ROCKLAND, Maine — The Rockland City Council gave preliminary approval Monday night to a six-month moratorium on energy plants, throwing into question whether a proposed natural-gas-fired power plant will go forward.
The council voted 3-2 for the moratorium. A final vote on the measure is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2016, but the moratorium will be retroactive to Dec. 14.
Councilor Valli Geiger said Monday night she agonized over the issue during the past week but that in the end she believes the moratorium is needed and would not kill the project.
“I know that there are people in Rockland who would like the icing of another $450,000 every year,” Geiger said about the additional property taxes that the plant could generate. “But I can’t vote on the icing. I have to vote on the cake, and I don’t know if the cake is good for Rockland.”
She also criticized Rockland Energy Center for not being more transparent on its proposed project.
Last week, Rockland Energy Center LLC partner Evan Coleman said if the council approved the moratorium, the company would stop spending money on developing the project in Rockland. The company had announced two weeks ago that it was going to come forward in February with a plan to build a 35-megawatt natural-gas-fired plant that generated electricity and steam on private property.
Councilor William Clayton criticized the moratorium, saying it was designed simply to keep out Rockland Energy. He said there were ways other than a moratorium to address concerns about whether the city’s zoning laws were adequate to regulate such a plant.
Clayton voiced concern that the city was opening itself up to legal action. He questioned whether the private landowner who was going to lease or sell to Rockland Energy could sue the city.
A majority of residents who spoke Monday night voiced support for the moratorium. The city’s firefighters association and the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce had urged the city to hold off on the moratorium and wait to hear what Rockland Energy proposes in February.
Resident Amy Files said the moratorium would give the city time to give such a project careful consideration.
Resident and business owner Everett Spear asked the council not to adopt the moratorium. He said the development conforms to the city’s comprehensive plan and that the planning board will get to review the project.
Voting for the moratorium were Councilors Geiger, Larry Pritchett and William Jillson. Voting against the moratorium were Clayton and Mayor Louise MacLellan-Ruf.