EMDC creates housing roadmap
Eastern Maine Development Corporation has released a comprehensive housing roadmap for the communities of Greenville, Lincoln and Old Town. This roadmap aims to address urgent housing challenges and prepares communities for future growth. This effort was supported by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development’s Housing Opportunity Program, along with the strong participation of community members through surveys, interviews and local events.
Developed in collaboration with municipal leaders, residents, developers, and regional stakeholders, the housing roadmap identifies critical housing needs and outlines practical steps for increasing the availability of safe, affordable and workforce-ready homes.
“Our region is experiencing a housing shortage that threatens economic development, workforce retention, and quality of life,” said Hope Eye, senior regional planner and community impact specialist at EMDC. “The housing roadmap offers local solutions tailored to each community’s strengths and unique challenges, from zoning updates to regional partnerships and investment opportunities.”
The key goals of the roadmap include assessing current housing conditions and identifying barriers to development, aligning local zoning ordinances with sustainable and attainable housing growth and pinpointing priority areas for new housing investment. The roadmap aims to recommend tools and incentives that support both public and private efforts to expand housing opportunities.
Each community faces distinct challenges — Greenville contends with seasonal housing pressures and a declining year-round population; Lincoln is working to balance rising costs with infrastructure upgrades; and Old Town is leveraging policy reforms and available land to meet demand. Each one also has overlapping issues that extend to the region, state and country.
As part of the implementation phase, EMDC’s Regional Planning Commission will continue working closely with each town to support ordinance updates, engage potential developers and track progress on housing production and preservation.
To access the full housing roadmap or learn more about EMDC’s community initiatives, visit https://www.emdc.org/services/communities/regional-planning/.
EMDC (www.emdc.org) is a non-profit that fosters public-private partnerships and leverages resources to help communities, businesses and individuals reach long-term goals and achieve prosperity.