On March 5, voters in the Town of Cumberland are set to weigh in on a controversial proposal to construct a 107-unit affordable housing development on the municipally-owned land located on Drowne Road.
As the day of the vote draws closer, brightly colored lawn signs have begun to crop up throughout the town, vehemently advocating both for and against the affordable housing proposal.
Of the 107 units slated for construction, there would be 71 one-bedroom apartments, 21 two-bedrooms, and 15 three-bedrooms. 36 of the one-bedroom units are to be reserved for senior citizens.
As it is currently designed, all 36 senior units would be in one building, while the remaining apartments would be split between two additional buildings.
The project also includes plans to construct an entrance and exit for the development on Tuttle Road in order to discourage the excess traffic from being funneled through the existing neighborhood.
Eligible to rent in the development would be households earning less than 60 percent of the area median incomes (AMI), which falls between $49,740 and $70,980 depending upon the size of the household.
One-bedroom units would be available for $1,332 a month, two-bedrooms for $1,597, three-bedrooms for $1,647.
If approved, the Drowne Road Project would be built on the land that currently houses two town-owned baseball fields used by Cumberland North Yarmouth Little League (CNYLL).
Should the project go forward, the team would “swap” the two Drowne Road fields for “a plot large enough to accommodate a 4-field complex at Stiles Way,” according to a public statement provided by the CNYLL.
The project is estimated to raise the town’s annual non-educational expenses by $24,248.
According to figures provided by the town, Cumberland’s per pupil expenses are $16,230. Westbrook Development Corporation — the developers responsible for the project — have suggested that as many as 36 children could ultimately end up living in the Drowne Road apartments.
Click Here to Read the Town of Cumberland’s FAQ Document for the Project
While supporters of the project have lauded it as a way to increase affordable housing and help those who work in Cumberland to afford to live there, opponents raised concerns about the impact it would have on existing taxpayers, as well as the town’s education system.
Those who already live on or near Drowne Road have also voiced worries about the possibility of increased vehicular traffic to the area as a result of the development.
The Portland Press Herald has published a series of letters from Cumberland residents expressing both support for and opposition to the 107-unit proposal.
“Some have voiced objections to the project, fearing higher taxes and more traffic, among other complaints,” wrote Richard Wolfe of Cumberland. “But almost no one has disputed the need for affordable housing. Shouldn’t housing be the priority?”
“Yes, let’s keep trying to contain taxes and provide better tax credits/assistance, but don’t let aversion to taxes torpedo a worthy cause (especially when, for years, houses got built that brought in families with schoolchildren),” Wolfe said.
“Like many residents, I initially had reservations about the proposed affordable housing project on Drowne Road,” wrote another Cumberland resident, Eleanor Wright. “Concerns about taxes, schools and traffic were swirling in my mind.”
“However, I took the initiative to address these concerns head-on,” Wright continued. “Community meeting recordings and articles in the Town Crier provided reassuring answers. Visiting the site on Drowne Road helped me visualize how the three-story buildings would seamlessly blend into the landscape.”
“Most importantly, my niece’s words made an impact. She emphasized the need for denser housing to conserve energy and resources, especially in light of climate change and recent extreme weather events,” Wright’s letter said. “As I envision a sustainable future for my grandchildren, her perspective resonated deeply.”
“[I] support new approaches encouraging the development of affordable housing in town,” wrote Rick Doane, a Cumberland resident and former member of Cumberland’s Affordable Housing Task Force. “Unfortunately, I can’t support the proposed 107-unit Drowne Road affordable housing project in its current form.”
“This project has been rushed through by the Town Council without real scrutiny or negotiation, too many unanswered questions exist and it’s simply too big for its proposed location,” Doane wrote.
“Beyond basic issues like traffic, impact on the town forest and school crowding, there are three major issues needing attention that argue against approving this project at this time,” Doane’s letter said, pointing toward “tax impacts,” “replacement Little League fields,” and “a silent ‘Phase 2.'”
“We need affordable housing in Cumberland, but this project fails too many important tests,” Doane concluded. “It deserves to be sent back to the council for genuine, public evaluation, not pushed through to check a box. An affordable housing project on Drowne Road could work, but this is not it.”
