A developer plans to build two three-story apartment buildings — 50 units total — at 1584 Forest Ave., a 1.5-acre piece of property behind Moran’s Market and along Talbot School Road. The project, Belfort Landing, would dramatically affect Belfort Street, a quiet residential cul-de-sac behind the site.

To make it work, the developer intends to raise the land by 8 feet using fill — creating a manmade hill. This would place the new buildings at the height of a four-story structure, towering over nearby one- and two-story homes and drastically altering the site’s drainage.

The consequences are clear and alarming. The grading change will cause stormwater to flow directly into neighboring backyards and basements. The developer’s own plans label several adjacent homes as facing “moderate flood risk” due to this design. And the drainage plan? It’s incomplete and inadequate — and it still puts water in adjacent backyards.

That’s not just irresponsible — it’s negligent and reckless. A project that knowingly increases the risk of flooding should never move forward without serious, enforceable redesign. It begs the question: When my basement floods, who will be held accountable?

Despite repeated input from concerned residents, neither the developer, Alex Coupe of Acre Properties, nor the City of Portland has responded with meaningful changes or requested any.

The community is being asked to absorb the risk so a developer can maximize profit on a site that simply isn’t suited for this scale of construction.

This is irreversible. Let’s not allow short-sighted decisions to cause lasting harm.

Erica Berry
Portland