YES ON QUESTION 7

“Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to permit the Legislature to authorize waterfront land used for commercial fishing activities to be assessed based on the land’s current use in a manner similar to treatment now available for farms, open space and forestland?”

Rapidly rising property values and the gentrification of the coast threaten to make working waterfronts a quaint piece of Maine history. A yes vote on Question 7 would ease the tax burden for fishermen just as the state has done for farmers and woodlot owners. If other natural resource-based industries get tax relief, so too should commercial fishermen.

This measure would allow waterfront commercial fishing properties to be taxed based on their current use not on the “highest and best use,” which is the current standard. Although the legislation to implement such a change has not been written, supporters say it would be modeled on the state’s Tree Growth Tax Law. That means fishermen would have to apply to receive the lower tax rate and if a participating property is quickly sold, back taxes would be paid.

The Maine Municipal Association, which opposed a similar 2000 amendment because it was too broad, supports this measure because it is limited to property that is on the water.

Like the open space, farm and woodlot provisions, taxing working waterfront property at the current use rate will benefit the public. Working harbors are part of Maine’s character and the fishing industry is a major contributor to the state’s economy. Yet, it is being squeezed out by vacation homes and other coastal development.

Of Maine’s 5,300 miles of coastline, only 25 miles is working waterfront, according to a recent Island Institute analysis. Even this small section of the coast is under constant pressure to be converted to other uses. Without waterfront access, fishermen can’t get to the sea and can’t catch fish. Coastal development also threatens fishermen because homeowners who thought the lobster pound or fishing pier was quaint when they moved in, soon find the early morning boat noise, the sea gulls and the smell annoying.

Ralph Stanley, a boat builder in Southwest Harbor, bought a pier for $8,000 in 1957. That one-third acre plot is now assessed at more than $1 million. The town asked Mr. Stanley to consider moving his facility away from the water so the land could be used for other purposes that would bring more revenue into the town’s coffers. A fisherman in Kittery sold his house to buy a pier so he could ensure he had access to the water.

This program will lower tax bills, but it won’t take away the pressure on fishermen to sell waterfront property to developers offering a hefty sum. This makes it worthwhile to assess the impact of this change in, say, five years.

But a Yes vote Tuesday on Question 7 will help maintain a Maine tradition.