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Secluded Island Hideaway Is Part Of PortlandBy WILLIAM C. HIDLAYAssociated Press WriterCLIFF ISLAND, Maine — Roger Berle lives in Maine’s largest cityout his neighborhood has dirtstreets, no police protection and can be reached only by boat.Eight mifes out in Casco Bay, Cliff Island is within the city limits of Portland. But life on the island is so different, so distant from Portland, that Berle often talks about events in the city haD-pening * ‘over there, in America. ”For Berle, Cliff is an idyllic place to work and raise a family, far from the hubbub, congestion and crime of Port-and, yet close enough to take advantage of the good things the citv has tooffer - the museums, the restaurants the concerts.We’re in our own world out here, yetwith a fast boat, we re only 25 minutesaway from a vibrant city with all that it has to offer, ’ ’ he says.But these days, Berle and others warn, Cliff amd some of Portland’s five other inhabited islands in Casco Bay are imperiled by the very city that has governed them since 1786. Many islanders are in revolt against the City Council because of a property revaluation that doubled and even tripled their realestate taxes this summer.Residents of the islands, mostly lobster fishermen, are talking about seceding from Portland and starting then-own municipal government. They’ve even launched a campaign to throw most of the City Council out of office Berle and others fear the increasing taxes could force many year-round is land residents to sell their homes and move off, turning the islands into summer vacation havens for the rich “I’ve worked for 20 years to keep theyear-round community from dying ” Berle says. “Year-rounders have a limited income and if they can’t pay their taxes that means the only people who can live out here are summer Deonlp ”overlooking the A.tanWc oteaT^CasTo Ba^eigh, m^Tfrom°' R°* Be'knaP' fore9round'The Casco Bay islands are among hundreds dotting the Maine coast Thevwere among the first places settled in North America, preservationists say‘There is no other state along the At-antic that has as many year-round is-and communities,” says Philip Conkling, executive director of the Island Institute, a non-profit group devoted to preserving them.i ^f^ing says the number of islands with year-round communities hasdropped from about 300 at the turn of the century to just 14 today. Five are inCasco Bay, and Conkling shares the fears for their survival.The islanders “feel they’re being taxed into the ground at a rate that willessentially make it impossible to sustain traditional fishing communities ” Conkling says.He contends some city officials want to promote development of the islands as summer communities for thewealthy as a way to generate revenue. The reason is you can tax people withsecond homes through the nose and youdon t have to provide any services ” Conkling says.Mayor Tom Allen disputes that “It just is ridiculous to think that the citvAllen says the city is required by state law to conduct periodic property revaluations. He said the consulting company that performed the $1 million revaluation this year made mistakes in assessing the value of island property, andcity officials are trying to correct those errors.“Once we’ve corrected the mistakes.” Allen says, “it’s still going to be true that the property values on the islands have gone up more than property on the mainland. That’s market forces at work. That’s not city policy. ’’Portland is one of only a few cities that govern traditional isfand communities. Six of Casco Bay’s seven largest inhabited islands - Cliff, Long, Peaks Great Diamond, Little Diamond and Cushing — have been part of Portland since the city was incorporated in 1786.The other major inhabited island, Great Chebeague, traditionally has been governed by the town of Cumberland. The rest of Maine’s islands are independent, with their own towngovernments.The Casco Bay islands, linked to Portland by ferry, each have a different character, based on their mix of summer vacationers and year-round residents. Each harbors its own natural treasures, from the Singing Sands beach on Long Island, where the sand makes a humming sound in the wind, tothe 35-foot bluffs for which Cliff Island is named.Peaks Island is the closest to Portland and has about 1,000 permanent residents, the largest year-round community among the city islands’ total population of about 1,300 people.Little Diamond and Great Diamondacross from Peaks, are predominantlysummer colonies, though eight familieslive year-round on Great Diamond. Onthe other side of Peaks, Cushing Islandisn t served by the ferry and is private;only property owners and their guests are allowed.Farther out in the bay, beyond Peaks and Great Diamond, are Great Chebeague, Long and Cliff islands, which have traditional fishing communities Berle, one of Cliff’s 70 residents, says,I like the fact that laws are enforced less rigorously out here. The roads aredirt Everyone is on a first-name basis out here.Berle has spent every summer of his me on Cliff and moved to the island permanently 20 years ago. His small construction company and another areCliff s only major industries aside from lobstenng.I grew up in suburban Boston and there s a set of expectations out there that you have to grow and achieve certain financial goals,” Berle says “You don t have any of that out here ’ ’But Berle and others fear lobstermen may no longer be able to afford to liveon the islands and that property ownerswho inherited their homes and island-living traditions from parents and grandparents will have to sell.^ a part-time lobstermanon Great Diamond Island, saw the assessed value of his four-bedroom homejump from $39,500 to $164,400, and his taxes nse from $1,185 to nearly $4 300£hous“d hiS Wlfe are t,7ing to seliTax increases like Weber’s are common and could accelerate the trend toward gentnfication of the islanHcresidents contend.“Obviously, there’s going to be gentri-hcation, but it can be controlled,” says Patrick Gardner, a Peaks Island resident and a leader of the secessionmovement.Gardner, who spent most of his life inOttumwa, Iowa, discovered Peaks in1976, fell in love with the island andmoved there permanently five years later.Gardner and his wife designed and built their own housfe on Peaks’ rockyback shore, a picturesque spot looking out onto the open ocean.Although the 2/2-story home’s first floor isn’t finished yet, he says, the revaluation sent his property value from nearly $70,000 to $227,000, and doubled his yearly tax bill, from about $2,400 to nearly $5,000. Like many islanders, Gardner is appealing his revaluation and has succeeded initially in loweringit to $22d,000.• a^so ^?as channeled his angerinto the secession movement, and is leading a separate campaign to recalloffice qUart6rS °f the Cky Council from“When my taxes doubled, I decided it was time to draw a line and attack,” Gardner says.DAP OPERA NEWSDaily updates • The latest gossip1 -900-976-990595c each minute
Newspaper Details
Aiken Standard
Aiken, South Carolina, US
Sun, Nov 03, 1991
Page 56
Full Page
Clipped by
Judith R.
USA 11 May 2018
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