Question 7 on the Nov. 8 ballot is a constitutional amendment that voters should support.

The amendment would allow towns to assess the value of working waterfront property based upon current use rather than on market value.

Maine’s Constitution requires that all property be assessed based on its market value, with two exceptions. Earlier amendments have allowed timberland, and farm and open space to be taxed on current use.

Like open space, farmland and timberland around many of Maine’s pristine bodies of water, coastal land is increasing in value at a pace that makes it nearly impossible to continue traditional uses. Market-value assessments are pushing the owners of wharves and other working waterfront properties to sell. As they disappear, jobs go with them and condominiums, apartments and high-end houses rise in their place.

The Constitution is the foundation of governance in the state, and amendments should not be made without due consideration. Question 7 will give local governments the power to protect traditional working waterfronts, and the jobs they support.

All Mainers benefit from keeping space along the coast available for fishing and other commercial pursuits. A “yes” vote on Question 7 will help protect a valuable resource.