PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 27, 2024
The Belfast City Council voted April 16 to vacate a 2021 eminent domain action it had taken on behalf of the Nordic Aquafarms fish farm project. That was the right thing to do, but more is needed. The council should reverse the vote and save taxpayers $5,000 for a now-pointless exercise to revisit the location of the Northport town line. The 12.5 acres the city sold to Nordic was originally given to Belfast on the condition that nothing be built on it ever. The city vacated those restrictions. The City Council should reaffirm the covenants and save taxpayers yet more Nordic-related legal bills. Finally, public comment ran overwhelmingly against the 2018 zoning change that allowed Nordic to go forward. The City Council should reverse that and return the land to its original and rightful purpose. ~ Lawrence Reichard, Belfast