Patrick Venne
Redwood Development Consulting, LLC
15 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
October 6, 2016
Via Email
Mayor & City Council
City of Portland
389 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101
RE:

Draft Moratorium Proposal for City Parks and Public Grounds in the R-6 Zone on the
Portland Peninsula

Dear Mayor Strimling & Council Members:
I am writing on behalf of Saulnier Development in regards to the above-cited matter as it relates
to plans contemplated for 155 Sheridan Street (the “Project”).
As a preliminary point, I want to communicate the Project development team’s appreciation of
Councilor Ray’s courtesy advance notice of the announcement she made at last evening’s
meeting. Open and robust lines of communication have been fruitful thus far, and it is in the
spirit of continuing the same that this letter is written.
Painstaking efforts have been made to adjust the Project’s design in response to community and
staff feedback, and we believe an accurate understanding of such changes is necessary in order to
comprehend the Project’s alleged impacts in context as you deliberate the necessity of a
moratorium. As a related note, development moratoria are reserved for situations in which
existing regulations and other processes prove inadequate for protecting community welfare
from serious public harm; as you can see below, however, existing means of addressing concerns
have been proceeding exceptionally well—and the formal review process hasn’t even started.
In support of this contention, please refer to the enclosed plans, which demonstrate three view
impact iterations culminating in the Project’s current design. As you can see, at present the
Project design would do no more than block a tiny sliver (less than 2%) of water visible to the far
right of the relevant vista when viewed from the park’s outermost edge. When viewed several
steps in from the edge, where most users tend to congregate, the vista is virtually unaffected.
On the basis of the steps taken to reach this point, outlined below, we believe this is an extremely
positive, and reasonable, outcome which should be agreeable for the most part to all interests
concerned.

 As originally conceived, the Project consisted of 34 units and more than 65,000 square feet in a
configuration that reduced the vista from Fort Sumner Park by nearly 40%. In response to a
recommendation from planning staff, this concept was discussed with community members
including the local neighborhood association for preliminary feedback so the project could be
tailored in a manner supporting a quality site plan poised for success and appropriate for
Portland. Based on feedback received, the development team removed an entire corner from the
building on three stories, reduced building size by more than 3,000 square feet (the size or a
large single-family home), and expanded the vista significantly, leaving a mere 15% impact on
the fringe of the view shed. This design was presented to and discussed with Councilor Ray and
staff in an effort to continue to gauge its acceptability. In response to further feedback, the
design was revised yet again by dramatically reducing the prominence of the top two floors,
reducing the building’s size by another 3,000+ square feet, and limiting the vista impact to a
mere 1.25% at worst.
To summarize, after several months of voluntary and proactive consensus building, the
development team has evidenced a willingness to drop thousands of square feet and several
units, and massively reconfigure the Project’s design in a manner that now has virtually no
impact on the public’s view. This design was well received by City administration and planning
staff and represents the best in proactive community input solicitation and consensus building.
In light of the foregoing, a moratorium is unnecessary at this juncture because existing
procedures have proven not only adequate but exceptionally capable of addressing stated
concerns to date. We respectfully request that you decline to enact the proposed moratorium and
entrust the Project’s finalization to the eminently qualified members of the Portland Planning
Board as reviewing authority.
If you have any questions, I would be pleased to speak further with any of you individually about
this matter in advance of your next meeting.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Very Sincerely.

Patrick Venne