Golden Anchor's Supplemental Material Denied in Cruise Ship Pier Notice of Violation Appeal
BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Appeals Board unanimously denied the inclusion of supplemental material for the Golden Anchor L.C.’s appeal of its notice of violations concerning the pier’s lack of a daily town permit to disembark cruise ship passengers, Tuesday afternoon, November 26. That appeal is scheduled to go before the board, December 10.
Last week, the Bar Harbor Town Council agreed to seek enforcement in the courts against 55 West Street, Golden Anchor, LC, which is where cruise ships tender passengers visiting Mount Desert Island. Under the new disembarkation rules voted in by citizens in 2022 and upheld by a narrow margin this November, inspiring a recount that upheld the vote November 23, the business is required to apply for a permit to allow disembarkation of cruise ship passengers. The rules state that 1,000 cruise ship passengers can disembark each day before fees occur. The business has argued that it had a pre-existing use. The notice of violation issued by the town is from August 5, 2024. The application for administrative appeal was filed Wednesday, September 4, 2024.
An attorney representing the business had missed the November 20 noon filing deadline for the supplemental material by approximately 4.5 hours, a situation that town attorney Daniel Pilleggi of Acadia Law Group described as an attorney’s worst nightmare.
P. Andrew Hamilton of Eaton Peabody, the attorney for the Golden Anchor, explained that he’d lost many nights’ sleep over the error. During his explanation for why the supplemental material should still be allowed, he also argued that the town’s land use ordinance and appeals board rules conflicted about timing.
The attorney representing the town’s code enforcement officer, Jonathan P. Hunter of Rudman Winchell, and Pileggi disagreed.
“Ultimately, this is a discretionary decision for the board,” Hunter said.
Hunter predicted that Hamilton could likely appeal to the court if the board’s December 10 decision doesn’t go in the Golden Anchor’s favor and that the board’s lack of acceptance of that extra material would be included in that appeal.
Hunter suggested that if the board accepts the materials, the town’s response can be extended for a couple of business days as well.
The only person to speak during public comment was attorney Robert Papazian, speaking on behalf of Bar Harbor resident Charles Sidman, who has been involved in multiple lawsuits concerning the town’s enforcement and defense of the 2022-voter-approved daily disembarkation limits for cruise ships. Sidman was a lead petitioner on the citizens’ initiative calling for those changes.
Papazian also said there is no conflict between the rules and land use ordinance. During his remarks, Papazian was briefly admonished by new Council Chair Anna Durand for rudeness.
The appeals board has a long tradition, Pileggi said, of not letting counsel or members of the public take potshots or cast aspersions.
“Stick to the issues, please,” Pileggi said.
Papazian did and explained that he believed the noon deadline was a firm deadline that should be upheld.
During board discussions, newly elected Vice Chair Cara Ryan said that much of the cases the board hears concern applicants missing deadlines—such as vacation rental deadlines—and the board holds firm to those.
This, Pileggi said, is a bit different because the appeals deadline was met. The board, he said, has discretion on this sort of waiver or extension.
The board chose to stick to its noon deadline and unanimously agreed to not allow the material to be submitted ahead of the December 10 meeting. Hamilton can still speak to the over 300 pages of supplementary material at the board’s December 10 meeting.
In the 96-page administrative appeal, Hamilton argues that the company already has an approved site plan and a Wharves and Weirs Act permit that had been issued by the town. Therefore, he argues, the company should not be required to file for new permits required under the new cruise ship disembarkation rules.
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