Dive Brief:
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A 36-year-old “growth ordinance” in Eliot, ME, will allow for the building of just 18 homes in the town this year—eight within subdivisions, two affordable housing units, and eight single-family homes on private lots.
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All of this year’s single-family permits were awarded to the first three people in line when town offices opened for business at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 2. Some permit-seekers reported camping out in front of the building for two days.
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In November, Eliot voters overturned an effort to repeal the restrictive ordinance so more homes could be built each year. Some lot owners told city officials they have been waiting for years for permission to build on their land.
Dive Insight:
The state Home Builders Association unsuccessfully sued the city in 2000 in an effort to put an end to the cap on permits. In one subdivision in the community, just two dozen homes have been built since it opened in the 1960s.