Briefs
Written and compiled by Chris Busby, except as noted
June 17, 2008
All decked out: Diners at The Porthole. (photo/Dan Zarin)
Porthole/Comedy Connection survives license challenge
Oliver Keithly, owner of The Porthole and The Comedy Connection on Custom
House Wharf, survived another zoning challenge early this morning when
the Portland City Council voted not to limit food service, alcohol consumption
and entertainment at his waterfront restaurant and comedy club. The vote
was unanimous.
City legal staff had recommended that councilors severely limit food and
alcohol service – and prohibit entertainment – on the businesses'
adjoining outdoor decks, due to waterfront zoning restrictions. Keithly
and his attorney, former Councilor and Mayor Jim Cloutier, argued that
the establishments are grandfathered under the law because those uses
existed prior to zoning changes mandated by a citizen referendum in the
late 1980s.
City attorneys suggested the decks' capacity be limited to 40 people.
The decks are currently licensed to handle up to 250 customers. Keithly
said the restrictions would have doomed both businesses, and he marshaled
a small army of supporters to plead his case. The group of about 20 men,
women and children marched up Exchange Street carrying signs and sporting
t-shirts supporting the businesses, and many stayed to testify five hours
later when the item was finally addressed.
The agreement setting the decks' capacity at 250 was said to be
the result of a handshake deal eight years ago between Keithly and then-City
Manager Bob Ganley. At the time, renovation work on the decks had sparked
a similar debate about zoning restrictions that threatened the businesses'
viability.
June 5, 2008
Bar dispersal law may be repealed
The city ordinance passed last year that limits the places in downtown
Portland and the Old Port where establishments can serve alcohol and offer
live entertainment may be repealed this summer. City Councilor Dave Marshall,
chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said his committee will discuss
an order he's submitted to nix the zoning requirement at its meeting next
Tuesday, June 10.
The law prohibits new bars and restaurants from offering music if they
are located within 100 feet of another drinking establishment that also
offers live entertainment. Commercial spaces where booze and music were
previously offered are grandfathered under the law – which is why,
for example, a new bar and dance club set to open in the former location
of Digger's/Liquid Blue, on Fore Street, was granted liquor and entertainment
licenses earlier this year. [See "'Footloose'
in Portland," April 5, 2007, in News.]
The law has made a host of locations in the Old Port and Arts District
off-limits to new bars and restaurants that could potentially host the
performing arts. Marshall said at least one business owner has been denied
the opportunity to host music due to the law, though he could not recall
which establishment was affected.
The dispersal ordinance, as it's called, "has only caused confusion,"
said Marshall. "It hasn't done anything to improve public safety….
This ordinance seeks to prohibit entertainment in the Old Port and the
Arts District when we should really be focusing on good management practices
of bars."
Jan Beitzer, executive director of Portland's Downtown District –
the quasi-municipal organization that promotes and helps maintain downtown
Portland – was shocked to hear of Marshall's move to kill the law.
"I was stunned that he would do that without even having the courtesy
to contact me," she said. "He knows that it effects PDD directly
and he's on the PDD board. It would have been nice if he'd given us the
courtesy of a heads-up."
Marshall said he followed the same procedure councilors always do when
they want to introduce an ordinance. A majority of his three-member committee
is expected to vote to forward the repeal order to the full council (fellow
committee member Kevin Donoghue opposed the dispersal requirement last
year and favors repeal). Marshall is fairly confident a majority of the
full council will vote to strike the law from the books.
Beitzer said the dispersal ordinance has helped keep Congress Street from
experiencing the problems that have plagued Wharf Street – rowdy
crowds from different bars and nightclubs gathering late at night and
causing fights and other disturbances.
"PDD believes the dispersal rule has been working," she said.
"This comes under the heading: don't try to fix something that's
not broken."
[Full disclosure: The Bollard has previously editorialized against
the dispersal ordinance; see "The
Flogging Song," April 19, 2007, in Views.]
May 16, 2008
Portland Police Chief Tim Burton during the city council vote to give
him the top job in November 2005. (photo/Chris Busby)
Chief Burton seeking job in Texas
The Bollard has learned that Portland Police Chief Tim Burton
has applied to be the top cop in the city of Odessa, Texas. Portland officials
are expected to announce that Burton is a finalist for the post later
today.
