Portland housing committee previews 2025 work plan, flags Maine State Pier assessment and housing application reforms

The City of Portland Housing and Economic Development Committee reviewed a draft 2025 work plan that prioritizes an environmental and structural assessment of the Maine State Pier, promotion of social housing work, and revisions to the city’s affordable housing application and tax‑increment financing (TIF) processes.

Greg Watson, director of the Housing and Economic Development Department, told the committee that staff have sought EPA funding and engaged a consultant, Novus, to scope an assessment of the pier’s environmental condition and structural health and to pair that with reuse planning. "We will know more about the full scope and how much money EPA will be directing to the city for this late January into February," Watson said.

Why it matters: the pier assessment could guide future waterfront planning and remediation decisions and may require cross‑departmental coordination, department staff said. The committee also discussed items the staff elevated for early 2025 consideration, including continued work on a social housing task force, a hotel inclusionary zoning ordinance (following a hotel moratorium adopted last fall), a commercial vacancy program for downtown, and recurring administrative items such as annual HUD work plans and housing application cycles.

Watson told members the committee’s draft calendar tries to match policy initiatives with meeting dates and that many items are carryovers from last year or referrals the…