COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine — By a vote of 63 to 17, local residents on Tuesday temporarily halted consideration of a proposal to build a massive flagpole nearly 1,500 feet tall.
The voting result gives the rural city time to develop and enact building standards for the proposed Flagpole of Freedom Park, a veterans’ theme park that would stretch across miles of currently wooded land and include an observation tower built like a flagpole that would be taller than the Empire State Building. The tower would fly an American flag larger than a football field.
The Worcester family’s proposal, which creates and operates Wreaths Across America, was billed as a $1 billion project that would include miles of memorial walls with veterans’ names on them. It would also have six history museums and a development with hotels, restaurants, shops and a performance venue.
Specifically, the vote focused on whether the city should adopt a 180-day moratorium on “large-scale commercial and high-density residential development.”
Before the vote, there was very little discussion about the moratorium. Only one person asked a question about how to define “large area” and “high density”.
Agnieszka Dixon, the city’s attorney, said “large scale” is anything that exceeds a height of more than 100 feet (100 ft) or disturbs more than 1.2 hectares. “High density” is defined as 15 or more dwelling units that also have a height of more than 100 feet or interfere with more than three acres of land.
More than 100 people attended the meeting in the gymnasium of the city’s former school, now occupied by the local city office and Wreaths Across America.
Columbia Falls currently has no land use ordinances other than those required by the state for coastal areas. The moratorium will give the city time to create some controlled development for the first time.
The development of the controversial Flagpole of Freedom Park would have a dramatic impact on the Down East landscape, with a park spanning thousands of acres and a tower visible from Nova Scotia, developers said. City officials in the rural Washington County city have received a great deal of feedback on the idea, ranging from passionate support to fierce criticism, since it was first posted a year ago.
Columbia Falls has a population of 476 as of the 2020 census.
The Worcesters, who started and grew Wreaths Across America into a multi-million dollar national organization, and their supporters have said the park will honor veterans and educate visitors about the sacrifices made by members of the American military . Critics have said the cost of building the park would be better spent providing direct services to veterans in need.
Since the project was first published, the Worcesters have met with city officials a number of times. They also discussed the possibility of the city annexing adjacent land in unorganized territory so that the entire park would be in Columbia Falls. The family has also considered whether the park should be a for-profit venture or organized as a non-profit, which could make it more attractive to potential donors.
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