Burton's secretary said he will not be available for comment today, and
city spokesperson Nicole Clegg was not immediately available for comment.
In a communication to city councilors from Portland City Manager Joe Gray,
Gray said Burton had informed him about three weeks ago that he and his
wife were interested in relocating to the southwest. Gray went on to say
that Burton has not committed to accepting a job offer in Odessa, but
is considered a strong contender for the police chief position by city
officials there, some of whom will be traveling to Portland next week
to talk with Gray, Mayor Ed Suslovic, police and community leaders about
Burton.
The west Texas oil city of Odessa has a population of about 98,000. City
officials there were not immediately available to confirm Burton's candidacy
for the job.
Burton was chosen to lead Portland's department in November 2005, after
a contentious selection process. Some community members, and a sizeable
group of rank-and-file officers, preferred an African-American candidate,
Anthony Holloway, a police captain in Clearwater, Florida. [See "Acting
chief named chief," Nov. 8, 2005, in Briefs.]
Burton served as deputy chief under Mike Chitwood before assuming the
top job here. Now in his late 40s, Burton has over 25 years of experience
with Portland's department.
May 15, 2008
Reiche branch likely to survive
It seems almost certain that the Portland Public Library's branch location
at Reiche Elementary School will remain open – at least for another
year. [See May 8 Briefs item below for more background.]
Following heavy lobbying by neighbors in the West End and hard questioning
by city councilors, library officials now say the branch can be spared
the ax if the council agrees to provide $30,000 in additional funding
for the coming fiscal year. The additional money – which would come
from the city's contingency fund – would bring the city's contribution
to the library back up to the level of funding it provided last year.
However, even with that cash, the main library in Monument Square would
still be closed on Mondays.
At least four councilors have voiced support for the expenditure (John
Anton, Dave Marshall, Kevin Donoghue and Cheryl Leeman). If one other
councilor supports the spending, the measure will pass at next Monday
night's council meeting.
Should the library get the extra dough, its board and administrators are
expected to study the library system in the coming year with an eye toward
determining what level of financial support is necessary to sustain current
operations.
Very last call?: Inside The Icehouse. (photo/The Fuge)
The Icehouse, closed, keeps fighting
The epic battle between Popeye and Bluto was nothing compared to the ongoing
struggle between The Icehouse (formerly Popeye's Icehouse) and City Hall.
In the latest, and perhaps last round, the West End bar closed May 8,
but its attorney and owner are continuing to file legal motions in hopes
of reviving the business.
Complaints from neighbors, who say Icehouse patrons disrupt the neighborhood,
have prompted a series of actions by the city over the past decade to
limit the bar's hours, restrict use of its patio, and, last year, strip
the establishment of its food license – an unprecedented administrative
move that undermines the bar's ability to get a liquor license.
Owner Bernie Orne said his attorney, David Turesky, has requested a hearing
on the food-service license issue. City attorney Gary Wood said the city
is still preparing its response to this latest legal salvo, which includes
a request for copious amounts of documents. Orne said state liquor-control
officials are willing to grant The Icehouse a license if and when the
food-service matter is resolved.
Meanwhile, the Icehouse property is for sale. A listing with Waterglen
realty offers the bar and a small home on the site for $449,900.
May 8, 2008
Library director defends Reiche closure
In an interview yesterday, Portland Public Library Executive Director
Steve Podgajny described the budget squeeze the library system is experiencing
and held out some hope the Reiche Elementary School branch will continue
to serve the West End in some way, shape or form.
Podgajny said the library originally sought a funding increase of $175,000
over its current budget for this coming fiscal year. That level of funding
would have allowed the library to fulfill contract requests from its workforce
and vendors. Accordingly, when City Manager Joe Gray suggested a $50,000
cut in city funding for the library, administrators found themselves facing
a $225,000 shortfall, Podgajny said.
Library officials had planned to save $175,000 through "service changes"
that would have eliminated the equivalent of five full-time positions
at the main library in Monument Square. "Then, when the additional
$50,000 came into play, we had nowhere to look," Podgajny recalled.
