Proposed hotel triggers safety concerns for some parents of Bar Harbor school

BAR HARBOR, Oct. 29, 2024 - Developer Stephen Coston’s proposed hotel overlooking the town’s elementary school may be a slam dunk “nothingburger” in his mind, but the idea of a hotel towering over children at play is a frightening concept to some parents.

“I have not yet spoken with a single parent who thinks it's acceptable to build a 4-story hotel (with balconies!) immediately overlooking the playground of a public school,” said Beth Dumont, mother of two students at Conners Emerson Elementary School with a third soon to enter kindergarten.

“Mr. Coston's remark that this is a total ‘nothingburger’ is alarming in its oblivion to the blatant safety hazards his proposed development poses to the children of our community,” she stated in an email to the QSJ.

Coston made his remark in an interview with Bar Harbor Story Oct. 21.

Dumont and another parent, Jennifer Trowbridge, have penned letters to the Town Council and Planning Board warning of safety issues raised by the location at one of the town’s busiest arteries and the creepy idea of anyone who is a hotel guest to have unfettered views of the children.

“For many municipalities in our state, registered sex offenders cannot reside within 750 ft of a school,” Dumont wrote. “The new property will fall entirely within this radius and, as best I can tell from the plans released by the Quietside Journal, will even offer balconies that overlook school areas.

“I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea that unvetted strangers could have a vantage point to watch and study my children at play. Current statistics reveal that one in ~330 individuals in the US is a registered sex offender, making it all but inevitable that future guests of 40 Eden will include offenders. Common sense would dictate that the 750ft residency rule for registered sex offenders also apply to short term lodging.”

In a separate letter, Trowbridge, the mother of three at Conners Emersons, stated, “Per legal requirements, any adult interacting with students in any fashion on school grounds without the close presence of school staff requires a background check through the Department of Education. I am doubtful that the guests of this establishment would be willing to undergo a background check in advance of their stay.”

Their written comments were uploaded Tuesday on the Planning Board web page showing existing projects under consideration and applications for future consideration such as Coston’s plans for the .39 acres at 40 Eden Street.

Just as he and partner Tom St. Germain, former chair of the Planning Board, did with their Pathmaker Hotel on Cottage Street, Coston is calling his application a “bed and breakfast” - a 25-room B&B. That appellation allowed them to forsake review by the Planning Board in 2021 and get approval only from the design review board. Pathmaker hotel will offer 46 rooms when it opens or the 2025 season.

That will give Coston 404 total rooms as a local hotelier.

This time, however, 40 Eden Street will need to be approved by the Planning Board.

Dumont went on:

“Many children in our community walk to school. The stretch of Rt 3 in front of CES is already one of the most heavily-trafficked areas on the island. The proposed new construction and accompanying increase in vehicular traffic leave me deeply worried for pedestrian safety. These concerns are amplified by the steep driveway ascent to the proposed new property, its location next to a bend in the road that limits sightline of on-coming traffic, and the fact that traffic will be turning in/out of a driveway mere feet from the current crosswalk to the CES entrance ramp.”

Trowbridge added:

“I am concerned about the significant detriment to health, safety, and general welfare of students that this project will create, particularly with the building being very close to the property line, the lack of secure/privacy fencing separating that property from the school, and the accessible veranda/patios that will directly rise above the school playground.”

She called for “increased setbacks, orientation of the building in such a fashion that all entries/exits are easily observed from the street, and installation of tall, secure privacy fencing to ensure that guests are not able to access school property.”

Dumont wrote that she wanted to “stay clear of the local politics surrounding additional local tourism-related development.”

As if that were possible.

In August, the Bar Harbor Story reported that Coston had given a $100,000 gift to the construction of the new $58 million Conners Emerson School, replete with overwrought quotes from the school committee chair and self-aggrandizing quotes from Coston even though he admitted he opposed the actual school bond.

“I don’t think that type of attacking discourse is helpful to us as a community. It’s not helpful for us accomplishing all that we could, as a community, accomplish. We have a really good thing here. Let’s support the good things that we have,” he said, even when it might not be exactly how you want it to come out—like the school bond.”

Hardly anyone knew at the time that Coston had purchased 40 Eden Street under the corporate name Eden Street LLC with the intention of building his hotel abutting the school.

Councilor Gary Friedmann made a big pitch at the council meeting Oct. 2 for a moratorium on transient lodging. It was easy to dismiss Friedmann’s gambit as an election year ploy as he is running for the House seat in District 14 - Bar Harbor, Mount Desert and Lamoine - in addition to his council seat in Br Harbor.

His proposal got a tepid reception from chair Val Peacock, councilors Joe Minutolo and Kyle Shank and Town Manager James Smith.

(Minutolo’s life partner is Town Planner Michele Gagnon, the project manager of the Comprehensive Plan. She reports directly to the town manager and is the overseer of all applications for permits in town. As of this writing, the town has 49 lodging units on its agenda and only 18 housing units. And that’s not including the 46 units at Pathmaker Hotel coming online in 2025. The QSJ asked Code Enforcement Officer Angela Chamberlain how many lodging units have been permitted and are due to come online. She did not reply.)

Look for the town manager, town attorney, Council and Planning Board to slight the import of Dumont and Trowbridge.

The ethos of the current Bar Harbor officialdom is not in favor of the parents or anyone else challenging a runway train.