Beaver Cove officials object to meeting site LURC chooses Bangor for hearing on proposed 70-lot subdivision in Burnt Jacket

BEAVER COVE – Local residents are “appalled” that the Land Use Regulation Commission has scheduled a public hearing in Bangor on a proposed zone change for a 70-lot subdivision in Beaver Cove.

Hank McPherson of Hermon, working as Burnt Jacket LLC, has asked LURC for a zone change in order to subdivide and sell 70 lots in an area known as Burnt Jacket in Beaver Cove.

Thirty of the lots are on Moosehead Lake, and 40 are hillside lots that have a view of the lake.

The hearing will start at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, and continue at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, at Bangor Motor Inn.

“We don’t like it,” Beaver Cove Selectman Wally Williams said Friday, of the Bangor location. “I really feel it has created a hardship, and I’m really appalled that they haven’t taken that into consideration.”

Had LURC asked, Beaver Cove town officials would have helped the agency find a suitable location for the meeting at facilities in the region that can accommodate more than 100 people, including the Beaver Cove municipal meeting room, Williams said.

LURC agreed in October to hold a public hearing in Greenville, but officials said they were unable to find a facility that met the requirements of the Americans with Disability Act and would hold more than 100 people.

In addition, lodging was an issue, Catherine Carroll, commission director, said Friday.

“I spent an entire day trying to find a facility that could accommodate this hearing; I even went beyond that to Dover-Foxcroft, and unfortunately I kept running into dead ends,” Carroll said.

The best option would have been Greenville High School, but school will be in session during the two days, she said, adding, “I exhausted my resources.”

Carroll said she recognized the travel time from Beaver Cove to Bangor, but noted that LURC members also travel long distances to attend the meetings.

It just made more sense for the two-day hearing to be in a facility that offers lodging and food, is handicapped accessible, and has a sound system, she said.

The proposed development has generated much interest, and she expects more than 100 people to attend the hearings.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine, the Moosehead Region Futures Committee, RESTORE, and Beaver Cove residents represented by attorney Matt Manahan of Portland have filed for intervenor status in the process.

Carroll said the intervenors have asked for about seven hours for just cross-examination and testimony. While the meeting will begin at 1 p.m. Friday, public testimony will begin 6 p.m.

McPherson, who submitted the zone change request to LURC last summer, purchased about 2,000 acres of forestland from John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and plans to sell the lots to recoup some of his costs.

He has proposed to keep the rest of the property in timberland.