Moratorium vote passes by a landslide in Lamoine

PRESS RELEASE: August 16, 2023
Contact: Amy Morley
amyrebeccamorley@gmail.com
207-610-2285
PDF of press release, Word copy of press release

Video of Crowd

By a landslide, voters of Lamoine enacted a Moratorium Prohibiting Hotels/Motels, Resorts and ‘Glampgrounds’ with a 397 to 2 vote. (The vote was by hand, so it is difficult to say with absolute certainty the exact number of voters who voted no.)

This moratorium enables the planning board to revise the town’s ordinances to prohibit, or significantly minimize, large-scale development and protect the community’s rural character.

On Tuesday, August 15 in a Special Town Meeting Lamoine residents overwhelmingly made their voices be heard that they do not want hotels, motels, resorts and “glampgrounds” in the largely rural seaside community. (A glampground is a facility for “glamping,” a style of camping with resort-style amenities and luxury services.)

The citizens group Growing Lamoine Responsibly organized the months-long campaign to enact the moratorium in response to a proposal by an Arizona-based corporation to build a large-scale glampground in the residential neighborhood of Partridge Cove Road. The moratorium was initially presented to the Select Board through a citizen’s petition. The petition collected 179 verified signatures, significantly more than were required by the Town.

“Lamoiners came out in force last night to say NO to industrial-sized developments that would clog our roads with traffic, endanger our water supply, and destroy our small town culture in direct opposition to the town's Comprehensive Plan.” Mark Harris, resident of Lamoine and member of Growing Lamoine Responsibly.

“Last night we experienced the largest attendance at a Lamoine Special Town meeting in anyone’s recollection,” said Amy Morley, a Lamoine resident and chief organizer for Growing Lamoine Responsibly. “The landslide vote sent a clear message to the planning board, as well as to CPEX –the Arizona-based corporation that would operate the proposed glampground- that Lamoine residents do not want this type of development in their town. ”

Arizona-based CPEX, which operates Clear Sky Resorts, has asked the town to approve a large-scale glamping resort on Lamoine’s environmentally fragile coastal wetlands. The glampground would feature 90 luxury domes, staff housing, a laundry facility, restaurant, swimming pool, spa, wedding venue and more. Glampers will pay $395 to $595 a night.

The moratorium will give the town planning board six months to revise Lamoine’s ordinances. This is in keeping with the town’s 2020 comprehensive plan, which recommended prohibiting hotels and motels in Lamoine’s rural and agricultural zone to preserve the town’s rural character and limited natural resources.

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