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Kennebunk to take part in regional 'Coastcraft' housing workshop under Housing Opportunity Grant
Summary
Select Board members agreed March 10 to participate in a one-day Coastcraft workshop — part of a multi-town Housing Opportunity Grant — to test housing typologies and tradeoffs; staff will seek a roughly ten-person delegation and conduct public outreach.
The Kennebunk Select Board on March 10 discussed participation in a Coastcraft housing workshop, part of a Housing Opportunity Grant shared with Kittery and Kennebunkport and facilitated by the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC).
Community Development Director Chris Osterrieder described the workshop as a LEGO-based, hands-on exercise designed to help residents and officials explore housing tradeoffs and development patterns within constraints such as budget, tax base and infrastructure. Staff proposed a Kennebunk delegation of about 10 participants: two Select Board members, two Planning Board members, two building/development industry representatives, one property manager, one public member, one local land trust representative and one community-based nonprofit representative. Osterrieder said the session will be a single one-meeting event and not form an ongoing committee.
Select Board members Kortney Nedeau and Leslie Trentalange volunteered to participate, with Karen Plattes identified as an alternate. Pratt urged staff to reach out broadly to industry participants including those who have not recently appeared before the Planning Board; Osterrieder said staff will use social media and suggested the Planning Board would further discuss selection. Nedeau suggested using a lottery or survey if public interest is high to simplify selection and ensure timely participation for an event targeted for late April or early May.
Staff said the primary objective is to inform town and regional planning by watching participants engage with housing programs and reporting recommendations back to sponsors. The board gave general concurrence for the approach and asked staff to proceed with outreach and participant selection.
