A Conversation with Greg Payne

Greg Payne, Senior Advisor on Housing Policy at The Governor’s Office of Policy, Innovation and the Future, sits down with MEREDA President Shannon Richards for the fifth episode in the second season of MEREDA Matters - the podcast that lets you listen in on conversations with the people who are driving responsible development in Maine. Payne, whose work is focused on addressing the housing crisis and homelessness, shares a bit about his background, including how a volunteer experience in middle school made an impression on him and was the beginning of his career path. He also shares some of his early experiences working as an attorney before moving to Maine where he then worked at Avesta Housing as well as the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition before joining the Governor’s Office. The conversation continues with a discussion of the Housing Production Needs Study that outlines the critical lack of housing in Maine and the projected number of units needed to keep pace with the future economy - 84,000 units by 2030. Payne goes on to discuss the Housing First effort to address chronic homelessness, an approach with a successful track record across the nation. Currently Maine has 85 Housing First units, with Governor Mills allocating funds to scale up the effort to 500 units on July first. The conversation also includes a discussion on the influence of the election on housing, the state working with municipalities to remove barriers to housing creation, the needs for an updated Historic Tax Credit cap, as well as the effect of building regulations, such as requirements for sprinklers and elevators. If Greg had the ability to change one thing to make a larger impact, what would it be? Listen to the episode to find out!