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Working Waterfront To Be Protected
On January 26th, Senator Dennis Damon (D-Hancock County) hosted a press conference to garner support for LD 1972 “An act to Preserve Maine’s Working Waterfront.” News Channels 6 and 8, MPBN and Maine things considered attended the conference. Speakers in support of LD 1972 included Senator Damon, Representative Leila J. Percy (D-Phippsburg), Representative Richard Woodbury (U-Yarmouth), pier owner Laddie Whidden, lobsterman Steve Train and Rob Snyder of the Island Institute. The conference was a success. A public hearing held on February 13th heard little opposition to Senator Damon’s working waterfront bill. LD 1972 comes directly in the wake of the November referendum, Question 7, which opened the legislative doors for the waterfront act. Question 7 allows for a constitutional amendment, thus making it possible for the Legislature to authorize working waterfront to be assessed for a current-use status in a similar manner as farms, forestlands and open spaces. In 2002, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) investigated commercial fishing access in 25 coastal communities and found that 75 percent of that access was achieved through private businesses or residences, thus making it “vulnerable to the escalating real estate market.” According to the Island Institute, that real estate market is escalating at a rate of up to 300 percent. LD 1972 is here to help preserve the last strongholds, here to help people hold on to what they have and perhaps gain some in the process. LD 1972 uses tax incentives and Working Waterfront Covenants to keep the land in the hands of those whose livelihoods and ways of life depend on it. A Working Waterfront Covenant, as explained in an unofficial draft, would control “the use and sales price of working waterfront real estate for the primary purpose of making and preserving the permanent availability and affordability of that real estate for commercial fisheries businesses.” Only six years ago, a similar action was defeated by a narrow margin. Hugh Cowperthwaite is the Fisheries Project Coordinator at CEI, and he has been busy adding up the facts concerning the coastline. “Many people feel that the last time this proposed constitutional amendment was brought before Maine’s voters that folks did not understand the issue,” he said. And it is a complicated issue with a complicated solution. Dave Thomas, a lobsterman from Isleford, put it succinctly when he said, “Look at this issue forty, thirty, twenty years ago. Where are those harbors now? They are shrinking or gone! And it’s not just any harbor; it’s every harbor. They are all feeling the pressure.” Maine’s coast is home to some 149 harbors that support, not only thousands and thousands of jobs and produce in excess of $750 million yearly, but a way of life and a culture as well. The harbors make Maine what it is. “Maine’s marine heritage cannot continue unless our fishermen, aquaculturists, boat builders and supporting marine trade businesses have access to the ocean,” said Cowperthwaite. “The people of Maine spoke their mind…many testified.” Despite the people of Maine voting strongly in favor of Question 7, and despite the positive outcome at the hearing on February 13th, there is still much to be done, much support needed. Robert Snyder, the Vice President of Programs at the Island Institute, agrees. “The most important work is still ahead,” he said. “Today, the legislature has a mandate from the people of Maine to develop laws that will save working waterfront jobs,” continued Snyder. “This is a tremendous responsibility, one fraught with complexity, as a balance must be found…The legislature must develop a program that creates tax incentive for working waterfronts entering the program, that is balanced with the town’s concerns” “The taxes just keep going up and up and up,” said Steuben lobsterman Randy Pinkham. Pinkham has fished for lobsters since he was four, and his wharf has been in his family for three generations. “Sort of a hand-me-down,” he said. While Pinkham doesn’t need to fight for access, he must fight to keep his access; he must pay his ever-rising taxes. When asked what he thought of a tax-incentive program, Pinkham replied with a simple, “That’d be good.” To confront these issues, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is on the search for a third party contractor which will help businesses apply for grant money with the DMR, via a proposal process. On February 15th, two days after the public hearing concerning LD 1972, the Working Waterfront Coalition Executive Committee submitted some suggestions on how to begin tackling this project. “Unfortunately,” Cowperthwaite said, “I don’t feel that this is ready to be written about or submitted to the public. It is very much a working draft and an attempt to help the Taxation Committee think this through.” Dave Ledew of the Bureau of Taxation will be working with the Committee on options for the waterfront program. Ledew plans to meet with the Committee in early March for work sessions. A fisherman from Long Island in Casco Bay put it this way: “When I look out the window I see the last generation of working waterfronts… Without solutions like this the next generation of fishermen will not be able to hold on to their wharfs.” And so there is work to be done, and a lot of it, but things are changing. “Twenty five years from now we should all be able to look back and say that 2006 was the year that Maine took action to save working waterfront jobs,” says Snyder. |
