City of Bangor hosts historic preservation education session

City of Bangor planning staff and advisory consultant Mike Pullen presented an educational workshop on historic preservation resources, permitting processes, and architectural styles. The session covered local tax incentives, sustainability practices, and the city's current historic districts.

Key points

• Presenters detailed the local permitting process, noting that a Certificate of Appropriateness is required for major alterations in historic districts.
• The city highlighted federal and state tax credits available for certified historic rehabilitation projects, including a 20% federal credit and a 25% state credit.
• Planning officer Anya Collette discussed the city's Land Development Ordinance update, which aims to add flexibility and change the voting requirement for certificates of appropriateness from four affirmative votes to a simple majority.
• The presentation reviewed Bangor's architectural history, covering styles from Colonial and Greek Revival to Queen Anne and Craftsman.
• Staff explained that accessory dwelling units are allowed on any lot with a single-family home under recent state legislation, with a maximum size of 1,000 square feet.

Next steps

• The city will conduct two rounds of edits to the preservation ordinance to provide additional guidance for new construction and alterations.
• A new draft of the land development code is expected in the next few months, with public feedback anticipated this summer or fall.

Read the full transcript