Councilor defends vote on Stinson plan

BELFAST – As far as City Councilor Mike Rauch is concerned, his vote on the proposed development of the former Stinson Seafood property would not constitute a conflict of interest.

The Ward 4 councilor owns a home overlooking the waterfront parcel and has an interest in three undeveloped lots nearby. In addition, his son owns a home on the street leading to the plant.

“I don’t know if that’s a conflict of interest but that’s where I live,” Rauch noted during Tuesday’s council meeting. “Who better to protect the citizens who live in Ward 4 than me? I live there.”

There has been some talk around the city that because Rauch is an abutter to the Stinson property, he should abstain from voting on measures dealing with its development. Developer Tom Roberts has proposed converting the former fish factory into a mixed use complex featuring a marina, housing, shops, concert hall and restaurant. The estimated cost of the project is in the $10 million dollar range.

Zoning at the Stinson site restricts the property to fish processing and the council would have to change the land use rules before any development could proceed.

Rauch made his comments during discussion of a motion he made to remove an item dealing with the height restrictions on the Stinson property from the council’s agenda. Although developer Roberts had driven 12 hours to take part in the discussion, Rauch’s motion passed by a 3-2 vote.

“I think it’s embarrassing, to me, to have Mr. Roberts drive here from New Jersey to tell him we don’t want to talk about it,” said Mayor Michael Hurley.

Rauch, Anita Robertson and Charlotte Peters voted to remove the item from the agenda while Phil Crosby and Cathy Heberer favored taking up the issue of height restrictions.

Councilor Crosby described Roberts’ proposal as a “complicated issue” that had “different demands and different needs.” Crosby said he had been contacted by a number of constituents who “spoke very highly” of the project.

“I think we have to give some indication to Mr. Roberts that we are willing to change the zoning,” said Crosby.

Rauch said he wanted to postpone the matter until the council was provided with a detailed description of what Roberts had in mind. He said the council did not have enough information to act on the height issue.

“I don’t have enough information,” said Rauch. “I don’t see how you can talk about height when you don’t know what you are looking at.”

Councilor Robertson said that preservation of the neighborhood around the Stinson property was a critical matter. Robertson said the council had a “moral responsibility” to protect the neighborhood.

“Belfast is a city of neighborhoods,” said Robertson. “I wouldn’t want somebody to put up that much height without discussing it with the neighborhood.”

Comprehensive planning committee head Joe Stearns recommended that any zoning issues be handled by the planning board and his committee before being acted on by the council.

“I hope when you consider a zone change that you hand it over to the two committees,” said Stearns. “We will work expeditiously.”

Roberts addressed the council during the period for public comment. He said he wanted to work with the council but needed some idea what members had in mind for the property. He said he had spent more than a year working on his proposal and needed guidance before hiring an architect to prepare drawings. Roberts said his basic plan called for expanding the existing two-story factory to four stories.

“It’s not an easy exercise to spend $10,000 on some sketches, so some guidelines would be nice,” said Roberts.