Following a rather tense and emotionally-charged discussion, the Biddeford Planning Board voted 3-2 Wednesday to give preliminary site approval for the University of New England’s proposed research pier.
The controversial pier proposal has generated widespread public discourse for more than a year, even before the application was formally submitted in June 2024.
Opponents – including area fishermen, private mooring owners and neighbors – have consistently said they wanted the university to consider an alternative location that was proposed by Harbormaster Paul Lariviere nearly two years ago.
City Attorney Harry Center, however, told board members that the so-called “alternative location” was not part of UNE’s application and thus, not subject to review and/or approval by the board.
City Planner David Galbraith began the discussion with an emotional statement, saying he has been vilified by project opponents and that “personal attacks” have called into question both his integrity and professionalism.
“I have been doing this for 30 years, and I have never been subjected to such malicious comments,” Galbraith told the board. “I and others involved in the review of this proposal have gone out of our way to be open, transparent and accommodating.”
Galbraith told the board that he was especially angry about a recent YouTube video that was posted by a anonymous Facebook page known as “UNE Pier Review.”
“Frankly, I am appalled,” Galbraith said. “I assure you that my integrity is worth much more than what any developer could offer me.”
“I have been doing this for 30 years,
— City Planner David Galbraith
and I have never been subjected
to such malicious comments.”
Planning Board Member Susan Deschambault reminded her fellow board members that the university’s proposal has already been reviewed and approved by several other agencies, including the Saco River Corridor Commission, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S, Army Corps of Engineers.
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But alternate board member Kayla Lewis said she could understand why opponents and other members of the public were feeling angry and frustrated.
“UNE did exactly what they were supposed to do in submitting their application to us,” Lewis said. “But we also have to acknowledge and recognize that this review process has had a shaky foundation. Somewhere along the line, things got very blurred.”
Roch Angers was one of the two board members who voted against approval of the project.
“I have a lot of mixed feelings about the process,” Angers said. “But that has nothing to do with our city planner, who I think has done an outstanding job.”
Center told the board that the city’s ordinances are clear and that there is no legal basis for consideration of potential impacts to mooring owners or fishermen in the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance. Center also told the board that any concerns about the harbormaster being removed from the review process were also not relevant for the board’s consideration.
RELATED: City manager quashes harbormaster
Resident Kyle Noble questioned why the Planning Board was even considering the application after what he described as a “faulty review process.”
“This is a once in a lifetime project,” Noble told the board. “And it’s forever.”
A UNE spokesperson said the university was pleased about the board’s preliminary vote.
“We were also encouraged by the comments made by city staff and planning board members correcting a number of false statements that have been made about the project,” said Sarah Delage, associate vice president of communications for the university. “We look forward to a final vote at the next meeting.”
John Schafer, the former chair of Biddeford’s Harbor Commission, has been a leading opponent of the university’s proposal.
“Obviously, I am very disappointed,” Shafer said during a brief interview Thursday. “There was a lot of misinformation thrown at the board and they acted mostly in lock-step. From my perspective, it seems that their decision was already made before the meeting started.”
NOTE: Board members Roch Angers and Matt Dubois voted in opposition to the application; Board Members Larry Patoine and Susan Deschambault voted in favor of the application. Board Chair Alexa Plotkin broke the tie, voting in the affirmative for the applicant (UNE). Kayla Lewis is an alternate, non-voting member of the board.
Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be contacted by email: randy@randyseaver.com
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