They packed public meetings, lobbied officials and had advocacy groups write letters on their behalf.
Now, a group that is trying to thwart a hotel and condominium development on Great Diamond Island is headed to court.
The Friends of Great Diamond Island filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court this week that seeks to block a 32-unit hotel and condominium project on the site of historic Fort McKinley.
"We think it really is inconsistent, incongruous with the nature of the island. The island is a quiet place," said William Robitzek, head of the group.
The lawsuit asks a judge to overturn a vote by an island homeowners association in support of the project. The plaintiffs allege that the city of Portland illegitimately voted in the election, casting 23 ballots that tipped the decision in favor of the project and allowed the developer to clear a key hurdle in a quest to build the hotel condos.
City officials deny the allegation.
"We voted in an appropriate, legal way," City Manager Joseph Gray Jr. said Thursday.
The dispute centers around a pair of dilapidated buildings at Diamond Cove, on the northeast part of the island. City officials acquired the structures – a former hospital and barracks buildings at Fort McKinley – in 2005, after the previous owners failed to pay property taxes.
In 2007, the city gave developer David Bateman an option to buy and renovate the buildings for $1. Bateman and a hospitality management company, Hart Hotels, want to replace the crumbling structures with a $6.5 million facility and install a swimming pool nearby.
The project faced opposition from some Great Diamond Island residents and drew intense scrutiny from island and environmental advocacy groups, which wrote letters to city officials and packed public hearings on the matter.
Opponents said the project would disrupt island life by dropping a hotel in a residential area and adding too much traffic to the island. They also questioned whether the development would strain the island's antiquated wastewater discharge system.
The project needed approval from Diamond Cove residents because the development fell outside the rules of what was allowed in that area. The Diamond Cove Homeowners Association approved the project by just two votes last year.
Portland cast 23 ballots in that election, all in favor of the project. The city was able to do so because it took control of the two fort buildings through property tax foreclosure and its ownership made it part of the homeowners association.
Robitzek's group said the city never should have been allowed to vote in the election because it doesn't own the buildings. The group said the city has never paid its association dues and alleged that the city made technical mistakes on the tax lien certificates it used to seize the property.
Ronald Ward, an attorney who represents the developer, declined to comment. City attorney Gary Wood also declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying he had not received a copy.
The Portland City Council is scheduled to decide Wednesday whether to give final approval to the project.
Wood said that despite the lawsuit, he will recommend that city councilors move forward and vote on whether to grant Bateman conditional zoning approval to build the Diamond Cove project.
Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be contacted at 791-6325 or at:
eaull@pressherald.com
Reader comments
Click here to view or add comments on this story
Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form