That's when Reiche was put on the chopping block.
The branch's fate is still unclear. City councilors had a host of questions
and information requests for Podgajny at last Monday night's council meeting,
and the issue is expected to be discussed at the council's budget workshop
session next Monday, May 12. A public meeting of the library's board of
trustees also takes place next week, and the budget is expected to be
a central topic of conversation.
Portland Mayor Ed Suslovic, who serves on the library board, said it's
uncertain at this point how the board will decide to handle funding for
the Reiche branch and a proposal to close the main library on Mondays.
Other branches may have their hours adjusted later this year, though none
are facing a decrease in hours of operation. Podgajny said administrators
are working to keep branch locations open after 5 p.m. on more days of
the week.
The Munjoy branch, located in the East End Community School on North Street,
is slated to have its hours doubled, to 40 a week. The increase is part
of a reorganization that would move most children's materials and teen
programs to the Munjoy branch for two years, while the main library is
being renovated.
Contrary to implications in a Portland Press Herald article about
the reorganization, published yesterday, Podgajny said the Munjoy branch
is not in danger of closing after that two-year period is over. Following
the renovations, the Munjoy branch will return to a "traditional
branch profile," he said.
At last Monday's council meeting, Podgajny told The Bollard the
Reiche branch's proximity to the main library and relatively low circulation
numbers made it the most logical candidate for closure. He added that
it's regrettable the branch can't be kept open, but said library officials
are working with neighborhood groups in the West End to seek ways the
branch's teen-and child-centric programs and amenities can continue to
be offered.
During yesterday's interview, Podgajny mentioned the possibility the library
could supply computers and other materials "to try to fashion some
kind of experience for the neighborhood that tries to address the magical
things that happen at the Reiche branch."
April 28, 2008
Just another day at the office: Lee Urban (right) with then-Mayor Jim
Cloutier and First Lady Laura Bush in City Council Chambers on Nov. 10,
2003. (photo/thewhitehouse.gov)
Lee Urban leaving City Hall
Portland's Director of Planning and Urban Development, Lee Urban, is retiring
after nine years at City Hall to care for his wife, who is battling a
serious illness.
Urban's departure comes as the city faces exceedingly difficult economic
times. Portland's economic situation has "probably been worse,"
Urban said, "but I can't remember it in my time, and I've been here
since 1946."
City officials can't do much to turn things around, he said, especially
in tight budget years like this one. "We simply have to stick to
our knitting, do what we do best, focus on that and make sure we prioritize
what we can do with the resources we have. And it will get better, as
long as we don't give up."
Earlier this year, City Manager Joe Gray announced plans to change the
way the city coordinates planning and economic development. The two will
no longer share office space and have a common department head. Instead,
the Economic Development Division will be part of the City Manager's Office,
and the city will hire a new Director of Economic Development to lead
the division. A new Director of Planning will oversee that department
on a different floor of City Hall.
Urban isn't convinced the restructuring is a good idea, but said "it's
worth trying." He stressed that the city's planning and economic
development efforts need to intersect – at least to some extent.
Some city councilors have expressed concern that the two functions have
been too intertwined in recent years, to the detriment of the planning
process.
"Planning without development is an academic exercise," said
Urban. "Similarly, development without planning would be a disaster."
He cautioned that going forward under the new system, "one needs
to watch carefully how the dynamics might change if economic development
moves further away from the ability to intersect easily with planning."
"The City has been very lucky to have Lee advocating for its future,
whether that is developing Bayside or looking at creative – even
unorthodox – [punctuation added] solutions that have helped bring
Portland into the next century," Gray said in a press release today.
"His work and commitment to advancing City neighborhoods will last
for generations…. Lee is one of Portland's greatest unsung heroes
and is deserving of our praise."
"I have done nothing," Urban said self-deprecatingly, referring
to his work fostering Bayside's rebirth. "What I've really been is
part of a team."
Pingree campaign responds
Democratic Congressional candidate Chellie Pingree's campaign has responded
to questions raised by her latest campaign finance report. [See "Pingree's
take tops $1 million, but at what cost?" April 24, in News.]
Communications director Willy Ritch again defended Pingree's integrity
in the wake of news that she's accepted large sums from sources connected
to hedge funds and Wall Street law firms keen to influence federal lawmakers.
