Belfast voters to decide big-box issue, elect councilors

BELFAST – Besides expressing their opinion on the issue of big-box stores, residents also will encounter a full slate of City Council and SAD 34 candidates when they file to the polls.

The election will be held on Tuesday, June 12.

Friday’s deadline for submitting nomination papers for city offices brought forth the following candidates:

For City Council, Cottage Street resident Susan Guthrie and Durham Street resident Philip Crosby will square off in the Ward 1 council race while Church Street resident Lawrence Gleeson and Commercial Street resident Charlotte Peters will match up in Ward 2.

Guthrie and Crosby are newcomers to city electoral politics. Gleeson and Peters each have mounted unsuccessful runs for the council in the past.

All five of the candidates for seats on the SAD 34 board of directors are running unopposed. Robbins Road resident Lewis Baker and Church Street resident Raymond Moore are running for three-year terms and Tuffs Road resident Robert Andersen, High Street resident Rachel McDonald and Salmond Street resident David Loxtercamp are running for one-year terms.

The current council has been grappling with the big-box issue since the announcement by Wal-Mart last summer of its intention to locate a Supercenter in the city. Current zoning does not allow structures in the 165,000 square foot range that Wal-Mart had proposed. The council reacted to the announcement by imposing a moratorium on buildings over 25,000 square feet and began the process of reviewing its zoning rules.

The council also voted to poll residents’ opinion on the big-box issue by holding the June referendum. The question asks voters whether they favor allowing retail businesses in excess of 75,000 square feet under land use regulations developed by the city.

Because the referendum on big-box stores is nonbinding, the outcome of the race for City Council in Wards 1 and 2 could play a large part in how the city eventually deals with large-scale development. The new council will have the task of formulating the zoning rules needed either to allow or limit big-box projects.

The incumbent Ward 1 and 2 councilors, Jon Cheston and Mark Riposta, are not seeking re-election. Based on the many votes recorded on the big-box issue during the past year, Cheston had many reservations about opening the city to large commercial developments, while Riposta by and large was in favor of them.

Each of the candidates has varying views on the big-box issue.

Ward 1 candidate Guthrie firmly believes that the city should not turn its back on the precepts of the comprehensive plan, which specifically singles out certain areas for residential uses and others for retail or commercial growth. Guthrie has attended a number of council meetings and has made it clear that allowing large stores such as Wal-Mart to locate in residential areas would be a mistake.

“I am for retail growth that is appropriate to the community and goes in accordance with our comprehensive plan,” Guthrie said Friday. “I want to keep our residential areas residential and work on other ways to develop retail. I’m not in favor of changing residential to commercial.”

Ward 1 candidate Crosby, on the other hand, has been reluctant to take a stand on the issue and is taking a wait-and-see attitude. Crosby said he was prepared to support the outcome of the big-box referendum and go with the wishes of the people.

“I’m waiting to see,” Crosby said Friday. “I think it’s wonderful that they have an opportunity to express themselves. It’s an issue that affects the town. When they use the expression ‘for the good of the community,’ that’s what I’m waiting to see. It’s not a question of what I feel, it’s what the community feels.”

Ward 2 candidate Peters could not be reached for comment Friday. However, Peters has said in the past that she would like to give tight scrutiny to any proposal before making her decision.

Ward 2 candidate Gleeson served on a city committee that reviewed zoning issues associated with big-box development and repeatedly voiced concerns about changing existing zoning to open more areas of the city for large-scale projects. As a candidate for City Council, Gleeson said he has no intention of tempering his belief in allowing the market to determine where development winds up. It is not a question of big boxes, he said, it is making sure city government protects zoning and property rights.

“It’s a complex issue obviously, otherwise people wouldn’t be running around pulling their hair out,” Gleeson said. “I have been pretty consistent on the idea of consistency for landowners. In my opinion, you can’t act precipitously. You owe them the right to be consistent in your rulings.”

Along with the referendum and selecting council and school board members, city voters also will decide revisions to the City Charter on Election Day.