Zoning board deals a blow to UNE

The University of New England will not be able to begin necessary tree clearing and other preparation work for its controversial, 180-foot research pier on the Saco River.

Time to Read | 5-8 minutes (1,217 words)

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

Biddeford’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted 2-1 Monday to put a somewhat rare damper on the University of New England’s plans to build a large-scale, 180-foot pier and docking system on the Saco River.

Although the university is itching to get started on preliminary construction activities for the controversial project, including the removal of several mature trees within 250-feet of the shoreline – they need a permit to begin that work.

**COMPLEX ISSUES** | City Attorney Center (right) tells members of Biddeford Zoning Board of Appeals that issues surrounding UNE’s controversial research pier are “about as clear as mud.” | *Randy Seaver photo*

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Earlier this year, the city’s building inspector denied UNE’s request to clear the trees because of a six-month construction moratorium that was put into place and unanimously approved by the Biddeford City Council in January.

UNE filed an appeal of the city’s denial, arguing that the controversial pier project had already been approved by the Biddeford Planning Board in August.

Brandon Mazer, a Portland-based attorney hired by UNE to represent them before the zoning board, told zoning board members on Monday that the city’s moratorium sets a “dangerous and scary” precedent that sends a chilling message to anyone considering building a project in Biddeford.

But City Attorney Harry Center countered Mazer’s assertion, telling the board that the city’s denial was based on several factors, most notably the city’s desire to take a brief and temporary pause to review applicable zoning ordinances that have not been updated for nearly a quarter century.

“These issues are
about as clear as mud.”
— City Attorney Harry Center

Center also pointed out that UNE has been included in that brief review process, noting that Mayor Liam LaFountain invited and appointed the university’s president – Dr. James Herbert – to serve as a member of the city’s newly created Institutional Zone Review Committee (IZR).

The IZR was re-established — after a more than 25-year slumber — in order to review and make possible recommendations about a flurry of new construction activity at the school’s Biddeford campus.

Over the last two years, the university has sailed almost effortlessly through a complex permitting process that requires approvals from federal, state and local regulatory agencies in order to build a pier that will extend more than 180 feet into the river.

A university spokesperson expressed disappointment about the zoning board’s decision shortly after the meeting concluded.

“UNE disagrees with the outcome of tonight’s hearing, and we are now evaluating options available to us,” wrote Sarah Delage in a statement sent to several media outlets on Monday.

“The university’s ties to Biddeford span nearly 80 years, and that relationship is too important to leave unresolved,” Delage wrote. “We remain hopeful that a path to constructive dialogue still exists.”

The Proposed Pier | Benefits and Concerns

During his presentation before the zoning board on Monday, Center described the issues and controversies surrounding the proposed pier as complex and difficult to follow for those who are not paying close attention to the controversy.

“These issues are about as clear as mud,” Center told the board.

For their part, the university says the new pier will be used to facilitate their year-round and ongoing marine research activities, including a deeper understanding about the potential benefits of kelp and the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, while also providing an opportunity to conduct ongoing research at Ram Island.

Those who have expressed the most ardent opposition to the pier’s construction generally say that they are not opposed to the pier’s concept, just its proposed, specific location.

“We don’t want any more
‘good neighbor’ behavior
such as this.”
— Kyle Noble, Hills Beach resident

Former Biddeford City Councilor Kyle Noble – a Hills Beach resident – told the zoning board on Monday that he is an abutter to the university’s campus and said the zoning board should not even consider the university’s request because the overall project was never approved by the city’s harbormaster.

“No pier permit has been issued by Biddeford, and the federal permit is not complete without local harbormaster approval,” Noble wrote in his own media statement that was emailed to the Gazette and other publications on Monday morning.

“Separating massive tree removal from the pier permit is not possible and not approvable before a final pier permit is in place,” Noble stated. “While continually claiming ‘good neighbor’ status, UNE has promoted a pier which compromises a mooring field, ignores a location with deeper water against the shoreline, fails to close off a navigational hazard along that shoreline and requires less tree cutting.”

“No, we don’t want any more ‘good neighbor’ behavior such as this,” Noble added. “We want the best pier UNE could build.”

