Someone once told me, “Biddeford is full of character, and characters!” Recently, there is concern that Biddeford’s newfound “coolness” is creating a Biddeford that is not inclusive, meaning that the benefits of recent redevelopment are not benefitting all members of our community. Although I disagree that being “cool” is the problem, I do agree that this community and our City Leadership has failed to take both the character and characters of this city into sufficient consideration, resulting in flawed policy.
Our leaders continue to act like we still burn trash in our downtown and have to chase after every shiny new development project put in front of them. There appears to be a faulty belief that if we request any concessions or adjustments from developers – such as paying their fair share of taxes or demanding time to finalize our long-overdue comprehensive plan update – all development in Biddeford would stop and developers would walk away. This is not only wrong, but our lack of strategy and planning actually makes it harder for our community to develop in a way that is forward looking and cognizant of the City’s rich history and character. Ultimately, this will cost our community in the long-term, well after any short-term benefits of the current development boom have faded.
By putting a developer’s interests before the community’s, and without evidence-based planning, the City is failing to protect the character of our community – ranging from lack of adequate protections for our agricultural lands and open spaces, to potentially pushing out lifetime residents due to a lack of affordable housing.
The failure to make evidence-based and community-centered planning decisions must be addressed by relying on data instead of wishful thinking. Data driven decision-making is not only good policy, but will ultimately lead to better outcomes. Strategic and thoughtful planning and development not only produce more cohesive communities, but can also help prepare our community for the challenge of climate change and ensure long-term sustainability. In the absence of rigorous planning, the city has continued to utilize a hodge-podge of contract zones, which is in direct conflict with growing calls for a comprehensive plan to guide strategic development. As a result, we have allowed developers too much leverage to establish facts on the ground, rather than putting good planning first. We risk bending the outcome of our comprehensive plan to fit the desires of developers, rather than the values and needs of our city. A Biddeford city councilor recently said, “Information is just as important as speed.” I would add that we don’t just need information, but good information!
In a recent workshop, City Manager Jim Bennett urged massive development actions from council immediately, despite the ongoing process to update the comprehensive plan, which is aiming for extensive input from city residents. The city manager justified his arguments with talk of spiking inflation and rising interest rates; however, this view is completely out of touch with the historically low interest rates and inflation we are currently experiencing. Pushing through rushed development decisions in this way undermines the best efforts of city staff and dedicated citizens on the volunteer public engagement committee who are working hard to include residents’ values and priorities in the Comprehensive Planning process. Indeed, citizen engagement must be a priority. Nonetheless, the City Manager and Mayor, who recently parroted the same flawed talking points in an outreach video appear dead set on pushing forward massive developments, and then shaping our comprehensive plan to fit the piecemeal zoning.
In summary, garbage information in leads to garbage policy out. Backwards “policy first, data later” yields the same. Flawed processes that avoid the hard work of talking to residents and doing actual research should not be the basis for decisions about the future of this community. The solution is to have a well thought out and inclusive comprehensive planning process to create a shared vision and plan for our community through the public engagement process already under way. Only in this way can our leaders truly serve our beloved Biddeford, and not recreate a new “Trash Town” of their own design.
Sterling Roop, a Biddeford resident, is a Foreign Service officer currently serving at the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance. He is also a board member of The Heart of Biddeford.
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