City Hall·Bar Harbor Town Council Special Meeting and Workshop
Bar Harbor council renews 11 amusement permits, opens lodging policy workshop
The Bar Harbor Town Council approved 11 special amusement permit renewals on a 4-0 vote and accepted an order setting an Oct. 20 public hearing on two special town meeting warrant articles. The council then held a workshop on lodging policy, working through a framework of "root tensions" on design and scale, local ownership, business diversity, and housing. Staff will use the input to draft a policy framework for a future workshop.
Key points
- The council voted 5-0 to excuse the absences of Maya and Steve, approved minutes from Sept. 15, 16 and 21, and adopted the agenda, all by 5-0 votes.
- Councilor Debra raised a possible conflict of interest over property she owns near the Criterion and the Annex; the council determined it was not a conflict, and she did not vote on the permits, which passed 4-0.
- Public comment on the Annex permit was mixed: one patron called it one of the best small music venues in Maine, while neighbor Judy Allen said bass from the venue thumps through her house on Kennebec Street.
- Councilors and residents discussed limiting building height and scale downtown, avoiding a "canyon effect," preserving green space and mature trees, and protecting small, locally owned lodging businesses.
- Councilor Randy noted Bar Harbor has roughly 3,000 hotel rooms and 3,000 dwelling units, with about 30 percent of homes used as second homes; councilors discussed tying new lodging growth to employee housing and parking.
- Resident David Bowden of the Edgewater Motel and Cottages in Salisbury Cove urged the council to help small, family-run lodging businesses expand rather than only regulating large developers.
Next steps
- Staff will compile the workshop input into a policy framework with possible solutions and bring it back for review, with a workshop tentatively scheduled for Oct. 27.
- A public hearing on articles 2 and 3 of the special town meeting warrant is set for Oct. 20.
- The clerk said the Oct. 27 workshop date is not set in stone and the public will be notified of any change; no special council meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
Where this came from
Town of Bar Harbor (Town Hall Streams)
The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.
Watch the meeting ↗The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.