Everything You Need to Know About Yard South

Signs reading “No Yard South” have appeared in lawns across South Portland in recent months. But what exactly is Yard South? Who is proposing it? And why are people opposed?

What is Yard South?

Yard South, a project of L&R Northpoint Holdings LLC and PK Realty Management LLC, aims to construct 1,200 residential apartments, 100 hotel rooms, and 216,400 square feet worth of buildings for “mixed nonresidential uses” near Bug Light Park in South Portland on the 30 acres of land that formerly served as the West Shipyard where Liberty Ships were built during World War II.

PK Realty Management purchased the land for $7.7 million in 2018.

According to the project’s website, the buildings would range in height from 30 feet to 140 feet, or approximately from 2 to 12 stories.

The vision for the development also includes the establishment of a water transit system to downtown Portland and streets that “prioritize pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders of all ages and abilities.”

Yard South would also include “an integrated network of safe pedestrian and bike trails and inviting open spaces” that would allow for people “to engage with the Fore River for the first time in this site’s history.”

Developers are also requesting that minimum off-street parking requirements be waived so long as there is a public transit stop within a quarter-mile of the development.

What’s Under Consideration?

Current zoning laws only allow for buildings up to 86 feet, or roughly 8 stories, meaning that for the project to go forward as planned, the developers need to file an application with the City of South Portland to establish a Contact Zone.

In South Portland, Contract Zoning allows the City Council to “impose, by agreement with the property owner or otherwise, certain conditions or restrictions not generally applicable to other properties similarly zoned” as a result of the “the unusual nature or unique location of the development proposed.”

The developers for Yard South have not yet officially filed their Contract Zoning application with the city, but they have gotten the ball rolling on the process by submitting their pre-application materials.

After the city receives the Contract Zone application from the Yard South developers, the city will have a 30-day review period in which they are to identify any “deficiencies” in the application. The developers then would have an “undefined” period to review and correct these “deficiencies.” When ready, they would resubmit their application to the City of South Portland. This process would then be repeated as many times as necessary until the application is complete.

At this point, the city Planning Board must hold a public hearing wherein public comment is heard and a recommendation is prepared to submit to the City Council.

Following this, the City Council will also hold a public hearing at which the proposal is read, and it is decided whether to approve or deny the application. If approved, the City Council will then host a second reading, as well as a first reading for any amendments that were made.

Should the City Council approve the Contract Zone application, a 20-day appeal period commences before the ordinance officially becomes law.

Once the ordinance goes into effect, the developers can submit an application for development that complies with the boundaries outlined in the Contract Zone.

Why Are People Opposed?

Concerns have been raised about the development on several fronts.

One group that has spoken out against Yard South is Protect South Portland, an organization that primarily focuses on environmental advocacy in the city.

Protect South Portland opposes the development due to potential safety concerns resulting from the fumes emitted by the nearby oil tanks and the potentiality of storm surges “releasing toxins or dislodging the tanks.” The group also argued that given the hazardous nature of the oil tanks, an emergency evacuation plan must be developed before a residential development such as Yard South is constructed in this location.

According to Protect South Portland, recent monitoring from the Department of Environmental Protection has shown that levels of “Benzene, a strong carcinogen” has exceeded the maximum amount deemed safe by Maine’s Ambient Air Guidelines.

Another citizen group, called No Yard South, has formed for the specific purpose of opposing the potential new development.

In an interview with the Portland Press Herald, the organizer of No Yard South stated that while she believes in increasing housing availability, she is against doing so in this location.

“I don’t think they should build residential there at all,” Cathy Chapman, organizer of No Yard South, said to the Portland Press Herald. “I’m pro-green and pro-density, but not there.”

How Have Yard South Developers Responded?

In early June, the developers of Yard South issued a press release responding to some of the criticisms the project has received.

Concerning the objections raised surrounding the air quality of the location, Yard South developers cite a 2022 Health Assessment that found, for the chemicals tested, that “none of the individual 24-hour sample results exceeded acute toxicity values.” They also reference a bill that was passed by the Legislature last month requiring “fence line monitoring around the tank farms to be implemented in 2024.”

The press release made no mention of Benzene specifically.

Regarding flooding, the developers state that “most of the Yard South property is located outside a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area.”

“Our design and engineering team is assessing the feasibility of raising the site elevation and other effective and proven design resilience strategies,” the press release said.

The press release also talked about several other concerns residents have had about the development, including parking, traffic, and housing affordability.

Developers reaffirm that the proposed Contract Zone will have no minimum parking requirement so that “developers can decide how many parking spaces they want to build.” They further state that more than “1,400 cities across the country have eliminated or reduced parking requirements in various ways including Westbrook, Bath, Belfast, and Auburn.”

To ease concerns over potential traffic increases, Yard South developers argue that “this is the walkable, transit-oriented neighborhood and lifestyle that we want to create…Incremental development will allow us to ease traffic and other impacts gradually over time.” They also reiterate their commitment to increasing access to and use of public transit.

Yard South developers have also stated that at least 10% of the units, of 120 apartments, will be deemed Affordable Housing. They are also intending to “encourage mixed income buildings with even more Affordable Housing.”

“Our goal is for the Yard South to be a mixed-income neighborhood,” the developer said in their press release.

What Happens Now?

There is still a long way to go before Yard South has the potential to become a reality in South Portland.

Nothing will move forward with the project until Yard South developers submit an application to the City of South Portland for a Contract Zone.