For the past few legislative sessions, our leaders in Augusta have been hard at work finding ways to address Maine's housing crisis. Thankfully, working families throughout the state can soon expect increased housing opportunities following the passage of a new law.
On Tuesday Governor Mills signed LD 2003 – An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Zoning and Land Use Restrictions – to address the housing crisis.
“I am proud to sign these bills into law and to continue the progress we have made addressing Maine’s housing shortage. I hope these laws will allow us to say to thousands more Mainers, ‘Welcome Home,’” said Governor Mills.
As we previously reported, LD 2003 was proposed by House Speaker Fecteau to deal with the many obstacles presented by zoning laws, which can prevent building houses and other dwellings on certain land or on one’s own property. Following the bill’s signature, Speaker Fecteau shared a few words about the importance of the new legislation.
“Today we are taking action in an entirely new way to grow our housing supply to meet demand. We’re seeing rising home and rent costs impacting families from Aroostook County on down. I believe that with this legislation, Maine will be on the forefront on solving this crisis,” said Speaker Fecteau.
We applaud Governor Mills, House Speaker Fecteau, and our leaders in Augusta for taking this step to address Maine’s housing crisis.