Correction and Update: Proposed Cruise Ship Ordinance Unveiled

And a plan for the bond originally meant for Higgins Pit

BAR HARBOR—Bar Harbor’s new proposed cruise ship ordinance was unveiled on Saturday.

Often called “Chapter 50,” the ordinance is a council ordinance that will not be voted on at town meeting. However, for it to be enacted, the citizen-initiative land use ordinance (LUO) amendment relating to cruise ship disembarkations would have to be rescinded.

That would have to occur via a LUO amendment. This amendment has its own track through the town’s planning board and will be voted on in November.

The Planning Board’s public hearing on Wednesday night is only for the LUO amendment. According to Town Council Chair Valerie Peacock, the council will also hold a public hearing on the LUO and vote to put the amendment onto the warrant. The LUO amendment has a recommendation vote from the Planning Board and Warrant Committee printed on the ballot.

Chapter 50 is a council ordinance. It will not be voted on at the town meeting. However, the LUO amendment and Chapter 50 are linked because Chapter 50 is designed as an alternative management framework to the LUO, Peacock said. If the council adopts Chapter 50, it would be enacted contingent on the passage of the LUO amendment by voters in November. Chapter 50 also requires public hearing at council as part of the council ordinance process. 

Voters will have the final say on whether to pass the LUO ordinance amendment. If enacted, it would repeal the current ordinance.

In November 2022, voters approved a 1,000-a-day or less cap on disembarkation from cruise ships into towns. The mechanisms for enforcing those caps involve the town’s land use ordinance and have been subject to a federal lawsuit, which is currently in appeal after the a court ruled in the town’s favor earlier this year.

Since this spring, the town has been on a “dual track” approach, enacting and creating the rules to enforce those 2021 changes, but also creating a second option, which was unveiled in the Town Council packet on Saturday, August 3, and will be presented to the Town Council at its meeting this week.

The multi-page ordinance is summarized in the packet by a Town Manager James Smith August 2 memo, which said that the potential new policy would establish:

• cruise-ship-free days,

• daily disembarkation caps

• monthly maximums,

• annual disembarkation limits,

• regulatory control and enforcement through licenses and contracts,

• reduce future litigation risk.

Smith also added that the framework is “contingent upon a voter decision this November” and there will be “voter and resident input into future adjustments.”

A draft order also presented Saturday calls out the Town Council’s desire to have cruise-ship-free days and monthly caps on total passenger disembarkations as well as daily caps. It does not give a number for those caps. Many lines say that numbers will be presented to the Town Council on August 6.

The current concept if approved would create changes that would establish limits and deadlines for the 2025-2029 seasons and begin a procedure for setting caps beyond 2030. It also requires a “coordination use agreement” for the facility or property where the passengers disembark and requires congestion control and penalties if the ordinance or contract with the town is violated. Multiple aspects of the draft are highlighted in yellow and not completely framed out.

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THE CONCEPTUAL DRAFT OF THE ORDINANCE

According to Smith, the original rules (track one) capping daily disembarkations to 1,000 will be in effect during this “track two” process. They will be implemented and applied. If the voters do not approve track two in November, the limits originally voted in (and the process around them) will stand. If this track fails to gather voters’ approval in November, track one, the cruise ship ordinance approved by voters in 2022 will still be in effect.

If Track 2 moves forward, then the Track 1 is no longer needed because the town will have voted to move in a slightly different direction to cure some challenges in the LUO that are outside the Council’s prerogative, Smith said in June. The goals, he said, were to make the ordinance more tenable and help ease the legal disputes.

The August 7 Planning Board meeting will discuss multiple proposed land use amendments that include cruise ship disembarkations, transient lodging accommodation uses, campgrounds, filing and approval, and submissions.

On Tuesday, September 3, the Town Council will consider a possible final reading of Chapter 50 ordinance. 

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HIGGINS PIT SOLAR ARRAY BOND

At the August 6 Town Council meeting, there will also be an order about Higgins Pit Solar Array and placing a bond amendment article on the town meeting warrant on November 5. That amendment deletes the solar project for the bond’s use, which had been adopted by voters earlier, and instead uses the $4,350,000 for capital improvements to town-owned properties. Those improvements would be meant to reduce carbon emissions and promote energy efficiency and lower operating expenses. This also occurs during the Town Council’s meeting, which is open to the public and occurs at the Bar Harbor Municipal Building on Cottage Street.

LINKS TO LEARN MORE

TO READ THE PACKET IN FULL

TO WATCH THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING - August 6, 6:30 p.m.

TO WATCH THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING - August 7, 4 p.m.

BOTH MEETINGS’ LOCATION:

• Location: Municipal Building, Town Council Chambers

• Address: 93 Cottage Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Planning Board webpage: https://www.barharbormaine.gov/282/Planning-Board

Correction: Our lead paragraph was not completely clear about the process, which a reader noticed on Aug. 4 in the late afternoon. We’ve updated it for both accuracy and clarity and really appreciate the insight and help. This article has also been changed to reflect November 5 as the election date rather than November 8.

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