As reported in the Press Herald, the Belfast City Council voted April 16 to vacate a 2021 eminent domain action it had taken on behalf of the $500 million Nordic Aquafarms fish farm project. That was the right thing to do, but more is needed.

On April 2, the council appropriated $5,000 to revisit the location of the Northport town line, in an apparent attempt to salvage the 2021 eminent domain action, which crossed over into Northport. The council should now reverse that vote and save taxpayers $5,000 for a now-pointless exercise.

There’s also the 12.5 acres the city sold to Nordic. The land was originally given to Belfast by the state of Maine on the condition that nothing be built on it – ever – to protect the land’s underlying watershed. In selling the land to Nordic, the city vacated those restrictions, but the city’s power to vacate the covenants is being challenged in court. The City Council should now reaffirm those covenants and save taxpayers yet more Nordic-related legal bills.

Finally, there’s the 2018 zoning change that allowed Nordic to go forward. The previous zoning designation was there for a reason, and the change was rushed through, despite public comment that ran overwhelmingly against it. The City Council should now reverse that change and return the land to its original and rightful purpose.

On April 2, the Belfast City Council did the right thing. Now it’s time to finish the job.

Lawrence Reichard
Belfast

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