THREATENED WATERFRONT

As Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, keeps saying, Maine has more than 5,000 miles of coastline, but only 25 miles of it remains working waterfront. The owners of the docks, piers, wharves and bait shacks in those 25 miles are increasingly tempted by a skyrocketing market for coastal Maine property. The working waterfront is rapidly being transformed as wealthy individuals gobble it up and build private homes or condos.

Maine voters decided overwhelm-ingly last November to do something about it. They approved 72 to 28 percent a constitutional amendment permitting 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 forest land.”

Now comes the implementation. Mr. Damon’s bill, a concept draft that he calls a “skeleton bill,” goes before the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation Feb. 13 for a public hearing intended to put meat on those bones. He invites fishermen, wharf owners, other waterfront businesses that support commercial fishing, municipal officials and other citizens interested in Maine’s fishing industry and heritage to attend and be heard.

The main question to be considered is who will benefit. One method of selection is whether the support of fishing is “primary,” that is, 51 percent or more of an applicant’s activity. By that standard, a boatyard that builds and maintains both pleasure boats and commercial fishing boats would qualify if the fishing boats account for more than 50 percent of its business. Since the proportions will vary year to year, the requirement might be met in, say, three years out of every five. Sen. Damon’s guidelines suggest that a portion of a multiple-use property might qualify while the rest would be assessed at what is commonly called the “highest and best use,” that is, the market price.

Some may ask why should an assessment based on current use be considered a tax break. Isn’t it, instead, a penalty if a waterfront business owner with no desire to sell must pay a heavy tax as if he might sell to someone who wants the property for a private home?

The constitution does not contain the term “highest and best use.” It specifies “just value,” which the courts have interpreted as market value. The “just value” standard was imposed when waterfront land was more valuable for a business than for a residence, long before the surging market for coastal real estate. Everyone understands market value. Establishing current use of every piece of property would be subjective and hopelessly complex.

Sen. Damon says the new amendment and his guidelines for the implementing bill were drawn narrowly so as to benefit the commercial fishing industry alone.

If this procedure works and helps maintain commercial fishing, it could be extended to other businesses that characterize the Maine waterfront – marinas, pleasure boat building, even waterfront restaurants. All of them make up the familiar waterfront and are threatened by the standard of highest and best use.