Asked why the public should believe Pingree is immune to the influence
of big money when, according to her, most of her would-be colleagues in
Congress are under its sway, Ritch said, "I think all you have to
do is look at her record and ask anybody who knows her."
Ritch pointed to Pingree's successful push to pass Maine Rx, the controversial
prescription drug discount program, when she was majority leader of the
State Senate 10 years ago. "When she was in the Legislature and said,
'Let's regulate the price of prescription drugs,' people in her own party
said, 'We can't do that. We'll lose campaign contributions [from drug
companies],' and she said, 'I don't care.'"
As for Pingree's connection to Milberg – the troubled financial
litigation firm whose employees gave her over $55,000 one day last month
– Ritch said she "apparently knows" Matthew Gluck. Gluck
is a senior partner whose decision to join Milberg two years ago, just
as a big "kickback" scandal was beginning to rock the company,
was seen as a positive turn of events for the troubled firm.
Ritch said he hadn't noticed the Milberg contributions because other campaign
workers handle the job of screening donors. "The people in that department
want to make sure they understand where the money is coming from,"
he said, "that [contributors] aren't someone you don't want to take
money from."
The Milberg contributions have not been returned.
This is hardly the first time Pingree has taken flack for her fundraising
prowess. It was an issue when she ran unsuccessfully against Republican
Sen. Susan Collins in 2002, and again the next year when she began work
as president of Common Cause, the government watchdog group that has worked
to end big money's undue influence in politics.
Six years ago, Pingree took heat for reaping over $1 million in so-called
"soft money" contributions – unlimited funds from corporations,
big unions and rich people given to national party committees that use
the cash for "issue" advertising, which critics claim does help
individual candidates.
Among her soft-money donors then was S. Donald Sussman, who contributed
over $300,000 to national committees associated with Pingree's campaign,
according to the Portland Press Herald.
Sussman and people associated with the hedge fund pioneer's business interests
have contributed over $100,000 to Pingree's current campaign thus far.
And Sussman continues to make news for his huge soft money contributions.
A March 6 article published by the Center for Investigative Reporting
and National Public Radio names Sussman as having given $1 million to
the Fund for America, a so-called 527 organization run by Democrats and
top union officials. The Fund for America recently paid another organization,
The Campaign to Defend America, to run ads against Sen. John McCain in
Pennsylvania.
April 16, 2008
The vacant lot where the Waterview at Bayside may yet rise. (file photo/Chris
Busby)
Bayside condo tower not dead yet
Developer Jeffrey Cohen has been struggling for almost half a decade to
get his condominium tower built in Bayside. The Waterview at Bayside would
be a 12-story building on the corner of Cumberland and Forest avenues
containing 94 luxury condos. Cohen has weathered neighborhood concerns,
a lawsuit by the owners of neighboring Back Bay Tower, and crummy economic
conditions that show no sign of improving anytime soon.
Last fall, Cohen and a business partner proposed to alter the project
by making 40 of the 94 units rental apartments available to tenants with
low-to-moderate incomes [see "Waterview
condos may be apartments instead," Nov. 20, 2007, in Briefs].
Those plans, however, were contingent upon the Maine State Housing Authority
approving tax credits for the project. MSHA did not approve that request,
so those plans have been scrapped.
Reached by phone today, Cohen said he is reverting to his original vision
for the property. He said he has partnered with Ledgewood Construction,
the South Portland-based firm that would build the tower, to jointly seek
financing for the Waterview.
Cohen acknowledged that this is not a great time to seek financing for
a project of this size, but hopes to convince a lender that the timing
makes sense. "If we were able to start construction by August, we'd
be finished a year-and-a-half later or so," he said. "That's
a great time to be coming on the market with new condo units."
The partnership with Ledgewood "puts us in a stronger position financially
to obtain financing," Cohen said.
"We haven't given up," he added. "I think there's a light
at the end of the tunnel. I just hope it's not the train."
In related news, Cohen said he is finalizing the sale of the Gateway Garage
on High Street to a group of investors from New York. He will retain an
option to lease parking in the garage if and when the Waterview is built.