A bump in the road for a fast-tracked project?

Despite increasing public scrutiny and concerns about potential environmental, recreational and economic impacts, UNE’s pier project seemed almost inevitable until last November, when 63 percent of the city’s voters said they wanted a dramatic change in how the city handles private development proposals.

**DISAAPOINTING NEWS** | Members of UNE’s legal team listen as Biddeford’s Zoning Board of Appeals deliberated their request for an appeal so that the school can begin construction activities for their proposed pier. | *Randy Seaver photo*

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Within days of being sworn into office, Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain and several new city councilors decided to make good on their campaign promises to deliver more transparency and accountability from both government and private developers.

In January, the newly-elected city council voted unanimously to enact a temporary six-month construction moratorium on any new construction activities at UNE’s Biddeford campus.

According to Center, the moratorium does not impact ongoing real estate transactions between the nuns who own and operate the St. Joseph’s Convent and university officials who are hoping to convert that property – located roughly two miles from the campus — into new dormitories.

RELATED | The city, the convent and the university

Last year, the university announced that they had been awarded a $3.1 million federal grant for the project. That funding was coordinated and secured by Maine Senator Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

UNE has also already received approvals for their pier project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Saco River Corridor Commission (SRCC), a quasi-state agency tasked with review and permitting of all development along the Saco River.

The SRCC’s rapid approval of UNE’s project raised some eyebrows and rekindled new concerns about a so-called 250-foot riverfront buffer that was put into place under an agreement between the city and university 25 years ago.

The city now contends that the SRCC either ignored or overlooked the buffer zone requirement when granting approval for the pier project more than a year ago.

Shortly after the November election, the city filed a formal complaint against the SRCC in York County Superior Court. That complaint, pending appeals, is currently being reviewed by the court.

In his motion to deny UNE’s appeal, Zoning Board Member Josh Lessard said he felt as if the university should be able to wait at least until the city’s moratorium expires in July.

But Mazer – UNE’s attorney – said that ongoing delays and political maneuvering are causing unnecessary delays and additional costs. He also told the board that the future is largely unknown.

“We don’t know what new recommendations might come forth from this moratorium,” Mazer said, noting that the possibility that the moratorium could be extended.

UNE officials have previously described the city’s moratorium as a thinly veiled retroactive zoning tool that can be used to quash politically unpopular projects.

NOTE: Donald Furman, chair of the zoning board, recused himself from participating in Tuesday’s meetings, pointing out that he also serves as an appointed commissioner on the Saco River Corridor Commission.

CORRECTION | An earlier version of this story indicated that UNE’s request to demolish Decary Hall was part of the preparation work for a new pier. That is incorrect, however, the city did deny both of UNE’s appeal requests on Monday. We apologize for the confusion.

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READER COMMENTS

JON BOUTET | I should think UNE would attempt to be a better neighbor to the Citizens of Biddeford and contribute more to the PILOT program than the paltry $100K/ yr that they now contribute. The expanse of the UNE empire in a high tax value piece of Saco River / Atlantic Ocean / Hills Beach warrants more than $100K/yr compensation for city services and lost tax revenues. UNE likely gets more than $50K/yr tuition from each of it’s students who attend UNE. I think UNE should wake up and smell the coffee instead of making the tax paying Biddeford community sacrifice their hard earned income to pay taxes on a significant amount of services supplied to the “tax free / non profit” coffers of UNE. UNE could do any number of things for the City of Biddeford to help out and be that “good neighbor” they claim to be. How about $1Million/ yr contribution to the PILOT program and free tuition for long term Biddeford residents (10yr or more residency or immediate family). Thanks

KATHY GRIFFIN | In the interest of transparency, I am wondering how much money the City of Biddeford is spending on legal fees regarding the opposition to the Pier project. In this time of extreme budget cutting and downright hostility to funding “social services” in Biddeford, it seems as if we should know the exact amount of money expended in blocking the University of New England from completing a number of construction and reconstruction projects, including the new pier, which already went through an exhaustive and extensive State and Federal permitting process and was given the green light by all agencies to proceed, prior to the current (2026) opposition from the Mayor and City Council..

YOUR THOUGHTS ?

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