The saga of a high-end campground proposal that stirred opposition and prompted zoning discussions on Deer Isle may have reached an end.
In a letter to the town’s Select Board dated Feb. 12, developers behind the Fox Hollow campground project voluntarily revoked their own permits and gave up any future development rights on the 48-acre property overlooking Crockett Cove on the island’s southwestern stretch.
First proposed in 2022, the project was met with organized resistance from residents and eventually a lawsuit. It also led the town to consider strengthening its zoning laws to prepare for future proposals as development pressure on the island grows.
A group of developers bought the land for $850,000 in the summer of 2022 with plans to build 12 cabins, five tent sites and a bathhouse, and to renovate an existing house and barn. The project was expected to cost about $2 million, according to town documents.
Residents and officials raised concern that increasing the septic use would have negative environmental impacts on the saltwater cove, among other effects. The Friends of Crockett Cove, a group organized to oppose the project, argued that it wouldn’t fit with the character of the area and circulated a petition calling the proposal “dangerous.”
Officials also worried that the town was not equipped to handle the scale or density of subdivision proposals that were expected to come in, Town Manager Jim Fisher said at the time.
In February 2023, voters approved a moratorium on future subdivisions that initially was thought to block the campground developers’ local application, the Island Ad-Vantages reported. But it was later found not to apply to the project.
The town issued a permit last January for the project. Six residents sued in response, arguing that the permit should have been blocked by the moratorium and seeking to get it rescinded. The filing also listed concerns about “pastoral views” and property values being diminished, plus increased noise and boat traffic.
The status of that lawsuit was unavailable on Thursday, as the Hancock County courthouse was closed due to weather and attorneys for the residents did not respond to requests for comment.
Addison Godine, a Rockland architect who was the lead partner on the Fox Hollow project, owns a startup company that says it partners with rural landowners to build vacation cabins on their properties. He declined to comment on Thursday.
The property went up for sale in May 2024 for $1.9 million because “entrenched resistance” had created uncertain costs and timelines, Godine told the Ad-Vantages.
The price dropped several times without a sale, and a $1.3 million listing was taken down in November. Fox Hollow Partners LLC still owns the property, according to county deed records.
Town representatives were unavailable for further comment Thursday.
