My Statement on Dunham Court Forfeit and Affordable Housing in Cape Elizabeth

Everyone wants affordable housing and the recently updated Cape Elizabeth Comprehensive Plan marks a path to achieve it. The developer of Dunham Court wanted the rules to be changed so it could maximize public subsidy instead of working within the rules to create housing for families that reflects our community values. Public policy should be about the public, not a vehicle for corporate windfalls.

Here’s the full statement I gave the press: "Good riddance Dunham Court. It was never about affordable housing but instead an algorithm to maximize corporate profit using multiple government financing schemes. I could not be prouder of our community for standing up for its values in the face of Wall Street looters seeking to pollute downtown America with big, cheap ugly buildings in the name of service to the poor but designed to churn profit for the rich. We can do better. It's sad the developers could not imagine something better suited for affordable housing in the wonderful Town of Cape Elizabeth."

And by the way, every development in Cape Elizabeth is required by our zoning ordinance to include between 5 and 10 % of affordable housing as the term is defined, a combination of low and moderate income homes. The old saw “there hasn’t been an affordable housing project in Cape Elizabeth for 50 years” is hogwash. We haven’t had any factory farms, either and our farms are outstanding, aren’t they.

Cynthia Dill