OK, Lewiston City Council. It’s your downtown now.

That’s the result from the board’s two head-scratching votes last week: to declare a 90-day moratorium on a cherry-picked list of businesses downtown and to euthanize the joint downtown planning committee with Auburn.

These decisions indicate the city of Lewiston’s governing body wants to control downtown development, which is happening with such unique, reckless abandon as to require a moratorium in order to give all sides a needed breather.

Except this isn’t the case. Downtown development, of recent vintage, has been deliberate. Or, in the case of Mill No. 5, nonexistent. There hasn’t been anything happening downtown that’s begged the need for restraint.

Yet restraint, although unneeded, has still been bestowed.

This questions the judgment of the city councilors who supported the moratorium.

By being selective in their permitted uses under the moratorium, the city could be accused of discrimination. Not only could this arbitrary process dissuade new business, but make current businesses feel decidedly unwelcome.

It raises constitutional questions, as well. The moratorium restricts churches, for example. Would this infringe upon freedom of religion? Can a community really say we disallow houses of worship, where our codes now allow?

In short, the moratorium has no practical impact. It is neither stopping an out-of-control situation, nor giving pause to ensure the public interest is protected against a pending project.

It’s not like the Bates Mills projects or the Heritage Initiative came from nowhere. In fact, most major projects in Lewiston over the past few years have originated from City Hall, not thrust upon it without warning. More than most municipalities, this city is deeply involved in the economic projects within its borders.

But the moratorium’s psychological impact is strong. Councilors have called timeout on business in downtown, unless the proposal meets the blessing of the city fathers. For an entire district struggling to redevelop, amid the greatest economic crisis of this generation, the shortsightedness of this decision is staggering.

As was dissolving the joint committee with Auburn, a presently harmless but potentially beneficial collaborative effort. While too many committees are a bad thing, kiboshing the only one that sought cross-river consensus seems wrong.

Yes, the committee wanted a paid consultant. If this was so disagreeable, the request could have been denied. But the committee’s purpose – to dovetail downtown plans for Lewiston and Auburn – was still worthwhile.

It is seeming that more than a river divides these cities.

The Lewiston council, with its decision-making, wants to put its imprint on downtown development. It has pulled its presence with Auburn and stopped business development to allow them the time to brainstorm a new way forward.

OK, city council, it’s your downtown now. What do you want to do with it?

So far, you’ve decided to do nothing, by yourself.

What a way to start.