📰BIDDEFORD | DENIED | Council Denies 90 Day Moratorium on Mobile Home Lot Fee Increases “Ward 7 Councilor Brad Cote spoke from a very different perspective and even sounded a bit frustrated...

“Ward 7 Councilor Brad Cote spoke from a very different perspective and even sounded a bit frustrated with some of his peers while stating, “If we can't support a 90 day moratorium… then how on god's green earth are we going to tackle affordable housing”.

January 20, 2026, At this evening’s Biddeford City Council Meeting, councilors voted 6 to 3 against instituting a 90 Day Moratorium on Mobile Home Lot Fee Increases in the city of Biddeford… and City hall was packed with concerned renters and homeowners alike.

In favor of the moratorium were Councilors Kurtz, Woods, and Cote - opposing were Councilors Beaupre, Lessard, Vadnais, Boston, and Doughty.

During the meeting, councilors heard from multiple residents who expressed concern about being on “fixed incomes” and being “priced out of their homes”. In addition, multiple homeowners referenced out of state companies and individuals who are buying local mobile home parks and then increasing fees for residents.

Biddeford resident and former city council candidate Sam Pecor addressed the council and reiterated, “this is a problem that has been going on for a long time… in 6 years we should have already had an ordinance in place to address this… I am very disappointed it got to a breaking point.”

Councilor At-Large Marc Lessard spoke to his peers and cautioned them about solving problems by instituting moratoriums. Lessard went on to say “if you replaced the name from trailer park to any other business… then this would not be ok”. Marc also specifically addressed his concerns with utilizing moratoriums and them having the potential to tie the hands of business owners (and or landlords) facing “rising costs”. Lessard ended his remarks by saying, “this is the first step of rent control”.

Councilor At-Large Lisa Vadnais followed Marc’s remarks by echoing his sentiments and also cautioned her peers about this moratorium leading to “rent control” by local government. “This might [negatively] affect somebody who is a really good mobile home park owner… I wish there was another avenue to stop this owner from doing what he is doing to you [attendees], but for that reason I might not be able to support this.”

Worth noting, many members of the audience appeared visibly upset during Councilor Lessard's remarks with some becoming audibly frustrated prompting Mayor LaFountain to instruct meeting attendees to remain silent while the council is discussing matters.

Following At-Large Councilors Lessard and Vadnis, Ward 7 Councilor Brad Cote spoke from a very different perspective and even sounded a bit frustrated while stating, “If we can't support a 90 day moratorium… then how on god's green earth are we going to tackle affordable housing”.

According to City Solicitor Harry Center, if passed, the moratorium would have allowed “...the City to examine the State Model Ordinance pursuant for Lot Rent Stabilization for Mobile Home Parks, set forth as Appendix 2 in the LD 1765 (Attachment 1), authored by the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and attached in its report to the Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development.”

Harry Center, Biddeford City Solicitor

Harry goes on to explain that passage of the moratorium by The City of Biddeford would have prohibited “...any Lot Rent Increases in mobile home parks from the date of adoption to the expiration of this Emergency Temporary Moratorium Ordinance, protecting the health safety and welfare of the citizens of Biddeford.”

With the failing of the moratorium this evening, it is currently unclear what next steps the city council will take to address this concern; there was mention of the possibility of another committee reviewing the concern, and or Mayor LaFountain appointing an ad hoc committee to further investigate.