Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain is calling on a regional land-use board to determine if it mistakenly granted University of New England a building permit.
Specifically, LaFountain has asked the Saco River Corridor Commission why it overruled a predecessor panel’s ruling limiting construction near the river.
The commission two years ago gave the university permission to build a road to its planned pier despite a panel decision 25:years ago seemingly forbidding incursion into a 250-foot shoreline “buffer zone.”
LaFountain wants the commission to explain how the building permit complies with the original development prohibition and whether the panel intended to grant an exception.
The city and the school are embroiled in a legal battle over the university’s claims that its research-pier plans are being unnecessarily delayed by opponents’ legal tactics.
A group comprised as Mooring Owners is adamant its members will not move their anchored boat hooks to accommodate the planned pier.
The mooring group contends the pier could easily be built in a different part of the river without obstructing their use of the waterway.
LaFountain is pinning his hopes on the commission ironing out a resolution avoiding further court proceedings.
“The city has already sought judicial review,” he said in a statement. “However, we would much rather see this question resolved by this commission as the governmental body closest to the Saco River and most deeply invested in protecting public health, safety, and quality of life through responsible stewardship of its land and water.”
“This statement is measured and right on the money,” the mooring group said Thursday of LaFountain’s approach.
The commission is set to hold a public hearing on the controversial pier project at 7:00 p.m. August 12 in the Saco Community Center.
Have all vessales on the Saco been checked for holding tanks?
Mayor clean up the graffiti on the bridge first.