People have financial, emotional and family interests on Munjoy Hill. It’s become one of the attractive sectors of Portland, yet not too prim and pretty, thank goodness. It feels real, and it has a certain neighborhood attractiveness.

Addressing the anguish of the demolition moratorium, and the teardowns and out-of-context structures that led up to it, has demanded considerable struggle and effort.

Reducing the maximum building height from 45 feet to 35 feet seemed to make sense in order to prevent square “towers” that really feel out of context among the gabled roofs and earlier-style apartment buildings.

However, after agreeing at their June 4 meeting that 35 feet was the right choice, the City Council immediately reversed it. As long as you include an “affordable” unit, you can again build right up to the 45-foot ugly imposition on light and air. Besides being an insult to lower-income people – apparently they don’t have the right to what is attractive – Portland has essentially negated the whole thing.

One incentive for the larger buildings, with more simplistic lines and materials, has to do with maximizing revenue for the builder. So, making at least one unit “affordable” undoes the repair of the 35-foot aesthetic.

Grace Braley

Portland