Stop Cedar Ridge

The proposed Cedar Ridge 52-unit condo on Cedar Street in Belfast clearly does not fit with the existing neighborhood. At least that’s what most of us who live in the neighborhood believe. More than 600 town residents have signed a petition expressing opposition to the prospect of a large condo at the end of quiet, narrow, full-of-children Cedar Street. Those of us who will be most affected by this project are saying loud and clear we don’t want it.

If you want to get a picture in your mind of what the project will be like go look at the old Crosby School, then imagine a building that size in the field at the end of Cedar Street with a parking lot of 100 cars and a tennis court.

Neighbors for Neighborhood has provided the City Council with a suggested revision to the existing zoning ordinance that would reduce the allowable density of Planned Urban Developments (PUDs) on smaller neigborhood streets such as Cedar Street. Our citizen group recognizes Belfast is growing and will continue to do so. We are not arbitrarily opposed to development. We are likely to support other reasonable proposals for revision of the zoning ordinance that will reduce allowable PUD density within the Route 1 bypass.

It is distressing that the City Council seems uninterested in responding to the concerns of more than 600 constituents. Shouldn’t the residents of a neighborhood be allowed input as to the extent of development their community will have? For three months Neighbors for Neighborhood has attended every council meeting, met with every councilor, and done all we could to urge the council to address our concerns. For three months the council as a whole has not taken any action to stop Cedar Ridge, to revise the PUD ordinance, or to reassess Belfast’s development plan in light of public input.

To their credit, Mayor Worth and Councilor Lewis have tried to get the council to stop Cedar Ridge, but to no avail. By failing to act the council has, in effect, supported the kind of development density that would forever alter the character of Belfast neighborhoods as we fondly know them. It is apparently too late for the council to do anything about Cedar Ridge, and it is now up to the Planning Board to decide whether it will be allowed. What about future development proposals?

I don’t expect the councilors to agree with every view of their constituents, but I do think that on important issues it is their duty to respectfully consider the views of the citizens they represent. Compromise may not be comfortable, but it is fair and responsible.

There is a new debate needed over the kind of development Belfast citizens want now that there are increased pressures for growth. I urge the council to take immediate steps to make this discussion more urgent and responsive to what the majority of taxpayers want for their town. Right now it is not clear to me that the council is representing the majority opinion on the crucial issue of development. Michael Bowe Belfast