The developers behind the Portland Co. redevelopment project on the city’s waterfront said they’re committed to defeating a referendum that would bring it to a halt.
The “Save the Soul of Portland” group on Monday submitted more than 2,500 signatures to the city for a referendum question that, if approved by voters, would place protections on public views of Portland’s harbor and working waterfront, according to a statement from the group. One of the targeted areas would impact plans for the Portland Co. project at 58 Fore St.
“We take this step reluctantly and as a last resort. We have no choice but to use the referendum process to allow the voters to stand up for the public’s interest because we believe a majority of the [Portland] City Council failed to do so,” Anne Rand, a group spokesperson and former state legislator, said in a prepared statement. “In the Portland Co. rezoning, they are giving away treasured cultural and scenic assets that were safeguarded for the public in 2004. We are talking about our connection to the working waterfront.”
Jim Brady, one of the partners at CPB2, told the Portland Press Herald in a statement that the “referendum will not only kill the 58 Fore St. project, but other thoughtful development as well, and in a time of housing supply issues and budgetary shortfalls, this referendum is both shortsighted and detrimental to all of Portland’s residents.” He said he and his partners are “building a strong, broad-based coalition committed to defeating the referendum.”
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