At a virtual meeting Monday night, Portland city councilors extended a moratorium on large music venues for another six months, a move that further delays a controversial proposal to build a 3,300-seat Live Nation concert hall. The council voted unanimously and said more time is needed to consider a separate proposal that calls for increasing the required distance between large entertainment venues from 100 feet to 750 feet. This proposed buffer zone would effectively kill the project because Live Nation is seeking to build its Portland Music Hall right across the street from the Merrill Auditorium at the intersection of Cumberland Ave. and Myrtle St. Officials are also reviewing parking and potential impacts on the local arts community. When the moratorium was initially passed last August, it followed hours of public comment from local artists and independent venue owners worried about the potential harm it could cause to the “local creative economy, character and vitality” of Portland’s downtown.At Monday’s virtual meeting, the executive director of the Maine Music Alliance noted that the moratorium came in response to “a significant outpouring of concern from constituents and local businesses.” “Since then important work has begun as a direct result of that civic engagement,” said Scott Mohler with the Maine Music Alliance during public comment. “Extending the moratorium would allow that work to continue in a deliberate and responsible way rather than cutting it off mid-stream.”Opponents of the moratorium also spoke and took issue with the idea that a larger venue would negatively impact Portland’s music scene and creative economy. “The rationale for stopping this project doesn’t hold up,” said George, a Portland resident who didn’t provide his last name during the meeting. “The State Theater has been operating large concert venue events for years and it hasn’t hurt our local small-scale musician scene.” Developers of the proposed Portland Music Hall argued the moratorium is unfair and say the project has followed all city rules since it was introduced in 2024. They’re calling the proposed buffer change a targeted zoning shift that sets a dangerous precedent.”Portland Music Holdings has been working with the city to address legitimate concerns, for example the ticket fee, but there has to, at some point, be an end to the process,” said Lee Bowles, an attorney representing Portland Music Holdings, the applicant for the proposed Live Nation venue. “There is no need to extend the moratorium beyond a time-frame which would allow resolution of the buffer zone issue.”City leaders are expected to take up the buffer proposal in April.
At a virtual meeting Monday night, Portland city councilors extended a moratorium on large music venues for another six months, a move that further delays a controversial proposal to build a 3,300-seat Live Nation concert hall.
The council voted unanimously and said more time is needed to consider a separate proposal that calls for increasing the required distance between large entertainment venues from 100 feet to 750 feet. This proposed buffer zone would effectively kill the project because Live Nation is seeking to build its Portland Music Hall right across the street from the Merrill Auditorium at the intersection of Cumberland Ave. and Myrtle St.
Officials are also reviewing parking and potential impacts on the local arts community. When the moratorium was initially passed last August, it followed hours of public comment from local artists and independent venue owners worried about the potential harm it could cause to the “local creative economy, character and vitality” of Portland’s downtown.
At Monday’s virtual meeting, the executive director of the Maine Music Alliance noted that the moratorium came in response to “a significant outpouring of concern from constituents and local businesses.”
“Since then important work has begun as a direct result of that civic engagement,” said Scott Mohler with the Maine Music Alliance during public comment. “Extending the moratorium would allow that work to continue in a deliberate and responsible way rather than cutting it off mid-stream.”
Opponents of the moratorium also spoke and took issue with the idea that a larger venue would negatively impact Portland’s music scene and creative economy.
“The rationale for stopping this project doesn’t hold up,” said George, a Portland resident who didn’t provide his last name during the meeting. “The State Theater has been operating large concert venue events for years and it hasn’t hurt our local small-scale musician scene.”
Developers of the proposed Portland Music Hall argued the moratorium is unfair and say the project has followed all city rules since it was introduced in 2024. They’re calling the proposed buffer change a targeted zoning shift that sets a dangerous precedent.
“Portland Music Holdings has been working with the city to address legitimate concerns, for example the ticket fee, but there has to, at some point, be an end to the process,” said Lee Bowles, an attorney representing Portland Music Holdings, the applicant for the proposed Live Nation venue. “There is no need to extend the moratorium beyond a time-frame which would allow resolution of the buffer zone issue.”
City leaders are expected to take up the buffer proposal in April.
