Just a quick update for those of you who may have read What's Up with Rising Tide?

The bill giving municipalities the ability to place conditions on state liquor licenses cleared both chambers of the Legislature and was enacted as an emergency on May 30, 2019. That means it is now the law of the land, and we are right back to where we were with Rising Tide before the Council meeting that spawned the attention getting headline.

Speaking of that attention getting headline...

Imagine if instead, the headline following that April 22nd headline had read:

Council Finds Way to Allow Local Business to Keep Operating

It certainly would have been more fitting. Because, as it turns out, that's the real story here. 

When I saw this headline in the paper, I knew I’d have some explaining to do:

If you're wondering why on earth five councilors would vote to violate our own ordinance, you're not alone. Here's the explanation.  

I am pleased to say that on November 21, 2016, the Portland City Council unanimously passed the moratorium I sponsored, prohibiting new developments on parcels abutting public parks in the R-6 Zone on the East End of the Portland peninsula. The moratorium is retroactive to October 5, 2016, and it remains in effect until February 6, 2017. That means that the city has until then to put some new rules and regulations in place to help protect our parks and open spaces and ensure they won’t be compromised by nearby developments.

At the November 21, 2016 City Council meeting, the Council approved the sale of a piece of city land to CPB2 in an 8-1 vote (Strimling opposed). I received multiple emails asking me to explain my vote in support of this sale, so I thought it would be good to follow up with a blog post. Here it is.  

I was able to meet with developer Bernie Saulnier and his team this morning to talk about the potential development at 155 Sheridan Street. I am pleased to report that the developer is working very hard to address the concerns that have been expressed and to come up with a viable design that will please the community. At present, I don't believe we've reached that point, but this is a work in progress, and I am hopeful that we will get there. 

Today we had a chance to discuss an idea I floated separately to the City Manager and the developer in an attempt to find a plausible solution that would allow the developer to proceed with his design in a new direction.

If you've read the Press Herald or the Forecaster recently, you're familiar with the issue here: a developer is contemplating a 6-story condo project that could block the views from Fort Sumner. I italicize could because no plans have yet been submitted to the city for approval and the design of the proposed building is not yet final. Needless to say, the view from the park at Fort Sumner is iconic in the city and numerous residents have contacted me to express their concerns. 

This evening, I was able to meet with the developer and other interested parties. As promised (to those who have contacted me with concerns), here is an update of where things stand at present.