University of New England – Kate Sykes for District Five

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Wednesday May 21, 2025

ONE BIG THING: Shaping UNE’s Growth in District 5

This week, the Council approved the University of New England Institutional Overlay Zone (IOZ), granting UNE long-term development rights over more than 70 acres in the Deering neighborhood. The zone creates a cohesive plan for UNE’s Portland campus and opens the door for projects like student housing for the medical school, transforming what has long been a commuter campus into a vibrant residential hub. It ensures that future development happens within a shared vision, not parcel by parcel.

Councilor Bullett and I also introduced an amendment—passed unanimously—to expand environmental protections along Capisic Brook, permanently safeguarding water quality and green space in one of Portland’s most climate-vulnerable watersheds.

At the same meeting, I introduced a resolution urging the Council’s Finance Committee to finalize a long-overdue PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) policy to address the growing footprint of Portland’s tax-exempt institutions.

Why It Matters

The UNE IOZ marks the third major zoning entitlement on tax-exempt land in recent years, following approvals for MaineHealth and the Roux Institute. These institutions now occupy vast sections of the city but are exempt from paying property taxes toward the infrastructure and services that sustain them. They benefit from zoning approvals, public infrastructure, emergency response, and long-term planning, but the cost is shifted onto working people, renters, and small businesses.

According to the City Assessor’s Office, approximately $3 billion in Portland property is currently tax-exempt, representing over 20% of the City’s potential tax base.

Meanwhile, property taxes are climbing. School budgets are growing. State reimbursements are uncertain. We are asking more from Portlanders while allowing some of the city’s largest landholders to grow without giving back.

A PILOT program offers another way, one that treats growth as a shared civic responsibility. It’s a model where prosperity is reinvested in the communities that make it possible, and it works in other cities.

Boston’s PILOT program generates over $30 million annually, using a fair formula based on property value and municipal service use, with credits for real community benefit. Portland has drafted a similar framework, but has yet to enact it.

It’s time to move forward with a model that matches our values and invests in our shared future.

Four Quick Hits

School Budget Passed: We protected vital school programming under fiscal pressure. A win for stability and equity.
Brighton Ave RFP Approved: The Council advanced affordable housing on city-owned land near the Barron Center. The debate, whether to prioritize family or elder housing, revealed how austerity forces us to choose between needs. I look forward to exploring new tools to build public equity in housing through the Social Housing task force so we can build housing for everyone.
Cannabis Loopholes Fixed: Retailers can now prepare non-alcoholic beverages onsite. A simple change that helps small businesses thrive on equal terms.
Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative Moves Forward: The Housing & Economic Development Committee approved a ballot measure that would finally include City workers, ending their exclusion from the 2020 wage hike and taking a stand for wage equity across sectors.

What Comes Next

The minimum wage initiative is a step toward fairness. But already, we’re seeing calls to carve out nonprofit employers, a move that would recreate the very inequity we’re trying to correct.

Let’s be clear: under that amendment, someone washing dishes in a non-profit senior home could be paid less than someone doing the same job in a restaurant—same work, same hours, less pay—just because of who signs the paycheck.

This is the logic of austerity: divide workers by sector, business size, or job title, and ask them to fight over what’s left.

But we know another way.

We can build a city where no one is carved out. Where wages are dignified, housing is abundant, and growth is shared. The work continues, and we’ll keep doing it together.

ksykes@portlandmaine.gov 207-558-5764

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Wednesday May 7, 2025

ONE BIG THING: Council Agrees to Public Workshop on Rent Control Enforcement

At Monday’s City Council meeting, we heard directly from the Portland Tenants Union and community members about rent control enforcement. Their audit of March rental listings suggests staggering noncompliance: over 60% of advertised units appear to be in violation of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance. That includes units not registered, listed at unlawful rents, or inaccurately reported in the City’s own public data. In response, the Council will convene a public workshop in June to examine the findings. This will be a chance for the public, City departments, and our Rent Board to come together and workshop our enforcement infrastructure with transparency and accountability.

Why It Matters: Rent control is not optional—it’s the law. And it is an indispensable tool for keeping people housed at a time when federal and state cuts are slashing Portland’s capacity to respond to the housing crisis.

What Comes Next: The workshop on June 9^th will include presentations from Permitting & Inspections, Corporation Counsel, PTU, and the Rent Board. I am pushing to ensure this becomes not just a data presentation, but a collaborative reset that re-centers tenants as key stakeholders in policy enforcement.

Two More Quick Hits:

Hotel Moratorium Extended

The Council voted to extend the moratorium on new hotel development to allow time for revisions to the Hotel Inclusionary Zoning ordinance. The current linkage fee of $4,831 per room vastly underestimates the public cost. New data shows it may be as high as $13,700 per room. This pause gives us space to align hotel growth with Portland’s housing needs and labor market realities.

UNE Overlay Zone Vote Coming May 19: What’s at Stake

The proposed Institutional Overlay Zone (IOZ) for the University of New England is headed for a final Council vote this month. This zoning change would consolidate UNE’s control over approximately 72 acres in Deering Center, permitting by-right, tax-exempt development across the site. While UNE has outlined future growth plans, the current proposal raises serious concerns:

Erosion of the Tax Base: The rezoning could green-light future removal of multiple parcels from Portland’s property tax rolls. No fiscal impact assessment has been provided to offset this loss. The public would continue to fund municipal services—like police, fire, and infrastructure—without a clear return from UNE.
Lack of Public Benefit Agreement: Unlike similar proposals in Portland and other cities, there is no community benefits package attached to this rezoning. UNE cites clinical programs like “Give Kids A Smile” as community benefits, but these are primarily student training opportunities. Real benefits require community input and enforceable commitments.
Environmental Risk to Capisic Brook: The site borders Capisic Brook—an Urban Impaired Stream and one of Portland’s most sensitive ecological corridors. While UNE has indicated an intent to conserve some land, there are no binding protections or enforceable buffers to ensure long-term watershed health.

As currently written, this overlay zone would enable institutional expansion without clear protections for Portland’s fiscal sustainability or its natural environment. I’m working to ensure the Council addresses these gaps so our neighborhoods, tax base, and ecological assets are not left behind.