Waterfront proposal needs questioning

To the editor,

My sister and I have owned a house and paid taxes in South Portland for 20 odd years. We liked the quaint small city of South Portland with walking paths and parks by the ocean, but it seems to be changing with no regard for the comfort and safety of our children and citizens.

We have endured the oil tank fumes with their toxic carcinogenic benzene fumes being released daily in the proximity of schools and homes of this neighborhood. We’ve asked city and state officials for fumes to be contained and the subject falls on deaf ears.

Now there is talk of developers wanting to build three or four 18-story residential buildings with 1,200 units and commercial businesses on prime waterfront. What happened to building codes with height of 18 floors? Are they changed to accommodate the whims and pockets of these developers? I doubt even Portland across the harbor has buildings that high blocking water views enjoyed by visitors and tax-paying citizens.

That is a huge influx of people with limited parking and supplemented by proposed bus transportation? This will further clog traffic flow on Broadway, which is already suffering from extra traffic due to many new residents and oil trucks fueling up in our neighborhood. Widening Broadway is not a possibility with properties so close to streets presently.

If this situation is disturbing to you, please contact your city council members or speak at a meeting. We need to question the values of these proposed plans.

Meg and Amy Davison
South Portland

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