And Cohen said construction has begun on three office condominium units
on Casco Street, in downtown Portland. Those units should be ready for
occupancy this summer or fall, he said.
April 10, 2008
Demonized councilors blink over school vote
In a press release sent late this afternoon, Portland Mayor Ed Suslovic
and Councilors Kevin Donoghue and Dave Marshall announced they are dropping
their opposition to a public vote on bonding to build a new elementary
school on Ocean Avenue. The vote is expected to be held June 10.
The mayor and councilors have been subjected to intense pressure to change
their minds since their minority vote last Monday night nixed an order
to have the public weigh in on whether to borrow nearly $20 million for
construction of a new elementary school near Back Cove. [See "School
shocker," April 8, in News.] The state has pledged to reimburse
the city for the cost of the borrowing, but the three opponents said Portland
cannot afford all the additional costs the project will eventually entail.
Suslovic, Donoghue and Marshall also said the school department should
develop a comprehensive plan for its elementary schools before committing
to a new one. The statement said the three met with school board members
today and were assured they are "equally committed to completing
an elementary facilities plan in the very near future." It's unclear
if the plan will be finished before the vote.
Last Monday's vote will be formally reconsidered at the council's April
28 meeting.
"As Mayor, I regret that the debate became heated," Suslovic
said in the statement. "Whenever the City has to deal with issues
of this magnitude, such as closing a school or relocating students, emotions
can run high for all involved, but I am confident of our ability to move
forward on the many important issues ahead of us."
The fracas that followed Monday's vote included a deluge of calls and
e-mails to the mayor and two councilors (many of them quite pointed and
profane, according to associates), organized efforts by other councilors
to encourage that deluge, and two hastily called press conferences held
by both sides last night at City Hall.
April 8, 2008
City approves lease for would-be D-League team
The Portland City Council unanimously approved lease terms at the Portland
Expo for the group of investors hoping to start a minor-league basketball
team here. [See "Backdoor
pass," Feb. 24, 2008, in News.] The question now is whether
NBA officials will grant the investment group a franchise and create enough
teams on the East Coast to make a Portland team viable.
Those hurdles have yet to be cleared, though an announcement is expected
soon – a factor that gave the lease talks a sense of urgency that
initially rankled some city officials.
The five-year lease, which contains an option to renew for another half-decade,
is essentially a break-even deal for the city, according to Portland officials.
After staffing and supply costs are covered, the team would get all concession
and parking revenues. It will also be allowed to sell advertising in the
public facility used by school athletic programs, though the city retains
the authority to approve or reject ads based on their content, size or
location.
Rent for the first three seasons, beginning in the fall of 2009, would
be $2,100 per game. It would increase by $100 in 2012, 2014 and 2017,
and an additional 50-cent per-ticket surcharge would kick in beginning
in 2014 if certain seasonal attendance levels are met.
Among the perks the city gets in return are about $250,000 worth of improvements
to the Expo, including a new basketball court and additional seating.
Other than a couple track meets – which city officials said can
be rescheduled or moved with minimal inconvenience – no scholastic
sporting events would be disrupted by the team's home games.
County officials said the Portland Pirates minor-league hockey team has
a similar break-even arrangement to use the Civic Center. Though the county
collects concession revenue under the current lease, the higher cost of
hosting hockey, compared to basketball, makes that arrangement sensible,
said Civic Center general manager Steve Crane.
March 24, 2008
A rendering of the office tower proposed by Joe and Greg Boulos. (image/courtesy
Cumberland County)
County tables skyscraper plans
Plans to build a 12-story office tower next to the Cumberland County courthouse
in Portland are now "off the table," according to Assistant
County Manager Bill Whitten. Developers Joe and Greg Boulos had hoped
to secure a major tenant for the property, the law firm Pierce Atwood,
in order to make the public-private deal work, but Whitten wrote in a
March 21 weekly e-mail update that the tenant has decided not to move
into the proposed building.
The skyscraper – envisioned as seven floors of office space atop
five levels of parking – would have included offices for the district
attorney's operations and other county functions, which are said to be
outgrowing facilities in the courthouse. It's unclear how the county will
proceed – Whitten himself was not sure.
