City should consider petition topics

To the editor,

In the July 21 edition of the Sentry, the headline highlighted South Portland seeking community engagement for its upcoming Comprehensive Plan. The article stressed how the city is committed to engaging resident input for consideration in the final plan. I applaud the city for seeking out the visions and concerns of all residents.

As a longtime resident of South Portland, I would encourage the city to consider the petition initiated by Protect South Portland. The petition mentions the unique coastal challenges to our city. It specifically requests that the comprehensive plan require that all land use decisions be made through the lens of climate change, specifically the inevitability of sea-level rise and storm surges.

The second major focus of this petition centers on the concerns relating to the tank farms located in South Portland. Given that these aging tanks could put at risk our community, Casco Bay, and statewide petroleum distribution, it is important that the city commit to managing high to extreme sea level rise scenarios modeled by One Climate Future’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Portland and South Portland. The projection foresees rises of 2.95 to 3.38 feet by 2050 and 8.72 to 10.79 feet by 2100.

It also calls upon the city to ensure that the tank farms will mitigate all hazardous air pollutants and dangerous volatile organic compound emissions and that the cost of any hazardous disasters and ecological restoration be paid for by the petroleum industry.

Lastly, just as I applaud the city for soliciting resident input, it’s important that the city also develop local climate solutions through continuing community engagement and transparent democracy. We are all stakeholders in South Portland’s future.

Lucy Breslin

South Portland

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