📰BREAKING | UNE APPEALS DENIED | ZBA sides with City of Biddeford
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
"My belief is that.... the moratorium was in effect" - ZBA Board Member
May 4, 2026, A big win for those who have expressed opposition to the University of New England building a new pier along the Saco River - at tonight's Biddeford Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hearing, the ZBA voted to uphold the City's recent application denials issued to the University of New England pertaining to trees being "cleared" along the waterway, as well as the demolition of a building (Leonard Hall).
Early in the hearing, a spokesperson for UNE made it clear that UNE is specifically appealing the City's decision to deny recent applications strictly in accordance with the 180 day moratorium instituted, insisting the applications were submitted prior to said moratorium.
With that being said, it appears that the ZBA did not feel the University presented a strong enough argument to grant the requested appeals - after hearing from the University, as well as both City Solicitor Harry Center and Code Enforcement Officer Robbie Fecteau, the ZBA voted to uphold the City's previous decision to deny the aforementioned applications (see below):
1) Tree Cutting Application Outcome - ZBA finds tree cutting permit is subject to city's 180 day moratorium
2) Leonard Hall Demolition Outcome - ZBA denies appeal - hall cannot be demolished and is subject to city's 180 day moratorium
Following tonight's ruling, University officials released the following statement, "UNE disagrees with the outcome of tonight's hearing, and we are now evaluating options available to us. The University's ties to Biddeford span nearly 80 years, and that relationship is too important to leave unresolved. We remain hopeful that a path to constructive dialogue still exists."
You can read more about the moratorium here: https://www.biddefordbuzz.com/post/biddeford-council-imposes-180-day-moratorium-on-university-of-new-england
To review the meeting details and documents, please visit biddefordme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4452/files/agenda/8359
More details to come!
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