A lawsuit filed against the city of Biddeford and a local real estate developer has been withdrawn by two residents who were upset about a proposed housing development near Clifford Park in Biddeford.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs Loren McCready and Christopher Quint both own property that abuts the proposed housing development.
The withdrawal of the lawsuit caps off a nearly four-year saga that began when Mike Eon, president of E&R Development, and Gervais Dube presented a plan to the city for an 18-lot housing subdivision.
In order to meet development standards, Eon and Dube needed to acquire roughly four acres of land in Clifford Park, a forested park that offers hiking trails and other recreational opportunities on Pool Street, less than a mile from the city’s downtown core.
In exchange for the four acres, the developers proposed trading roughly 100 acres of land that they already owned near the park, leaving the city with a net gain of nearly 96 acres that could be permanently protected from any development and remain publicly accessible into perpetuity.
Although one city official described the proposal as a “win-win” scenario that would nearly double the popular park’s size and provide greater public access, a handful of opponents said the plan should be rejected.
According to a November 3, 2020 Portland Press Herald story, former Biddeford Recreation Director Carl Walsh appeared before the city council and said “It’s s quite an opportunity,” adding that the city has long desired to add the waterfalls — which is on part of the land that could go to the city — to the park.”
McCready, however, said the proposed land swap was a bad idea and could cause environmental damage. Shortly after the Biddeford Planning Board gave their initial approval to the project, McCready formed a non-profit group to prevent the project and address other “environmental concerns” in the city.
The Biddeford-Saco Climate Action Team still meets on a regular basis and its Facebook page shows 13 “Likes” and 19 ‘followers.”
McCready and Quint first appealed the Planning Board’s decision to the Maine Superior Court.
On November 22, 2023 Superior Court Justice James Martemucci ruled against the plaintiffs on a number of technical and procedural issues.
The plaintiffs then appealed their case to the Maine Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the proposed project has been put on hold until all of the legal matters can be resolved.
Earlier this week, the Biddeford Gazette learned that McCready and Quint decided to withdraw their complaint against the city and the developers.
In an email statement to the Gazette, McCready wrote: “I remain committed to advancing housing solutions that are both inclusive and environmentally responsible.
“Moving forward, I will continue working with the Biddeford-Saco Climate Action Team to advocate for sustainable development practices that align with the City’s Climate Action Plan and prioritize long-term community well-being.”
McCready’s attorney Kate Hambley said the decision to withdraw her client’s complaint boiled down to money.
“While I felt and still feel my clients had strong legal grounds for appeal, my clients ultimately decided against using personal funds to pursue an appeal to the Law Court (which, as I’m sure you can imagine, can be quite an expensive undertaking),” Hambley wrote.
“This was a difficult decision given the environmental and community resources at stake, but they are confident they can still make positive changes in Biddeford, which they intend to do by promoting smart growth and affordable, sustainable infill housing within the city,” said Hambley.
Mike Eon said he was feeling relieved that the four-year battle is finally coming to a close. “It’s really hard to build affordable homes when you have to through four years of delays and increasing costs,” Eon said. “I always strive to do good projects that will benefit my community.”
Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman also expressed a sense of relief that the litigation is over.
“I’m glad that this issue is finally settled,” Grohman said. “The city is getting a tremendous resource of additional public lands that will be protected into perpetuity.”
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THE BIDDEFORD GAZETTE 
Dear Editor, I would like to clarify that, while the Biddeford -Saco Climate Action Team supports local activist’s efforts to protect the wildlife corridor that this development will obliterate, the BSCAT is a local Sierra Club climate team formed a little over a year ago for local citizens interested in slowing the effects of global climate change. The “Restore the Corridor” project was started well before the BSCAT was formed. The two share an interest in environmental issues, but were created independently each from the other.
Thank you.
Katherine Griffin
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Dear Ms. Griffin, thank you for taking the time to write to us with your concerns. The BSCAT’s website today only list two concerns: 1.) the Clifford Park proposal and 2.) a rather vague reference to the “corridor” project, which again focuses solely upon the proposed development near Clifford Park. The property abutters who have been leading the campaign to stop the project formed the BSACT, and coincidentally have now removed their Facebook page. Since the only projects publicly listed and discussed on the BSCAT site involve the Clifford Park project, it’s not a big leap to surmise the group’s intentions or goals. Thus, our story is accurate and will not be modified. Thank you again for reading!
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Dear Editor:
Since I personally know the people who formed BSCAT, I can assure you that the property abuttors to the Westbrook development did NOT form BSCAT. The Climate Action Team was formed by a group of Sierra Club members who live locally and wished to promote the Maine Sierra Club goal of forming local Climate Action Teams in Maine municipalities.
It’s true that the BSCAT website has not been updated with our 2025 goals. We are strictly volunteers and most of us have little tech experience. The person who is in charge of our web site works full time on a “real” job so that they have limited time for web site changes. We hope to find more folks with those abilities who can lend a hand!
Thanks for your interest in our work! From, Kathy Griffin
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