly single persons, and households comprised of unrelated persons, experience more housing problems than small households and households headed by older persons.
Sixteen percent of the households (approximately 85,500) earn less than 50% of the median family income and own their homes. Over half (56%) of the VLI home owners are older persons. Thirty thousand VLI owner households pay more than 50% of their income for housing costs and experience a severe cost burden. Although most VLI owners are older persons, a higher proportion of non-elderly home owners experience severe cost burden (36% of elderly owners vs. 49% for non-elderly owners). As incomes increase, even within the VLI classification, owners experience less housing problems, including physical defects and overcrowded conditions.
The pattern for households earning between 51% and 80% of the median family income is consistent with that of VLI households. As incomes increase, households experience less housing problems and fewer households experience cost burden. Approximately 650 renter households that earn between 51% and 80% of the median family income experience severe cost burden, nearly 30,000 home owners earn incomes between 51% and 80% of the median family income and experience severe cost burden. A higher proportion of non-elderly households experience severe cost burden and other related housing problems.
3. Homeless Needs. Admissions to emergency homeless shelters for the month of July 1994 totaled 1,229. The 35 shelters participating served an estimated 846 different people. The average shelter guest was a 28 years old, single male, with an eleventh grade education. The median length of stay was 2 days. Maine's homeless population represents all of Maine's counties and 138 Maine municipalities.
Fifteen percent of the guests had been in an emergency shelter five or more times in the past twelve months. Thirty-one percent (31%) were under the age of eighteen, sixty-three percent (63%) were male, while only 13% of the guests were married. More than 26% of the guests have an eighth grade or less education. Ninety-one percent (91%) of the shelter quests were not employed. Forty Eight percent identified the source of income as SSI/SSDI.
The July 1994 homeless demographic information requested that guests indicate their reason for homelessness. Of the 846 different persons, 138 (16%) indicated substance abuse was a reason for their homelessness, 199 (24%) indicated family violence, and 69 (8%) indicated mental illness. Due to the self-reporting nature of the demographic sheets, providers feel that these percentages may underestimate the populations that they are serving. Fifty-two percent of the emergency shelter beds in Maine are located in rural areas outside of Auburn, Lewiston, Bangor and Portland.
Twenty-one of Maine's emergency shelters are open 24 hours each day. Twenty-eight shelters report limitations for length of stay, with twenty limiting the stay to a number of days or nights.
The recent MSHA survey revealed that 34% of the shelters provide family quarters. Providers and consumers indicate needs for additional emergency housing for homeless families with children, separate from emergency shelter for homeless individuals, to provide a more stable atmosphere for children experiencing a crisis with their parent(s). Providers have also indicated a need for additional integration of State administered programs to allow for a single point of entry for services. Providers propose flexible models where housing could become permanent with transitional services to meet the needs of the family.
One in three persons staying in emergency shelter in Maine is under the age of eighteen. Shelter and service providers indicate that services provided to youths through "children's systems" do not always carry into "adult systems". Services are needed to transition with the individual beyond the age of eighteen. The need for services exceeds the funds available for assistance. Funding is especially needed to serve "non-labeled" youth that are not being served by present services.
Homelessness continues to be a major social issue in Maine. Providers and consumers indicate primary needs for the creation of no/low barrier continuum of care centers, adequate income supports, vocational training, crisis mental health centers, and affordable housing that is safe and decent. Providers would like to see more uniform quality of care within the emergency response system, and access to emergency shelter in both rural and urban areas of the state. While the Homeless Families Transitional Living Program works well in areas with adequate case management and community support, providers and consumers see the transitional housing system in Maine as inadequate and fragmented. Need exists for non-traditional supports where services such as counseling, child care, and education are brought to households living in permanent housing situations.
4. Public and assisted housing needs. Nearly 21,700 housing units in Maine are receiving federal rent subsidy in 1994, more than half of which (58%) are designated for older persons. A typical wait for a federally subsidized housing unit is two years, with many waiting lists closed due to the high numbers of households unable to be served with the limited resource.
Most of the federally-assisted housing was created with the ability to convert the property to market rate housing with no restrictions on rent or low-income tenant occupancy after a specified time. The majority of these properties become eligible for conversion after 1995. In Maine, 3,559 units could be lost between 1994 and the year 2000. Seventy-two percent of these units are home to low-income older persons. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Farmers Home Administration, major sponsors of the housing, have established incentive programs to discourage prepayment. This, combined with economic conditions that are not conducive to conversion, has almost entirely prevented a loss of these units.
YOUTH: In 1994, more than 1,900 children were in the care or custody of Maine's Department of Human Services; more than 10,000 were served by the Bureau of Children with Special Needs of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Sixty Maine youths in Department of Human Services' custody were housed in out of state residential facilities due to the lack of appropriate options in Maine.
