I love living in South Portland. In 2012, I had to relocate to another state to retire. As soon as I could, I moved back to South Portland. Whew! Safe again!

That is, until recent plans have surfaced, making me afraid that my lovely, peaceful little city is in danger of being turned into a metropolitan nightmare.

Yes, I’m talking about Yard South, with its capitalistic fantasy of twisting Cushing’s Point and Bug Light Park into an apocalyptic landscape of high-rises, luxury condos, minimal “affordable” but not workforce housing, a hotel and no parking … all next to 13 oil tanks, built on contaminated soil from the old shipyard and subject to sea level and storm surge rise.

We all watched the fishing shacks wash away; Bug Light Park was flooded and damaged at the same time. If approved, this irresponsible building project will forever tarnish the character and culture of South Portland.

Yard South ignores the charm of South Portland as a quintessential Maine city with no pretensions of grandeur. This not California. The proposed Yard South 30-acre inner-city landscape will not enhance the charisma and old-world appeal of South Portland. The very soul, character and history of South Portland are endangered by this nightmarish vision, one largely dictated by people who do not live here.

South Portland is a community of nearly 27,000 residents and more than 1,500 businesses situated between Casco Bay and the Fore River. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the state of Maine and covers approximately 14 square miles. The city was voted one of the best places to live in Maine in 2018 and was one of Fortune Magazine’s Best Places to Live in 2022. These tributes to South Portland’s personality and individuality are disregarded by Yard South and its developers’ rapacious desire to turn South Portland into Naples, Florida, or Los Angeles.

The Ferry Village neighborhood is located next to Bug Light Park and the proposed Yard South development. This community faces serious threats from Yard South; the development will funnel cars into Ferry Village and Bug Light Park for parking and access to Broadway. It seems inconceivable that anyone would want to build something as massive as Yard South at the end of a peninsula with a single two-lane road access in and out. Common sense, a strong characteristic of South Portlanders, seems woefully lacking in the Yard South proposal.

South Portland has some of the last remaining waterfront property in the state at Cushing’s Point. Little in Yard South’s information so far suggests that expanding that working waterfront is important. In fact, the most recent site plan shows the public boat launch access and parking designated as “Emergency Vehicle Use Only.” Are we going to lose our public boat launch to a development that will tower over Bug Light? Such a blunder would negatively impact the attractive and gentle nature of the community.

Yard South has declared that South Portland needs an urban center. We already have one, it’s called Knightville.

To be remodeled into New York City is not the way life should be in South Portland. The tallest building in Maine is a controversial 18 stories; it seems clear this is not a state that values skyscrapers.

South Portland residents have rallied before to protect what we hold priceless: the creation of Bug Light Park in June 1996, the 2014 Clear Skies Ordinance, the 2019 Open Space Plan. The city also boasts a large number of volunteers and activists that support the best for South Portland. Now, our beloved Bug Light is in serious danger. The Yard South proposal ignores the poignant history of the park and the city’s character by suggesting that South Portland is somehow incomplete in its current form. I think it’s perfect just the way it is.