BREAKING NEWS: Summer residents file appeal to stop workforce housing in Mount Desert

NORTHEAST HARBOR, June 16, 2024 - Plaintiffs in the Heel Way subdivision case who lost their lawsuit against the Planning Board’s approval of six units of workforce housing have appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court, Mount Desert 365 announced today.

Mount Desert 365, the developer, stated it “is deeply disappointed by this new appeal. It will add delays and expenses to much needed year-round housing. It will also add to the legal expense of the Town of Mount Desert as it defends the Planning Board  decisions.

“Town Manager Durlin Lunt reports the town has already spent over $55,000 on such fees between  engagement at Planning Board meetings and the appeal, plus staff time on the court case. It is unclear at this time  on what grounds the new appeal will move forward.”

Lunt said the appeal borders on being “frivolous” and the town may seek legal cost from the plaintiffs.

“Mount Desert 365 is a community-based organization dedicated to promoting long-term economic vitality of the  town of Mount Desert, Maine, through expansion of sustainable year-round residential communities and  economic revitalization of commercial districts.”

In late June, Superior Court Judge Thomas McKeon ruled in favor of the housing subdivision which was opposed by nearby summer residents.

The court decision came more than a year after the application review began. The Mount Desert Planning Board approved the application Oct. 24, 2023, after an eight-meeting process that began in March 2023. That approval was appealed in November 2023. Though planning continued, site work was postponed  pending the court’s ruling. 

The town was represented by Andy Hamilton of Eaton Peabody in Bangor. The named plaintiffs are Ann Cannon, Marc Cannon, Melissa Cannon Guzy, Lamont Harris, Joseph Ryerson, Stuart Janney and Lynne Wheat. They were represented by Grady Burns of Skelton Taintor & Abbott in Lewiston.

The most divisive development battle in village history started when MD 365, largely funded by the billionaire Rales brothers, Steven and Mitchell, began to acquire land and houses to develop affordable homes for year-round workers.

A petition by 205 mostly summer residents opposing the six-unit project at Heel Way was filed in September 2022 with the Planning Board before MD 365 even formally applied.

That petition was countered by an online petition of 250 signatories in support of the project late last year, including the town manager and three members of the select board.