Editor:

As I drove down Waterman Drive the other evening, after receiving a call from a resident, I saw exactly what she meant. I had not been down that way in a bit so her comments left me curious. Sure enough, the new building along Waterman Drive has reared its ugly head—and ugly it is!

The building looms over the surrounding properties—the homes, the small businesses and even the bridge. It is boxy, out of scale, and stands as a massive piece of construction that ruins the sense of neighborhood and quaintness that Knightville residents have strived so hard to preserve. The fourth floor arches over the bridge and dwarfs every other structure around it.

Someone may as well say it out loud. It is the antithesis of the goals in the Knightville Neighborhood Plan and makes a farce out of the efforts of 125 people who gave up a full Saturday (and much more by the steering committee) to defend and safeguard the village atmosphere.

Once again, creating a plan that looks into the future and holds vision and promise is cast aside in exchange for the promise of business growth and new taxes. The will of the residents was disregarded, even with record turn out and a presentation that would make any planning department proud. The Council, but for two members (Councilor Hughes and former Councilor Baxter), overlooked the concept of quality of life and bypassed the practice of interest in the common good; rather, it looked the other way.

I urge each one of you who supported this to drive down Waterman Drive. I can assure you that it will be impossible to look the other way for a single second!

 Rosemarie De Angelis

South Portland