WINTER HARBOR – A standing-room-only crowd of more than 250 people packed the gymnasium of the Peninsula School on Wednesday evening to hear the first public presentation regarding a proposed large-scale development project.

If the meeting is any indication, a sharp divide exists between residents who don’t want to see any change and those who think the development could provide an economic boost to the region.

Representatives of Winter Harbor Properties Inc., a group of investors from Europe that owns 3,300 acres on the Schoodic Peninsula, met both scathing criticism and cautious encouragement on Wednesday.

“You can do whatever you want, you own the property, but I think it’s great what you’re doing,” Winter Harbor resident Darren Whitney said. “I know there are a lot of people who are scared of change, but I’m more scared of the economy.”

Others worried that the proposal to develop the large swath of land into a community that combines environmental education opportunities and development is too vague.

A woman from Ellsworth stood up and told the representatives that she knows a “snow job” when she sees it and “this area is the greatest treat we have and needs to be kept free of development.”

The group representing the developers spent an hour and a half outlining the development proposal, which includes plans to keep two-thirds of the 3,300 acres as a green corridor. The plans also call for a lodge, hotel, golf course and several housing areas.

The presentation was followed by an hour of concerns and questions, which ranged from “How many jobs will this create?” to “Will you abandon your plans if the public opposes this?”

Michael Saxl of the consulting firm Maine Street Solutions in Augusta, which represents Winter Harbor Properties Inc., told the sometimes raucous crowd that he understood the participants’ concerns. He also offered his business card to anyone in the audience and said he’d listen to each and every one of them.

William Ahrens, police chief in Winter Harbor, said Wednesday’s crowd was the largest he has seen in his 37 years living in town and it’s likely just the beginning of the debate.