Mount Desert Planning Board votes workforce housing meets density requirement
NORTHEAST HARBOR, Oct. 11, 2023 - The Planning Board cleared a major hurdle Wednesday night to approving the six-unit workforce housing project in the village when it voted 3-1 that the application complied with town ordinance on density requirements.
Chair Bill Hanley voted against the language proposed by town attorney Andy Hamilton, which was moved by Meredith Randolph, and approved by Tracy Loftus Keller and Dave Ashmore:
“The applicant has demonstrated that the project is compatible with the permitted uses with the district as a matter of density of development, physical size, visual impact on and proximity to other structures.”
The board continued the discussion to Oct. 18 after passing unanimously several less controversial items for its compliance review.
“I think they have satisfactorily proven that it is compatible,” Randolph stated after Kathy Miller, director of Mount Desert 365, the non-profit seeking to develop the project, methodically demonstrated its project was the least dense of seven existing neighborhoods in the village, with 18 bedrooms per acre.
On Manchester Road, she cited four structures which totaled 24 bedrooms per acre. On Lookout Way, another four houses had a total of 25 bedrooms per acre.
Her presentation belied claims by Hanley at the Sept. 13 meeting that the project was too dense for the district. Hanley repeatedly pointed to another section in the code which emphasized “compatibility.”
As he continued to press that point Wednesday night, it brought out a reaction from Hamilton that, “Mr. Chairman, you want your cake and eat it, too.”
Hamilton said if the board continued to toggle between sections and debate whether the language conflicted, “I guarantee you we’ll spending double or triple the time.”
Hamilton added that he heard board members already state, “that the applicant has demonstrated with substantial evidence that the project is generally compatible as a matter of density.”
Hanley is an architect who builds high-end homes. His office is located on the same street as the proposed six units.
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 much needed affordable year-round homes.
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 another petition of 250 signatories in support of the project late last year.
Four summer residents, including owners of homes in the private enclave of Smallidge Point, have hired lawyer Grady Burns to represent their opposition.
MD 365 owns 2.75 acres of additional land in the district, which, given the approved density, could lead to another 16 units of affordable housing, or more.