Bar Harbor Town Council Talks Cruise Ships
A 1-2% Vacation Rental Cap Mentioned, Cruise Ship Q and A Set for Thursday
BAR HARBOR—On Tuesday, Bar Harbor Town Council Chair Valerie Peacock gave another update on potential Chapter 50, an alternative approach to cruise ship management for the town.
The town is currently working with 1,000-daily disembarkation limits approved by voters in November 2022 after a citizens’ initiative led by Charles Sidman.
“We have been fielding a lot of questions and concerns from a lot of residents,” Town Manager James Smith said. Because of that, the Council decided to meet with the public less formally for a question and answer session on cruise ship management for track two (Chapter 50). This session is set for 6 p.m., August 22, at the Mount Desert Island High School auditorium.
The goal of the question and answer season, which will be hosted by Peacock and Councilor Earl Brechlin, is to clear up rumors and provide answers, Smith said.
Jamie McKown will moderate. Town Attorney Stephen Wagner and town staff will help answer questions.
The town posted the notice online on August 20, Tuesday, shortly before noon.
The Council had directed staff to bring forward an alternative approach to managing cruise ship visits to try to direct “discussions with cruise lines and plaintiffs in the pending federal litigation” Peacock said.
Chapter 50 is a licensing ordinance. The licenses are codified into a contract between the town and the cruise lines. There is also a coordination contract with the docks where passengers disembark.
It cannot be enacted unless the current land use ordinance about cruise ship disembarkations is repealed by the voters in November.
“The ordinance creates the law,” Peacock said.
The contract, she said, has the ordinance embedded within it. That, she said, increases stability, makes it more enforceable, reduces disputes, and allows for town meeting involvement.
The dock owner still hasn’t filed for a permit, Peacock said, and are saying that they have a pre-existing right to disembark cruise ships. Chapter 50 would help get around that, she said.
The town has issued a notice of violation to the Golden Anchor, LC, owners of 55 West Street, for allegedly violating the town’s new cruise ship disembarkation ordinance, which went into effect, July 18, and was approved by voters after a citizens’ initiative back in November 2022.
The Chapter 50 approach, Peacock said, lets the town impose fines directly rather than waiting for a court system and allows “the town to integrate the day-to-day operations with the ordinance.”
The goals of Chapter 50 are to reduce visitation via caps (daily, monthly, annually, and seasonally) as well as ship-free days and to reduce the size of ships coming; and to create a “robust policy that limits governance by litigation;” and to bring “Bar Harbor together as a community for better control and management.”
Peacock said that the town is still negotiating with the dock owners, and if that piece is not in place by August 27, the council may not move Chapter 50 forward. She also stressed that the outward facing aspects of the town’s PortCall system are not accurate. This is how many determine what cruise ships are visiting Bar Harbor and when.
Three people came forward in public comment. One woman said she was uncomfortable with the imbalance of power between the town and cruise ships that she saw in the contract approach. Another woman asked if the presentation would be available. It will be added to the end of the Town Council packet on August 21.
Sidman, who is currently in litigation with the town and against the town, said the new system may trigger more litigation from all parties.
“It’s kind of a fantasy maybe that this will make everybody happy,” he said. He also asked what the town would do if the pier owners do not agree to the new system. He said the assurance that changes would need citizen approval did not currently seem trustworthy.
Councilors Joe Minutolo, Maya Caines, and Gary Friedmann were absent.
COUNCIL COMMENTS—SHORT TERM RENTALS
During Councilor comments at the end of the meeting, Brechlin said that he’d like to look at the parking requirements for transient accommodations, potentially in time for June so that the town can “tweak that piece of the puzzle, also.”
He also thought that they should look at a cap on investor-owned vacation rentals in Bar Harbor, also called VR-2s.
“I think it’s a ridiculous number,” he said of the cap of 9% of housing stock being used for short-term rentals.
“Let’s take another look at it,” he said.
He thinks that 9% is a cap too high and would look toward a much lower cap closer to 1% or 2% of all housing stock.
The town’s short-term rental ordinance was approved 1,260-840 in November 2021 and requires a yearly renewal and creates a 9% cap on rentals that are not occupied by the property owner. Rentals that existed prior to that cap are still allowed as long as they pass inspections and renew their licenses. This past year, voters in two other island towns (Mount Desert and Tremont) rejected short-term rental ordinances.
There are currently 634 short-term rentals (both owner-occupied and not owner-occupied) in Bar Harbor, which is down from 681 in 2022. There has been an increase in new owner-occupied rentals (from 14 to 24) and decrease in renewals for both types of short-term rentals.
Non-owner-occupied rentals, the kind Brechlin would like to cap more, have decreased from 522 in 2022 to 470 in 2024. A 9% cap would currently be 318. A 2% cap would be approximately 70 VR2s. A 1% cap would be 35.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Jane Boynton wondered about if the Glen Mary lease with Village Improvement Association had been signed yet. It has not. Smith said the town and the association, which is also in charge of the Shore Path restoration, are still working out the details. He has met with one resident about the general park area. The Glen Mary area houses a wading pool and forest.
The wading pool at Glen Mary Park (located on 7.5 acres off Glen Mary Road and Waldron Road) has been closed since 2022, thanks to broken piping beneath the ground.
Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt said the system was last upgraded in 2009
The town leases the property from the Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association (VIA) and renewing the lease, which expires in 2024, is vital to rebuilding the town’s pool. The town performs the maintenance on the property as long as there is open access to the public.
TOWN MANAGER’S COMMENTS
The town has released a request for bids on a specialized engineering study which would look at energy audits on the facilities. The ASHRAE study should inform the town to be better decision makers, Smith said. The study is tied into a $50,000 state grant, which will also help fund some weatherization of the municipal building.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Town Council accepted the certification of the mailing list used for notices of public hearings for LUO amendments for the November 2024 town meeting warrant, authorized the town manager to sign a quitclaim deed and release the town’s interest in 67C Eagle Lake Road in Bar Harbor, and amended the schedule of fees to correct errors.
MEETING SCHEDULE
The Council also amended Council Rules of Order to adjust order of business and its upcoming meeting schedule. They would hold one meeting a month in reserve for permits, licenses, and workshops.
The goal is to be a little more efficient and focused, Peacock said.
OTHER COUNCIL COMMENTS
Brechlin thanked the Planning Department for all its work on the transient accommodations amendments to the town’s land use ordinance. He said the potential changes clear up a lot of ambiguity.
Councilor Kyle Shank thanked everyone who has talked to the council and said it was important to have dialogue.
“People have been remarkably open and respectful and conversing in a way that is not the expectation of social media as a whole,” he said.
Councilor Matthew Hochman also said he appreciated the public participation and people’s “passionate dedication” to the town.
Peacock spoke of the Jesup Memorial Library book sale and how her homeschooled son saves money to buy his own books and how it has been transformational for their family.
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