One element of prevention often noted as a high priority need is for affordable and safe housing where families can choose to remain and have access to timely and flexible services when or as needed. Needs also exist for a range of out-of-home rehabilitative options including residential treatment facilities for families where a parent has substance abuse or mental illness, group homes for non-addictive children, transitional housing for adolescents, transitional housing for pregnant and parenting adolescents, and housing for youths transitioning out of the Maine Youth Center. The availability of vocational education, increased health care coverage, work site child care, and substance abuse treatment will increase the odds for successful, independent living.
Changes in the State of Maine's General Assistance regulations present obstacles for youths to secure these safety-net funds. Youths that are not presently being served by a State agency are referred to emergency homeless shelters. Since low barrier homeless youth shelters are located in the urban areas of Maine and away from their home towns, many youths choose to live on the streets or in other inappropriate settings.
OLDER PERSONS: The Bureau of Elder and Adult Services estimates that more than 27,000 non-institutionalized older Maine persons have mobility impairments or self-care limitations and may be need support to accommodate independent living. The Bureau serves approximately 2,400 clients through its home-based care program, 718 clients monthly through the Medicaid Waiver for In-Home Care program, 530 as Public Guardian and Conservator and 212 persons through its Congregate Housing Services Program. Just over 4,000 persons receive adult protective services. State agencies, housing providers, and service providers acknowledge the need for adequate funding for support services that are flexible, consumer-driven, and affordable. High priority needs also exist for funding to make rental properties physically accessible and affordable to the person in need and for accessible, affordable transportation networks.
Three of four households headed by a person over 65 own their housing unit, though the ownership rate declines as age increases. Compared to the U.S., Maine ranks sixteenth in terms of ownership rate for households headed by a persons between the ages of 65 and 74. As incomes decrease, the need exists for funding for home improvements and rehabilitation (including physical accessibility) to maintain prior investment in their housing.
PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS: The focus of the Division of Mental Health within the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation is primarily on adults with severe and prolonged mental illness and serious functional impairments. In the allocation of scarce resources, the Division places a high priority on individuals with serious mental illness, facing the greatest challenges in independent living, having the greatest need for mental health services, and are part of the Augusta Mental Health Institution consent decree. Providers and consumers indicate a high need for a broad spectrum of long-term deeply subsidized housing that is safe, decent, and sanitary to allow locational choice and maintain the family structure. The continuum of housing options should include a single point of entry for applications, coordinated wrap-around services and should provide: single family housing, single room occupancy and safe-havens, family care homes, supervised scattered site housing, group homes, condominium and housing cooperatives, temporary housing options, and structured residential facilities.
To make housing more affordable for its clients, the Division of Mental Health has identified a need to develop new resources for rental assistance, to identify sources of equity and low cost debt to write down the development cost of new market rental units, to develop resources to refinance high interest mortgages, to maximize the use of government programs, and to explore home ownership opportunities. The Division is working with traditional providers, in particular to provide technical assistance to facilitate certifications as Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) under the National Affordable Housing Act.
PERSONS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION: The Division of Mental Retardation of the State of Maine Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation serves approximately 4,000 persons with a permanent disability diagnosis of mental retardation or autism. The downsizing and ultimate closing of Pineland Center, an institution providing housing, treatment, care, and training, provides a challenge to the Division to find appropriate living options with adequate support services for the one hundred persons slated for community placements. Needs for this population include rental assistance, supportive housing, and affordable ownership opportunities.
PERSONS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: National studies estimate that 10-13% of the population may have impairments that limit mobility. In Maine, this would translate to 130,000 to 160,000 persons that may have functional impairments due to natural (congenital defects or aging) or unnatural causes (accidents). Approximately 1,000 units of state or federally subsidized housing in Maine is currently fully accessible to persons with physical disabilities.
PERSONS WITH HIV/AIDS: In Maine, there are 546 documented cases of persons with AIDS. Nearly 300 cases are deceased. AIDS-diagnosed persons range in age from less than 13 years of age to over 49 years. The AIDS diagnosed numbers do not include the estimated 3,000 persons with HIV in Maine. A recent survey of persons served by the Eastern Maine AIDS Network in Bangor, Dayspring Agency in Augusta, and the Waldo-Knox AIDS Coalition in Belfast indicated that 45% of the respondents had incomes of less than $6,000 annually. A recent study completed by the Maine Community AIDS Partnership indicates that persons with HIV/AIDS face discrimination, poverty, poor medical care, and housing shortages. Other barriers include a lack of support and mental health services and a lack of transportation to access services in rural areas of the state. Substandard housing is a problem for persons with AIDS. They are more likely to tolerate poor housing conditions rather than risk having the property owner find out about their illness.
