THE WATERFRONT

Master planning committee faction pulls a fast one

By Noah Bruce

On April 1, in an effort designed to insure citizen trust, Portland City Council directed the waterfront master planning committee to study alternative sites (other than the spot currently occupied by BIW) for the Scotia Prince (see “Selling the plan to the people,” April 20). The move was seen as a victory for those opposed to putting the ferry business in the East End, but the council members made it pretty clear they did not really expect to find a viable alternative.

On April 30, the master planning committee, working on the plan for exploring alternative sites, opened an even bigger can of worms. At the tail end of a three-hour meeting, Paul Peck, the committee member representing the Chamber of Commerce, proposed striking the marine-only zoning restriction on the Maine State Pier. The measure was voted down, but then an amendment, proposed by Don Perkins, mandating the exact same thing, was accepted by the committee.

The measure, if eventually approved by the city council, could allow any number of things. On one hand, committee member Jack Humeniuk says proponents are trying to “make the argument that the land is so valuable you could sell the property and use the money to buy the Guilford property [that is being proposed as an alternative site for the Scotia Prince].” Humeniuk is worried that the Maine State Pier will wind up being the site of high-end condos or office space.

Charlie Pool, another committee member, takes a more moderate stance. He admits that a zoning change could be used to allow the sale of the property to a company looking to build condos, but it could also be used to allow the sort of zoning currently employed on the city’s Fish Pier. On this site, businesses that are not directly involved in marine activities are allowed on the upper floors of the building on the pier.

Whatever the motive of Peck and Perkins (who were unavailable for comment) and the committee members who voted to change the marine-only designation, some felt the initiative was outside the scope of the committee’s assigned duties.

“The committee stepped beyond its bounds, which was to look at alternatives for the Scotia Prince,” says Humeniuk.

Committee co-chair and city councilor Karen Geraghty agrees.

“Now we have to start using taxpayer money and committee time to look at other-than-marine uses,” she says.

Others objected to the last-minute nature of the proposal.

“What was most difficult about the vote last night was, one, it was offered at the last minute,” says committee member Elizabeth Sheehan. “So the committee had no time to talk about what it meant to remove marine-related uses on the Maine State Pier.”

Humeniuk believes the vote is further proof that the master planning committee lacks direction. “The fact of the matter,” he says, “is this committee has been all over the place for ten months and we haven’t gotten shit done.”