Bath Golf Club owner defends housing plan

Many things have been said about developing housing at The Bath Golf Club. When I first explained my intentions, I expected some would not support the proposal. People have a strong connection to the course. The emotional response is understandable, and I don’t wish to discount it. There are, however, other considerations.

Bath’s Comprehensive Plan has “Four Big Ideas,” including “lowering barriers to housing.” The housing shortage in Maine is estimated at 80,000 units. Bath prioritizes working towards making progress on this issue. Each Comprehensive Plan since 1997 has permitted and encouraged cluster housing. You may have read about Sen. Collins securing millions in funding aimed at expanding housing availability, notably for BIW. Housing is a priority.

The Bath Golf Club was a nine-hole course from 1932 until the early 1990s. Since then, the road has been challenging, with multiple owners going through bankruptcy. While there are financial benefits to housing, those benefits extend to the course and the community. A nine-hole course operating from a financially stable place means open space will continue to exist. Cluster provisions are intended to keep density like surrounding areas and protect open space. Because of these provisions, most acreage on the property would remain golf course or open space.

The course is the only property within its district and is privately owned. While citizens have the right to workshop ideas that will influence the community, a private landowner cannot be compelled to operate in a way that is negatively impacting business and their property. My goal is the development of badly needed housing and the restoration of 9-holes that provides long term stability for people to play golf and enjoy the outdoors. Within the provisions encouraged by the City of Bath for decades, the retained open space would not be developable in the future. I have encouraged free community use for sledding, skiing, and other activities and have partnered with the City to groom it, even though it is private property. That community utilization, free of charge, would continue and be protected. Both community and individuals matter, and the plan that we have prepared respects both. Disagreement is understandable, but paths forward come from compromise throughout the process and respecting the legal rights of the individual property owner.

Sean McCarthy,
Owner, The Bath Golf Club

On Jan. 10 The Times Record reported on the Maine House’s failed attempt to impeach Secretary of State Shenna Bellows for her decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the presidential primary ballot. The vote was 80-60 against impeachment, with every Democrat voting “no,” and all but one Republican, Rep. David Woodcome, voting to impeach.

Inquiring minds want to know, what’s up with Rep. Woodcome. Did he push the wrong button or not get the memo? Or (a distant third), did he actually spend some time/effort thinking through a nuanced question and come to his own conclusion? Groupthink is a word coined by psychologist William Whyte. It refers to a phenomenon within a group in which the desire for group conformity leads to dysfunctional decision-making without critical evaluation. Was Milton Berle on target when he said “(Y)ou can lead a man to Congress but you can’t make him think”? How did Woodcome escape Groupthink’s siren call? Is he onto something?

It is too easy to think about politics as a type of competitive sport, Blues vs Reds. But the decisions of the Maine Legislature have consequences for us citizens. I expect the people who represent me in both chambers to listen to opposing views, weigh alternatives and decide for themselves how to vote, party tactics be damned.

Whether it is fealty to the group or the specter of the next election driving party-line voting, any evidence of cerebral activity beyond “Rah, team” would be remarkable (vide supra) and appreciated.

Steven Zimmerman,
Topsham

Rental costs in the Bath-Brunswick area have almost doubled in the four years since we rented a two-bedroom apartment in Topsham, from $1,100 per month to over $2,000 per month.

Driving this rapid price increase is the growth the past three years of immigrants and remote workers moving to Brunswick. Affordable housing has been in even shorter supply, so many people with Section 8 vouchers have been unable to find apartment owners willing to rent to them.

Landlords have discriminated against low-income people, people who have been incarcerated or are of a different ethnic group. LD1710, the HOME Act, prohibits discrimination against potential renters and allows an extension of the Municipal General Assistance law to include rental supplements. Only families who make around 30% of Maine’s annual median income would qualify for rental assistance to be able to afford their higher rent, reducing evictions and homelessness.

Please ask your Maine representative and senator to vote for the HOME ACT.