The project faced a host of complicated issues when it was unveiled late
last year. For example, it involved land sales or transfers between the
county, the city and Boulos; a portion of adjacent Lincoln Park would
have been used for traffic circulation; and its proposed height, at upwards
of 180 feet, is about three times the limit set by city zoning.
"The 'new building' is on hold for the moment, until a new direction
can be determined," Whitten wrote.
February 6, 2008
Cleaning up Wharf Street the easy way: a city street-cleaning truck after
last call in the Old Port two summers ago. (photo/Mich Ouellette)
Having your Cake and Digger's/Liquid Blue, too
A new bar and dance club has been licensed to take over the adjoining
spaces on Fore Street formerly occupied by Digger's/Liquid Blue, and the
same proprietor is also taking over Cake, the short-lived restaurant and
dance club nearby on Wharf Street.
Both establishments were previously owned by Tom Manning, whose request
to renew liquor and entertainment licenses for the Fore Street bar/club
was denied by the Portland City Council last year due to concerns about
fights there, including one involving Manning himself.
Ryan Byther, of Gorham, got city approval Monday to open the Oktoberfest
International Tap House in the Digger's space. The dance club next door
will be called Club Onyx, and will offer entertainment similar to what
Liquid Blue had, DJs and a weekly comedy night, as well as live bands.
The bar on the first floor will be called Prost ("Cheers," in
German) Pub. Prost Pub will have 100 taps lined against one wall, and
over 300 different foreign and domestic brews in total. A game room upstairs
will have pool, foosball and such.
Byther said the tap house will serve "upscale pub food," and
the interior is undergoing a major facelift "to get rid of that dive
bar atmosphere." He hopes to open the doors March 1.
Meanwhile, work is underway on the Cobblestone Grill, which Byther hopes
to open later in March. Unlike Cake, the Cobblestone Grill will not double
as a dance club. It will offer "five-star-style dining," with
tables throughout the space, he said, and no entertainment.
Byther's acquisitions largely settle the questions raised by the recent
closure of several bars and clubs in the area [See "Wharf
Street shakeup," Jan. 19, in Gossip.] The fate of The Iguana
is still unknown, though sources say it will likely be a restaurant –
perhaps a pizzeria – offering takeout.
In addition to Byther's tap house, a new place called the Novare Res Bier
Café is slated to open a couple block up the street (see item below).
Though there'll surely be some overlap, the two establishments combined
promise to offer over 400 varieties of beer. That'd be a pretty short
pub crawl.
January 27, 2008
New "beer café," Grill Room on tap in Old Port
Two new dining and drinking establishments are slated to open in the Old
Port later this year, and a new eatery may soon take over the space in
Longfellow Square formerly occupied by Uffa.
Chef Harding Lee Smith, who opened The Front Room atop Munjoy Hill two
years ago, is taking over Natasha's, the Exchange Street restaurant next
to Tommy's Park. The new venture is a steakhouse called The Grill Room.
In license documents submitted to the city, Smith said The Grill Room
is expected to open March 1. The Front Room will continue to operate as
before.
Across Middle Street, Eric Michaud, of Yarmouth, plans to open an upscale
beer garden of sorts next to the former location of The Pavilion, where
Black Tie Restaurant used to be. The business is called Novare Res Bier
Café – in a letter to the city, Michaud wrote that Novare
Res means "to start a revolution" in Latin – and it will
have 25 brews on tap and over 100 bottled varieties. There will be no
Bud.
"We will not offer any of the large, commercial breweries' products,"
Michaud wrote. Furthermore, patrons at Novare Res "will enjoy a more
human atmosphere" than that found in sports bars, "as there
will be no wide-screen TV's projecting the current sports game, pin-ball
or video-gambling machines, or eye-sore flashing neon lights promoting
a bland, watered-down, mass-produced product." (Damn, does this guy
wanna write for The Bollard or somethin'?) Its targeted opening
date is April 1.
Novare Res will have a sizeable outdoor deck, a small tapas menu and mellow,
acoustic entertainment (no dancing). And though it's right next to The
Pavilion's old space, Novare Res' entrance will be accessed from the Canal
Plaza parking lot around back.
