Subdivision Law Workshop
The Midcoast Council of Governments (MCOG) and Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) hosted a workshop for planning boards and town planners on Maine's Subdivision Law. The recording of this workshop covers an introduction to subdivisions, the subdivision process, and recommendations. View the workshop materials and recording at this webpage!
(Read More)County's Broadband ARPA Match Deadline is August 30
With Maine Connectivity Authority's Connect The Ready Cohort Two Grant Round opening August 8 with a deadline of Sept. 14, Lincoln County announces its schedule for receiving applications for County ARPA funds to match town contributions that are part of a CTR application. The County's application can be found HERE. Applications are due Wed., August 30 at 4 pm. The application must be submitted as one PDF (including any attachments) via email to: mbarnes@lcrpc.org.
(Read More)ARPA Affordable Housing Investment Process
The Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission is pleased to announce that the County Commissioners voted at their June 20, 2023 meeting to allocate $1.5 million of American Rescue Plan funds to the creation of the ‘Lincoln County Affordable Housing Investment Process’ with the intent of providing financial support for the development of affordable housing units in Lincoln County.
This Process and corresponding ARPA allocation is the first strategy to be implemented from the Lincoln County Housing Needs Assessment, published in May 2023. The Assessment found that 900 affordable units will be needed in the next decade to house working families and older adults of modest means in the County. The Lincoln County Affordable Housing Investment Process is a mechanism for the County to provide financial support in advancing the construction of a significant number of the needed units.
(Read More)Lincoln County Housing Needs Assessment
The Lincoln County Housing Needs Assessment completed with Camoin Associates is now available. This Housing Needs Assessment outlines county-wide demographics and economic profile, housing inventory and market trends, housing needs assessment, future growth opportunities, and strategies for the County and the municipalities.
The final report and the recording of the final presentation by Camoin Associates are available on this webpage!
(Read More)Housing Legislation - L.D. 2003
L.D. 2003 is An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Zoning and Land Use Restrictions. The bill was passed by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor in April 2022. The law went into effect July 27, 2022, however, a majority of the bill’s requirements do not take effect until July 1, 2023. The Commission was established under LD609 and provided 9 recommendations to increase affordable housing that was intended to address the shortage in Maine.
L.D. 2003 Q&A Sessions will be held throughout April 2023 and May 2023. Learn more here.
*This page is updated as new information becomes available*
NEW! June 5th 2023 L.D. 2003 Workshop: Ben Averill and Hilary Grove of the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) provided an overview of L.D. 2003 with updates related to rule making, grants, and legislation that may impact L.D. 2003. View here.
(Read More)LCRPC Resource Hub
The LCRPC has created the Resource Hub, a platform for exploring GIS data and resources. The intent of the Resource Hub is to provide an easy to navigate “one-stop-shop” for municipal officials, board and committee members, and residents to access data and resources relevant to Lincoln County towns from the State, federal agencies, and directly from LCRPC. The resources and data are targeted toward assisting with climate and general project planning at the town, county, and regional level. These resources provide GIS data sets that are not only easy to download for GIS users, but also easily viewable for non-GIS users.
(Read More)County Seeks Proposals To Assess Sheriff's Office Building
Lincoln County is seeking a licensed engineer or architect to prepare a site and structural assessment of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office building, situated 42 Bath Road (Route 1), Wiscasset, ME. Such assessment will include a detailed description and cost estimate of what will be required to retrofit the building to meet current building, energy, and accessibility code requirements; an assessment of the site conditions to determine if soil and site conditions are favorable for such renovations; and an assessment, including cost estimate, of whether it would be more economical to construct a new facility on a different property.
The County will be accepting proposals through 2:00PM on Friday, June 2nd 2023. Formal proposals should be sent electronically to Michelle Richardson, County Treasurer, at mrichardson@lincounty.me. A pre-bid inspection of the Sheriff's Office will be held, Friday, April 28th 2023 at 2:00 PM. Those who are unable to attend this inspection can arrange another inspection time with Michelle prior to the RFP deadline.
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Summer/Fall 2023 "Assistance with Specific Know-How" (ASK) Grant Program
The Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) plans to award an additional grant this summer for a municipal and/or community project in need of specific technical assistance, such as preliminary engineering/design, economic research, architectural
or environmental planning, for example, that will help solve a municipal issue or complete an important town project. The award amount is $2,500. LCRPC has already awarded four (4) ASK Grants this spring to Boothbay Harbor, Damariscotta, Nobleboro, and Waldoboro.
Proposals are due by Friday, September 29, 2023. Towns are encouraged to work with other towns on a joint project, should this be an effective and practical approach to a common issue.
(Read More)Community Resilience Partnership
The Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) program, The Community Resilience Partnership, is heading into it's second year! Lincoln County currently has 2 towns enrolled (Monhegan Island and Westport Island) with 4 more underway. Southport, Boothbay Harbor, Boothbay, and Wiscasset are currently in the process of enrolling in the Partnership with the assistance of their Service Provider.
Spring 2023 grants are now open!
Service Provider Grant applications are due June 23, 2023.
Community Action Grant applications are due July 7, 2023.
To learn more about The Community Resilience Partnership, check out our webpage!
(Read More)County-wide Housing Study
Housing is such an essential part of our lives -- as families, as communities. Lincoln County’s limited housing stock and housing costs have been challenged by several major factors: coastal issues of second-home retirement (long-term); short-term rentals (since 2010 or so); competition for workforce housing; and a lack of public infrastructure, especially inland.
Since 2017, the County has been an increasingly unaffordable place to live and in 2021 became the most unaffordable county in Maine for homeownership according to MaineHousing. Rents are unaffordable – as they are throughout much of Maine, and have been so in Lincoln County since 2000 (per MaineHousing data).
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