Topsham holds hearing on Union Park Road affordable housing district changes

Topsham residents got a formal chance to weigh in on a proposed change to the Union Park Road affordable-housing district that would redraw the project’s boundaries and reshape where future homes could go.

At the April 16 hearing at Topsham Town Hall, the town said the First Amendment to the Union Park Road Affordable Housing Tax Increment Financing District would remove about 1.0 acre from the district so the commercial building on that portion could be taken out, while also folding in comments from MaineHousing. The change matters because the district is not just a map line. It is the finance tool that will help determine how tax growth from the site is captured and used for housing-related public improvements.

Draft town materials described the district as about 3.82 acres before the amendment. Earlier project presentations showed a concept for about 180 high-efficiency housing units on that lot, with about 33% of the units affordable at 120% of area median income. A later project narrative said the existing three-story office building at 4 Union Park Road would remain, while the housing would replace the existing surface parking lot on about 3 acres of the site closest to Union Park Road.

The proposal sits inside a longer push by Topsham to use local finance tools to support housing supply. Town Meeting voters approved the affordable-housing TIF in November 2025 after the ballot question framed it as a way to support a workforce-housing apartment building for area workers. Topsham’s voter-facing rationale said the town needed more affordable, livable housing, wanted to help contain the costs of unplanned growth, and hoped to broaden the tax base while improving the local and regional economy.

MaineHousing’s rules help explain why the district is still being refined. The agency says an AHTIF district must be approved by the municipality after at least 10 days’ public notice and a public hearing. It also requires at least 33% of the units to be for households earning no more than 120% of area median income, with affordability maintained for at least 30 years for rental units and 10 years for homeownership units.

Topsham’s April 16 Select Board agenda listed the amendment as Article 10 of the proposed Special Town Meeting warrant, putting the district back in front of local decision-makers as the town works to turn a Union Park Road parcel into a housing site without losing sight of the tax and land-use tradeoffs.