Portland city councilors Monday night unanimously approved tougher requirements and higher fees for developers who want to build new hotels in Maine's largest city.

Under the new policy, developers must provide one unit of income-restricted rental housing for every 19 hotel rooms that are built in Portland, or pay a roughly $9,500 fee into the city's housing trust fund.

The changes to Portland's hotel inclusionary zoning have been about a year in the making. Last fall, city councilors agreed to a temporary moratorium on the development of new hotels. The moratorium was later extended earlier this spring.

City councilors said the pause would give them time to review inclusionary zoning rules passed in 2019, which require that developers provide one unit of income-restricted rental ho

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