MOUNT DESERT — A Maine Monitor article about a proposed subdivision on Heel Way sparked concern from the Mount Desert Select Board on Monday about potential compromises to the project’s design and potential de-prioritization. The subdivision creates six homes on one lot in Northeast Harbor. It passed Planning Board review prior to seven summer residents suing the town. The project was upheld in court in June 2024. That is now being appealed.
Select Board member Martha Dudman referenced the article because creating more opportunities for year-round homes in the town has been a focus for the board.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and shared in the state’s housing data portal shows that the town’s population has shrunk by 20 percent since 2012, going from 2,086 to 1,672. Similarly, its total number of households went from 1,052 in 2012 to 744 in 2022.
That same source indicates that 60 percent of the town’s homes were seasonally vacant in 2022, an increase from approximately 41 percent in 2012. In Hancock County, approximately 32 percent of homes are seasonally vacant.
Town Manager Durlin Lunt said that after reading the article, he called Mount Desert 365 Executive Director Kathleen Miller because he was concerned about the article’s impact and the mention of compromises by the group, which is developing the Heel Way project. He’d also talked to a MD 365 board member earlier about the group potentially reorganizing the priority of its projects.
He said that during that earlier conversation, he did not pick up any indication that there would be an adjustment to the Heel Way project itself by board members.
“There was also talk in exchange the plaintiffs would be willing to drop the lawsuit. Why would we want that lawsuit dropped at this point when we’ve already spent most of the money that we’re going to expend on that project already and the chances of a win are very high?” Lunt said. “This project is viable. The project is constitutional and we know this project is needed.”
The town not only has sweat equity from changing the ordinances to accommodate the project, he said, but it has also invested a good deal of money defending the Planning Board’s decision.
“We won. We won,” Dudman said. “It’s just on appeal.”
She said it’s an attempt to derail the whole project.
“We can’t cave,” Select Board member Rick Mooers agreed.
“We still talk about the need for year-round housing,” Vice Chair Wendy Littlefield said. “It would make no sense to move backward in this at all.”
Lunt said he’d like to have a meeting with the MD 365 board to clarify the accuracy of the article and to understand the priority of projects.
“I want to make sure that there isn’t a back down of commitment to see that Heel Way project is built,” Lunt said.
The board directed and authorized Lunt to meet with the MD 365 board and convey the board’s enthusiasm for the project and have it not be scaled back. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
“I was so aghast,” Lunt said. “We’ve got to straighten this out.”
Lunt said that when he was growing up the proposal for the amount of housing would have only made a little bit of impact, but not much. Back then, he added, there were never worries about housing density in Northeast Harbor proper.
Now, he said, a project that adds 20 units is impactful on the town with its decreasing year-round population.
“It’s a difference-maker,” Lunt said.
According to its website, “Mount Desert 365 is a nonprofit, community-based organization dedicated to fostering a sustainable year-round community while preserving its natural environment.”
Founded by Mitchell and Steven Rales, its five-member board is comprised of Dan Falt, Phil Moriarty, Nadia Rosenthal, and Rick Savage.
This story was originally published by The Bar Harbor Story. To receive regular coverage from the Bar Harbor Story, sign up for a free subscription here.
