LAMOINE, Maine — Locals and nearby residents of Lamoine have mixed views about a potential "glamping" resort application that is now on the desk of the town planning board.
Arizona-based CPEX LLC submitted an application earlier this year to the town for the newest addition to its Clear Sky Resorts.
If implemented, the "glampground" resort will feature 90 dome-like lodging suites for star gazing alongside additional staff housing, a restaurant, event spaces, and more. The company currently manages a similar resort next to the Grand Canyon.
At a public hearing held on Monday, residents expressed their opinions of the proposed 230-acre resort, such as its impacts on the local environmental and residential areas.
Resident Greg Davis moved to Lamoine a few years ago, particularly for the rural beauty of the surrounding nature. Like many others, he believes the resort will create too much traffic in the small town.
"My initial reaction was, 'Oh no, why here?'" Davis said. "[Residents] don't want to see it in their backyard."
Leading an opposing group called Growing Lamoine Responsively, is local Amy Morley who said many like her believe the resort goes against the town's recently updated comprehensive plan from 2020.
Morley also expresses that many in town aren't opposed to the glamping resort, but believe the rural nature of Lamoine is not the best place for the site.
"The thing that we love about Lamoine—the ruralness, the natural beauty—is what's attracting you to bring your resort there for people to enjoy," Morley added. "But ironically, that's also what's going to, we feel very clearly, going to reverse that."
In less than a week, the group even raised more than five thousand dollars through a GoFundMe page to hire a land use attorney out of Portland to further understand the application.
"A lot of people don't want something in their backyard, but it really goes beyond that," Morley said.
Managing member and representative of the resort project, Hal Feinberg, said he understands locals' concerns and hopes to come to an agreement.
"We want to be the good neighbors," Feinberg said. "We want dark skies for stargazing, we want low light, low noise. We want exactly what the neighbors want, actually."
Feinberg recalls there were similar concerns coming from residents in Arizona before the company broke ground on its Grand Canyon location, and said he understands where locals in Maine are coming from.
"Now that we've been open for three years, the neighbors actually have all come to realize that all of the fears that they had were unfounded," Feinberg said.
The planning board will now consider taking action on the application at its next scheduled meeting set for June 19.