Voters of Boothbay Harbor should decide

Tue, 11/28/2017 - 3:00pm

Dear Editor:

The zoning on the east side has been due for change for many years. The ordinance never accomplished what it was intended to do, which was in part to bring working waterfront back to that neighborhood. It is unlikely that will ever happen, nor would the residents and businesses of the neighborhood want it to happen. Working waterfront is noisy, messy, and incompatible with residential uses. Does anyone want to see a shipyard on the eastside with sandblasting, welding, and heavy machinery? How about a fish processing facility operating 24 hours a day? A boat storage facility? You would never see the water from Atlantic Avenue.

It is time for the discussion to start about what can be done to allow existing businesses on the east side to upgrade, grow, and remain competitive in the modern world. New businesses that are compatible with the existing mixed uses should be allowed. Existing working waterfront needs to be protected, and it can be. Incentives can offer more opportunity for better public access.

I was encouraged by the letter to the Editor from Wendy Wolf, the chair of the Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen. I hope she and her fellow board members are sincere about having the discussion, and I hope the planning board sees fit to follow suit. This should not be up to the planning board, the selectmen, or Paul Coulombe. It should be up to the voters of Boothbay Harbor, and unless the planning board addresses it intelligently, dispassionately, and with an open mind, the citizens will be getting the short end of the stick. It does not appear the planning board has been doing that yet.

There seems to be a fear of having the conversation. Any changes will have to go before the voters before they become law. Whether Paul Coulombe revitalizes the east side, or someone else does, it should be allowed to happen eventually. 

Chuck Fuller

Boothbay Harbor