PORTLAND, Maine – Portland city councilors are set for a busy Monday evening at City Hall, with several high-profile issues scheduled for consideration, including the city’s immigration enforcement policy, proposed buffer-zone restrictions affecting large entertainment venues, and the future of a moratorium on major theater and performance hall projects.
The meeting also comes after an executive session tied to a possible new location for a shelter, adding another major policy issue to an already crowded night at City Hall.
One of the most closely watched items on Monday’s agenda is Order 180-25/26, an amendment to Portland City Code Chapter 2 concerning immigration enforcement (ICE). The proposal is sponsored by Councilors Pious Ali and Regina Phillips.
Under the proposed amendment, city employees and officials would generally be prohibited from assisting federal agencies in immigration enforcement operations, except in cases where that assistance is required by law.
The order would also preserve current provisions in Chapter 2 that prohibit city employees from asking about a person’s citizenship or immigration status, unless required by law or when such an inquiry is necessary to direct a person to services related to their immigration status.
The immigration enforcement vote comes as Maine cities continue to wrestle with how local governments should interact with federal immigration authorities. In Portland, the proposed change would further define the boundaries between city employees and federal immigration enforcement activity.
Councilors are also expected to take up proposed changes to Portland’s rules governing large theaters and performance halls, an issue closely watched amid ongoing debate over Live Nation venues and the future of large-scale entertainment development in the city.
Order 182-25/26 would amend Portland City Code Chapter 14 to create new dispersal requirements for large theaters and performance halls. The proposed ordinance would establish a minimum 750-foot separation requirement between large theaters or performance halls located in the B-3 and WCZ zones.
Under the proposal, a large theater or performance hall would be prohibited from being located within 750 feet of the primary entrance of another large theater or performance hall. The distance would be measured along public ways, including streets and sidewalks.
The proposed amendments would also modify the existing “Theater or Performance Hall” use by creating two categories: “Theater or Performance Hall (Small)” and “Theater or Performance Hall (Large).”
According to the agenda language, the changes are intended to address the impacts associated with a concentration of large theaters and performance halls.
The Planning Board, however, did not support the proposal. On March 24, the board voted unanimously, 5-0, with one member recused and another absent, to find that the proposed amendments were not consistent with Portland’s Comprehensive Plan. As a result, the Planning Board did not recommend adoption by the City Council.
That puts councilors in the position of deciding whether to move forward with the 750-foot buffer-zone rules despite the Planning Board’s recommendation against adoption.
The venue rules are paired with another major item: Order 183-25/26, sponsored by Mayor Mark Dion, which would terminate Portland’s moratorium on theater and performance hall projects with a capacity exceeding 2,000 people.
The moratorium was originally established on Aug. 11, 2025, under Order 9-25/26, and later extended by Order 131-25/26. According to the order, the Housing and Economic Development Committee and the Planning Board reviewed and made recommendations related to proposed amendments to the city’s Land Use Code during the time the moratorium was in effect.
If approved, the termination of the moratorium would take effect May 27, 2026.
Councilors are also scheduled to consider Order 181-25/26, another amendment to Portland City Code Chapter 14, dealing with the definition of “main entrance” for entertainment businesses in the B-3 and WCZ zones.
That proposal, sponsored by the Portland Planning Board, would clarify how “main entrance” is defined for the purpose of regulation and enforcement. Unlike the 750-foot buffer-zone proposal, the Planning Board recommended adoption of the main entrance amendment, voting 5-0 on March 24 to find it consistent with Portland’s Comprehensive Plan.
Taken together, the theater and performance hall items could shape the future of large entertainment venues in Portland, including where they may be located, how they are regulated, and whether the city continues or ends its temporary pause on projects with capacity above 2,000 people.
The Monday agenda also includes Order 179-25/26, which would appropriate $10.1 million from Jetport unrestricted funds to begin design and construction work on parking expansion projects at the Portland International Jetport.
The proposal would provide $1.5 million to begin design on the Phase 3 Parking Garage and $8.6 million to expand and improve the existing cell phone lot and gravel parking lot near Embassy Suites into a new 537-space public self-park lot.
According to the agenda language, the project would bring the existing gravel lot and partially cleared land acquired from Toye Airport Park LLC in 2021 up to current standards for lighting, stormwater treatment, pedestrian access, and landscaping.
The Sustainability and Transportation Committee voted 3-0 on March 11 to move the Jetport item to the full City Council.
Each of the listed items received its first reading on April 13 and must be read on two separate days. Five affirmative votes are required for passage after public comment.
With votes expected on immigration enforcement, venue restrictions, the theater moratorium, and Jetport spending and with shelter discussions taking place behind closed doors, Monday night’s meeting is poised to be one of the more consequential City Hall sessions in recent weeks.
“Order 180-25/26, an amendment to Portland City Code Chapter 2” proposed by none other than Pious Ali who has received campaign funds from ActBlue. What a shocker!