5. Barriers. Identified barriers to the creation of affordable housing center on local regulations including land use controls, zoning ordinances, code enforcement, fee and charges for development, and growth limits. The State will continue to rely on Maine's Growth Management Act to require that each community to increase its affordable housing by an annual rate of 10% of the new housing stock. The State will also rely on the work of the Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and Housing Opportunities to identify public policies that conflict with the provision of affordable housing and recommend that the State of Maine Legislature again review and incorporate the proposals outlined in the 1991 report "...by Sundown".
Other barriers identified in the Plan include: rural and urban characteristics, distance between regions, lack of resources, conflicts in state statutes, age of housing, large elderly homeowner population, transition in the statewide mental health program, transition in the youth care program and increasing homeless issues.
6. Fair Housing. The State is in the process of developing a fair housing plan.
7. Lead-based paint. Since age of housing stock is a reliable indicator for potential lead hazards, Maine may experience higher than national rates. More than 226,000 housing units may contain lead-based paint hazards and constitute a latent or potential demand. Nearly one in four (53,000 units) are occupied by very low or low income renter households; nearly 174,000 housing units are owner-occupied. If Maine is in line with national estimates, approximately 79,000 housing units would contain lead hazards, with 15,000 occupied by households with young children.
· Increase Supply LOW 1025 Areas where documented need of Housing exists for additional units · Special Needs HIGH 335 No restrictions Housing · Maintain Emergency HIGH 20,000 No restrictions Response for Persons and Families that are Homeless · Develop a continuum HIGH included in No restrictions of long-term, inde- figures above pendent, affordable housing options · Continue to maintain HIGH Restricted to public facilities/infra- non-entitlement areas structure construction · Provide funding for MEDIUM Restricted to public service programs non-entitlement areas · Maintain flexible HIGH Restricted to economic development non-entitlement areas initiatives · Provide planning MEDIUM Restricted to assistance non-entitlement areas · Set aside CDBG funds MEDIUM Restricted to for projects of an emergency non-entitlement areas or urgent nature
HUD-Housing (Formula) $ 4.5 million HUD-Community Dev. (Formula) $ 14.5 million DOE-Formula $ 3.0 million HHS-Formula $ 19.6 million HUD-Competitive Grants unknown at this time Maine General Fund-DMHMR/DHS $ 5.9 million Maine Taxation/Rental Assistance $ 11.7 million Maine General Fund-MSHA $ .75 million MSHA Dedicated Tax Revenue $ 2.0 million MSHA Tax Exempt Bonds $70-100 million MSHA 501c3 Bonds $ 15.0 million MSHA Exempt Facilities Bonds $ 5.0 million -------------- Total $152-182 million
Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program: The Maine State Housing Authority (MSHA) will be responsible for the administration of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) for the State of Maine. MSHA will directly administer all federal-HOME funds centrally from its office in Augusta, Maine and will be accountable for all applicable reports and audits. MSHA will use a network of private, non-profit and for-profit developers and Community Action Agencies (CAPs) to assist in carrying out major program activities.
MSHA will use HOME funds in some or all of the following programs, which will be offered statewide: the Rental Loan Program for over twenty units; the Rental Rehab Program for one to twenty units; the Statewide Housing Acquisition and Rehab Program (SHARP), a one to twenty unit acquisition and rehabilitation program; and the Housing Preservation Loan Program (HPLP), an owner occupied single family rehabilitation and replacement program; and the Perpetual Affordability Home Ownership Program (PAHP) that targets home ownership for households earning 40% - 60% of the area median income. MSHA will direct lend the multifamily loan programs, but the single family rehab/replacement program will be administered through a network of non-profit lenders throughout the state. To respond to the need funds will be budgeted in approximately the following manner:
15% CHDO Set-Aside (for use with existing programs)
Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program: The 1995 Program will be competitive by design. Applicants will be required to document their need for funding through applications to MSHA and only those proposals which present complete documentation will receive awards. Amounts available for funding of essential supportive services and homelessness prevention both will be subject to federally stipulated limitations (the 30% rule). Amounts available for staff costs for operations will be subject to the federally stipulated limitation; (the 10% rule).
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT SMALL CITIES PROGRAM (CDBG): For FY95 the State of Maine received an exception for the inclusion of its final statement as part of the Consolidated Plan process. The State's request for an exception was based upon the need for the CDBG program to proceed on its pre-established 1995 schedule without interruption. In order to remain on track, it was necessary to begin program development and rulemaking for the CDBG Program Statement during the summer of 1994. This timing preceded the schedule established for the development of the Consolidated Plan by several months. HUD, recognizing that unique programmatic situations existed in several states, provided for exceptions and granted one for Maine in October of 1994.
CDBG
Aaron Shapiro
CDBG Program Manager
Department of Economic and Community Development
State of Main
Augusta, ME
207-285-8476
Home and ESG
Mathew H. Eddy,
Research and Planning Manager
Maine State Housing Authority
Augusta, ME
PH: 207-626-4615