“We voted today to end the petition drive,” said Keith Lane this evening. Lane, a Munjoy Hill resident, was one of the three fishermen representing the industry at the Working Waterfront Group (“WWG”) meetings assembled by city manager Jon Jennings. The first meeting was held several weeks ago. The second meeting is scheduled for City Hall this Thursday from 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm. A six month moratorium on new development on the waterfront was announced by Jennings so “intense” discussions could take place in order to stop the on-going petition drive to place the initiative on the May 2019 municipal ballot.

The three fishing industry representatives to the WWG met at Becky’s Diner around noon today for almost two hours. Several other fishermen attended as well as the group’s attorneys: Sandra Guay and Barbara Vestal. The vote to end the petition drive was unanimous.

“We’ve made such good progress with the city and that made our original referendum obsolete. We’d have to rewrite it,” said Lane. And the fishermen don’t have the luxury of that time since the petitions have to be filed with the city clerk’s office for signature verification by January 18th. The application was written by attorney Orlando DeLogu who also filed it with the city clerk late last year.

The progress that the fishermen have made so far with the city includes the recent amendment to his proposal for a major waterfront development by David Bateman. Bateman wrote the city on January 10, 2019, agreeing to withdraw plans for a large hotel on a wharf, because he did not want to exacerbate the issues of the fishermen. At the first meeting on January 3, 2019, city manager Jon Jennings mollified the fishermen by agreeing to ask the planning board to eliminate hotels and other conditional and contract uses from the Waterfront Central Zone (“WCZ”). That issue will be taken up at the January 22nd planning board meeting before going on to the city council for its consideration.

The fishermen agreed to a two paragraph statement written by the aforementioned women attorneys – stating that the group has decided not to submit the petitions in a “good faith” response to the city’s current effort to work towards significant changes in waterfront zoning and other measures to protect Portland’s waterfront.” The statement also thanks attorney Orlando DeLogu for his assistance in drafting the referendum initiative and the many volunteers who helped to collect 2,300 signatures. Far fewer are required to get on the ballot.

BUT, the attorneys for the fishermen are crafting an updated initiative to be held in abeyance pending the outcome of future meetings with Jennings’ “Working Waterfront Group.” Volunteers have already agreed to work the process once again of collecting signatures if the need to do so arises in the future.

Jennings is scheduled to give a verbal report on the status of the Waterfront Working Group before the Economic Development Committee tomorrow, Room 209, city hall at 5:30 pm.

For more background information on the issue, please visit posts herein dated January 11, 2019 and January 3, 2019