That's an important detail, because the city passed zoning restrictions
last year that prohibit new establishments offering both booze and entertainment
from opening within 100 feet of another business offering the same. That
100 feet, however, is measured from front door to front door. If Novare
Res' main entrance was on Middle Street, its proximity to The Pavilion
would prohibit a future proprietor of that much larger space from offering
alcohol and musical entertainment. The Pavilion, which closed last summer,
is still vacant.
Last week, the Portland City Council was scheduled to consider liquor
and entertainment license requests by Erik Desjarlais, owner of Ladle
Soup House on Exchange Street, who wants to open a "French-inspired"
restaurant called Evangeline where Uffa operated for many years. That
license hearing has been postponed until next month to give councilors
an opportunity to review Desjarlais' criminal record.
Rap sheets produced for the city by the Maine State Bureau of Identification
did not indicate that either Desjarlais or partners Claude Sheer and Kathleen
Goodwin have any criminal record whatsoever. However, sources say the
Portland Police Department has presented additional information warranting
a postponement. That information has not been made public yet, but one
councilor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it did not contain
the type of infractions that would warrant a license denial.
January 15, 2008
A rendering of the apartment building The Szanton Company is proposing
to build on Danforth Street. (image/courtesy The Szanton Company)
Project proposed to replace YWCA housing
Local developers Nathan Szanton and Robert C.S. "Bobby" Monks
have unveiled plans for a 43-unit apartment building on Danforth Street
intended to replace housing lost when the YWCA's women's shelter and housing
complex on Spring Street was closed and demolished last year.
The proposed development is part of a deal struck last summer when the
Portland Museum of Art bought the YWCA's building. The city's so-called
housing replacement ordinance required the museum to either build housing
units to replace those lost when it demolished the Y, or pay into a city
fund reserved for affordable housing projects. [See "YWCA
strikes deal to sell Spring Street property," June 5, 2007,
in News.]
The museum agreed to put $900,000 into an account controlled by the Maine
State Housing Authority (MSHA), which held a deed covenant on the Y property.
Szanton said MSHA has committed to provide an additional $4.5 million
in financing for the Danforth Street project.
Szanton said he and Monks are also seeking $325,000 in federal grant money
administered by the city to complete the development, and will seek a
conditional rezoning agreement necessary to build the high-density housing
project on the site at 53 Danforth St., where a car repair shop, New England
Imports, now stands.
The five-story project has four floors of housing atop a ground-floor
garage. Of the 43 mostly one-bedroom units, 30 will be reserved for low-income
tenants who earn less than 60 percent of the median income in Portland
- less than about $21,000 per year, according to U.S. Census figures from
2000. The rent paid by a person whose annual income was $21,000 would
be capped at about $525 per month. The other 13 units would be market-rate.
Szanton said a contract zone will be necessary to construct the project
as planned because current zoning requires more square feet of space per
apartment, and one parking space per unit. The developers plan to provide
40 spaces for the 43-unit building. Szanton said he expects some tenants
will not have cars or will take advantage of a rent discount offered to
tenants who do not reserve a parking space in the building.
The Portland Planning Board is expected to review the project in the coming
months, and the City Council may vote on it in April.
Most councilors reached for comment yesterday had not yet seen the plans,
but there are indications the project will not have an easy path to approval.
Councilor Dave Marshall said he was "disappointed" to hear that
Szanton and Monks are seeking a contract zone for the development, and
questioned whether the 30 sub-market rental units are sufficient to satisfy
the need for affordable housing created when the Y closed its doors.
Marshall said the city "underestimated" the number of housing
units lost at the Y last year. City attorney Gary Wood and his staff determined
that the museum needed to replace 33 units, but others estimated that
over 50 units were lost when the building closed. Nightly occupancy had
been as high as 68 women.
The housing replacement ordinance has "so many loopholes it makes
it possible to get around the intent of replacing housing," said
Marshall. Though he may not oppose this specific project, Marshall said
he's interested in amending the ordinance to "tighten up some of
these loopholes."
Councilor Jill Duson, who chairs the council's Housing Committee, did
not return calls seeking comment.
The site of the Y's Spring Street women's shelter is currently being used
as a parking lot. Museum officials have yet to announce long-term plans
for the property.
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