KENNEBUNK –– The Kennebunk Planning Board got its first look at a proposal to build a 200-unit mobile home park in town earlier this month, with some members saying they worry about traffic and the high per-unit cost. 

“This is certainly going to be a complex review for what I would call a proposal for a town within a town, which makes me think a little bit differently about it,” board member Edward Trainer said Aug. 10. 

The meeting marked the board’s first crack at the proposal by Abode Communities Kennebunk. No contact information for the company was available, but LJB Engineering, an Ohio-based company with offices in South Portland, presented the proposal on behalf of Abode.

The proposal indicates the project would be in an undeveloped wooded area near Alewive Road, less than two miles from Kennebunk Elementary School. 

Drew Gagnon, project manager at LJB, said the proposal includes seven single-family home lots and 192 lots for what he called “manufactured homes.”

The homes, he said, are planned to have multiple bedrooms, an optional two-car garage, and a concrete slab foundation. The project will also include amenities for its residents such as recreational trails and a 4,000-square-foot community center.  

Gagnon referred to the proposal as an “A grade” park. Prices for the homes, he said, were expected to be around $450,000, not including other expenses. The price prompted questions from the board about the affordability of the homes to local residents.

Lee Jay Feldman, Kennebunk’s deputy director for economic development, said the town’s ordinances hold that any new mobile home park must ensure that at least 50% of its homes are considered “affordable” for people who make 80% or less of area median income. 

According to the ordinances, Kennebunk defines “affordable” as not costing its owners more than 30% of household income. The standard mirrors that set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which defines “affordable” as not costing residents more than 30% of monthly gross income for “housing costs, including utilities.”

Recent U.S. Census data shows the median household income in York County overall is $88,333. Feldman said two years ago, a study done more locally concluded that a single-family home classified as affordable to the 80% of median income or less resident could not cost more than $499,000. 

On paper, this makes the proposed mobile homes look affordable, but Gagnon acknowledged on Aug. 10 that the cost for purchase does not include the land itself, which residents would then have to pay rent for. Other costs associated with constructing additional amenities, Gagnon said, will likely push the real cost of living in the park above the affordability threshold, and asked the board to consider a “modified affordability rate.”

Gagnon also added that the proposed manufactured homes will be “significantly still more affordable than most houses in Kennebunk.” 

Current data from Realtor.com indicates that the median home price in Kennebunk is just under $850,000.

Vice Chairperson Richard Smith asked Gagnon what the company’s target buyer was for the park. Gagnon said he couldn’t say for certain, but he estimated families would be ideal. 

“There’s a certain price point and the bedrooms lead to believe that there’s room for families on those lots,” he said.

Smith went on to ask if the developers were planning to introduce any of the lots as short-term rentals. Gagnon said he was not sure, but Smith was adamant he would not support that. 

“I would be extraordinarily against any kind of project that’s going to allow a whole bunch of short-term rentals, period,” he said. “That doesn’t solve any housing needs of our town.”

Trainer also said he was concerned about a high volume of traffic suddenly moving through already cramped roadways during rush hour. He called traffic “a monster concern for me.” 

Gagnon said if approved, the park would not build all of the units at once, but phase them in a few at a time.

The board took no action on Aug. 10 but said they would continue discussions at a future meeting. Gagnon said if approved, developers wanted to start construction next summer.