1871 Forest Avenue

A member of the adjacent Friends Meeting, he expressed strong support but asked for a robust fence and buffer to protect cemetery privacy and quiet, closure of the informal path, and a safe Forest Avenue crosswalk shared with the mosque.

A homeless advocate with lived experience, she urged the board to approve, citing Cumberland County's need for 749 additional permanent housing units and the proven success of Home for Good models.

The owner of an auto shop at 1901 Forest Avenue said activating the vacant property would address overdoses and unsafe activity in the woods along the informal path, and he fully supported the project.

A housing developer who read excerpts of a letter from former Police Commissioner Mike Sauschak, describing how supportive housing sharply reduced police calls for two chronically homeless individuals.

Supported the need but called the proposal a terrible underbuild for the site, criticized the single patio next to busy Forest Avenue, and urged the city and Portland Trails to formalize the footpath to Hannaford.