Workforce housing project "on back burner," says new MD 365 president
Published comments stir restive supporters of Heel Way units in Northeast Harbor
NORTHEAST HARBOR, Sept. 16, 2024 - A long article in the Maine Monitor had the village aflutter today after the new president of Mount Desert 365, the project developer, was quoted as saying that the proposed six units of workforce housing at Heel Way was being put “on the back burner.”
The article, “The hornet’s nest’: How seven wealthy summer residents halted workforce housing on Mount Desert Island,” was largely a history of the dispute over the project, but the penultimate section stated:
“He (Rick Savage) wants the organization to pivot to a ‘much smaller’ project on one of its other nearby properties on Summit Road, which would likely be a duplex, as a sort of proof-of-concept.” Savage, who became president after billionaire brothers Mitchell and Steven Rales resigned from the board in the spring, did not return a call from the QSJ.
Mount Desert 365 has also met with some plaintiffs, who “offered to drop the lawsuit if we would make concessions,” the Monitor reported. The seven plaintiffs are appealing the town Planning Board’s approval which was upheld by a Superior Court judge.
“I don’t think the board is in a position to make any concessions,” Savage was quoted as saying.
MD 365 director Kathy Miller was triaging the fallout today, stating the article “is quickly making the rounds.”
It caught members of the select board and Town Manager Durlin Lunt by surprise. Three members and Lunt had publicly stated their support for the project.
Miller did not want to talk on the phone but sent an email stating,
“What I can say right now for certain is that the appeal is still pending, so we are not able to get permits to do work on Heel Way right now, except for some repair work currently underway.
“For that reason, we are focusing attention to the smaller lot on Summit, that can have a duplex and be a home for two families. And we are in the process of determining exactly what home model to use and who will build it.”
That suggested MD 365 may be rethinking the prevailing model of selling houses at below-market prices with various long-term covenants.
Miller aded, “I want Durlin Lunt to speak with the board so they hear first-hand the reaction of the town officials. Then we may have more to say on the whole matter…but I have nothing more to share right now.”
After the Rales departed, some plaintiffs expressed hope that MD 365 has a “whole bunch of new board members who have now opened the door to wanting to talk to us.”
The Monitor quoted Miller as saying the Rales brothers took a step back “because they had become a lightning rod for criticism.”
“They are a big target, so they stepped down so that we would succeed.”
But she was quick to state that the plaintiffs are over-optimistic about how much MD 365 is willing to compromise.
“I see the plaintiffs think there will be great changes on Heel Way. That is what they still want, and those are the rumors they have been circulating. It is not necessarily what they will get. We are not scrapping the project!”
The QSJ learned the plaintiffs offered $400,000 in exchange for reducing the project to only two units.
The new MD 365 board has only five members with little experience in development. One member, Dan Falt, said, “I’m a sculptor. I don’t know that much about such a project.”
Other members include Phil Moriarty, Nadia Rosenthal and Hank Schmelzer.
An advisory board has been created to assist the main board. The Monitor reported it is considering adding some plaintiffs as potential members.
But Miller stated that six persons have been invited to join an advisory board and “does not include any plaintiffs.”
They are David MacDonald, former director of Friends of Acadia; Maude Kusserow, owner of the Salt Market on Main Street; Mia Thompson, managing partner of Knowles Company; Jamie Blaine, member of the town’s economic development committee; Cecily Cook and Laura Foulke.
David MacDonald said he would like to help MD 365 realize its original goal of developing all three of its existing projects - Heel Way, Summit Road and the apartments it owns on Main Street. He said he would not support pulling back on the Heel Way project.
The nascent MD 365 board is going to need much assistance on other matters.
The Rales Brothers’ departure leaves many questions about how it will fund construction of the housing.
Its latest 990 filing as a non-profit shows while it is asset rich, it has little cash.
Blindsiding the town demonstrated a lack of public awareness, especially after taxpayers doled out $56,000 to hire one of the best land-use lawyers in the state last year to defend approval of the Heel Way project. More hefty legal fees are expected in the appeal before the state Supreme Court.
Maybe the plaintiffs and their ilk can build gates to fortify their perimeters in Northeast Harbor and keep the year round working residents completely out of their summer Xanadu. The alleged offer of 400,000 is chump change for some of these folks compared to how much they have spent on their own summer so called “ cottages”. The plaintiffs would be most happy if the voters would vote to rezone Northeast Harbor into zones for the wealthy and connected, and zones that are out of sight, out of mind for teachers , medical professionals, service and retail workers, landscapers, builders, cleaners, etc.
Shameful
The NIMBYs that fought this should be shunned by all the local workers. Stop mowing their lawns, looking after their properties when they are away, etc.