“Nearly all of the Cumberland citizens who have spoken out against the location, design and process for this project have also made clear they do not oppose the concept of providing affordable housing in Cumberland,” wrote David Niklaus, Cumberland resident and retired city administrator in Minneapolis and Boston. “This project is the wrong project in the wrong location.”
“It will bring more kids into the overcrowded Cumberland schools and will seriously disrupt peaceful and settled neighborhoods in the area that were built according to the town plan,” Niklaus wrote. “It will also provide substantial negative impact on the town budget for the library, public safety and all public services leading to tax increases.”
Affordable housing has been a topic of discussion in Maine for some time now, particularly with the release of the state’s Housing Production Needs Study this past fall, which found that approximately 84,000 more homes will be needed in the state by 2030.
Many municipal-level discussions of affordable housing have centered around a 2022 state law requiring that a number of amendments be made to local zoning ordinances in the name of improving affordable housing access.
Among the changes mandated by LD 2003 — An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Zoning and Land Use Restrictions — were the unconditional allowance of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on residential housing lots and the implementation of an “affordable housing density bonus” that automatically multiplies the maximum allowed density for an area by 2.5 times for qualified affordable housing developments.
Six of seven members of the Cumberland Town Council voted to put final approval of the Drowne Road Project before residents as a referendum.
The question presented to voters on March 5 will read:
Shall the Town Council accept the proposal from Westbrook Development Corporation dated November 2, 2023, and subsequent site plan proposals for the development of 107 affordable housing units to be constructed on Town-owned property located off Drowne Road adjacent to Town Hall?
Ha ha ha! Where to start?
Cumberland went woke in the past ten or fifteen years with all their little BLM and Love is Love signs but now that those liberal votes may be bringing in low income people and probably illegals from Africa they’re all nimby.
The rents quoted are not affordable for anyone not on welfare or not making $80,000 and up so you know they’ll be taxpayer subsidized.
Welcome to the results of what you voted for but never thought you’d see in your town of Cumberland. LOL
Would there be a housing crisis if our homeland wasn’t occupied by 30 million illegal border breachers ?
Can we stop calling it affordable housing and call it what it really is, Tax Payer funded. Whom ever is building is not going to do at a loss, they will not even build without free money.
Since we have a real shortage of homes, lets invite illegals here who need taxpayers to fund everything including housing.
Of course, this will ruin the quaint, safe (but woke) suburban town of Cumberland making it a further extension of the People’s Republic of Portland. But, because the school board voted to keep inappropriate porn books in their library, I hope it passes and they get what they deserve for their specious virtue signaling.
I’d say beachcomber pretty much hit it right on the head. I remember President Trump putting a stop to them implementing new regulations on housing in the suburbs etc. Essentially trying to double the capacity. Of course , he was right again!! It’s coming to all our small towns too, not just the suburbs Touching the city limits… you get what you vote for ! But not in my town! Lol
The cost estimate for the schools is ridiculously low for a town that spends close to $ 10,000 per student. It’s actually taxpayer funded housing at a time when many taxpayers are barely making ends meet thanks to Janet’s terrible economy and sky high taxes. The cost to the taxpayers will only increase with time, it will never decrease. I wouldn’t want that monstrosity near my house but that’s up to Cumberland voters.
Westbrook Development Corporation — the developers responsible for the project is a NON PROFIT. Just like Catholic Charities, another non profit, dumping illegal immigrants here in Maine. Any time I hear of a group being a non profit, I know the scam is on. How many non Americans (illlegal citizens), will be placed in this development?
Boxcar and others are right. All of this LD 2003 feeding frenzy, flowing from Obama’s AFAH policies, is drawing existing Non-profits and spawning brand new ones to scarf up the free money issuing forth from US via the OPM channels at the fed and state levels.
As economist Milton Friedman said, you cannot have a welfare state with an open border, which is exactly what Obama, Biden, and Mills want.
Here’s another logical principle being violated:
Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson: “The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer term effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.”
On another point, the citations of cost per student being either 10K or 15K have to be very wrong.
Here in Brunswick we’re at $20,000 plus per student, and I can see no reason why Cumberland could be spending far less than that. Somebody needs to go back and check their figures. Look at the TOTAL school budget, not how it is funded with GPA, etc.