Bar Harbor City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
General Provisions
§ 125-1 Title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Land Use Ordinance of the Town of Bar Harbor, Maine," and will be referred to herein as "this chapter."
§ 125-2 Authority.
[Amended 11-5-1991]
This chapter is adopted pursuant to home rule powers as provided for in Article VIII, Part Second, of the Maine Constitution and 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2101 et seq. and § 4503[1] and also pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 435 to 449.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 4503 of Title 30-A was repealed by Chapter 104 of the Laws of 1989.
§ 125-3 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is the implementation of the Bar Harbor Comprehensive Plan and the promotion of the health, safety, and general welfare of the present and future inhabitants of the Town of Bar Harbor in a manner that serves to balance the interests of the general public of Bar Harbor and those of individual property owners by:
A.
Giving effect to policies and proposals of the Bar Harbor Comprehensive Plan;
B.
Preserving and protecting the character of Bar Harbor by dividing the Town into neighborhood districts according to the use of land and buildings, the intensity of such use, including bulk and height, and surrounding open space;
C.
Guiding growth in the Town of Bar Harbor over the next twenty-year period, concentrating development in areas where adequate water and sanitary facilities, roads, schools and other municipal services can be provided and limiting development in areas where facilities are not and should not be provided;
D.
Protecting and enhancing the natural, cultural and historic resources of the Town of Bar Harbor;
E.
Providing standards for all types of dwelling units so that all the people of Bar Harbor may have access to decent, sound and sanitary housing in accordance with the goals of the Federal Housing Act of 1949, among which is the provision of adequate zoning to meet a fair share of the Town's housing needs;
F.
Lessening the danger and congestion of traffic on the roads and highways, limiting excessive numbers of intersections, driveways, and other friction points, minimizing other hazards, and ensuring the continued usefulness of all elements of the existing highway system for their planned function;
G.
Providing standards to control the intensity of development in areas of sensitive or significant natural resources in order to reduce or eliminate adverse environmental impacts;
H.
Promoting safety from fire, flood, panic and other dangers;
I.
Providing adequate privacy, light and air;
J.
Protecting the tax base by facilitating cost-effective development within the Town of Bar Harbor;
K.
Promoting economy in local governmental expenditures;
L.
Conserving the values of property throughout the Town of Bar Harbor;
M.
Protecting landowners from adverse impacts of adjoining developments;
N.
Preventing and controlling water pollution;
[Added 11-5-1991]
O.
Protecting fish spawning grounds, aquatic life, and bird and other wildlife habitat;
[Added 11-5-1991]
P.
Protecting buildings and lands from flooding and accelerated erosion;
[Added 11-5-1991]
Q.
Protecting archaeological and historic resources;
[Added 11-5-1991]
R.
Protecting commercial fishing and maritime industries;
[Added 11-5-1991]
S.
Protecting freshwater and coastal wetlands;
[Added 11-5-1991]
T.
Controlling building sites, placement of structures and land uses;
[Added 11-5-1991]
U.
Conserving shore cover, visual as well as actual points of access to inland and coastal waters, natural beauty, and open space;
[Added 11-5-1991]
V.
Anticipating and responding to the impacts of development in shoreland areas.
[Added 11-5-1991]
§ 125-4 Applicability.
This chapter shall apply to all land within the Town of Bar Harbor. All buildings or structures hereinafter constructed, reconstructed, altered, enlarged, or moved, and the uses of buildings and land, including the division of land, in the Town of Bar Harbor shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. No building, structure, land or water area shall be used for any purpose or in any manner except as provided for in this chapter.
§ 125-5 Severability.
Should any section or provision of this chapter be declared by the courts to be invalid, such decision shall not invalidate any other section or provision of this chapter.
§ 125-6 Conflicting ordinances or laws.
In general, this chapter is complementary to other Town ordinances affecting the use, height, area and location of buildings and the use of land, but where there is a conflict between this chapter and any other federal, state or local rule, regulation, ordinance, statute or other restriction, the more restrictive provision shall control. Violations of any ordinance in effect prior to the adoption of this chapter shall not be considered null and void as a result of the adoption of this chapter.
§ 125-7 Omitted uses prohibited.
It is the intent of this chapter that any use not specifically allowed as either a permitted use or a permitted use with site plan approval is specifically prohibited.
§ 125-8 When effective; filing; repealer.
[Amended 11-5-1991; 5-4-1992; 11-5-2024 ATM by Art. 5]
A.
The effective date of this chapter or any amendments thereto shall be 30 calendar days following the adoption at a regular or special Town Meeting with the exception of shoreland zoning regulations. Amendments to shoreland zoning regulations are not effective unless approved by the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, per M.R.S. 38 Ch. 3 §438. A certified copy of amendments to shoreland zoning regulations must be attested and signed by the Town Clerk, and forwarded to the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for approval. If the Commissioner fails to act within 45 days of receipt of the amendment, it shall be deemed approved. Any application for a permit submitted to the Town under shoreland zoning regulations, within such 45-day period, shall be governed by the terms of the proposed amendment to shoreland zoning regulations if the amendment is approved by the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
B.
The adoption of this chapter hereby repeals and supersedes all conflicting land use provisions of all ordinances adopted prior to the effective date of this chapter.
§ 125-9 Amendment.
[Amended 11-5-1991; 5-4-1992; 5-4-1998; 11-2-2010; 11-8-2011]
There shall be four methods for proposing amendments to Bar Harbor's Land Use Ordinance, as follows:
A.
Amendments.
(1)
Citizen petition. Upon the written petition of a number of registered voters equal to at least 10% of the number of votes cast in the Town at the last gubernatorial election, but in no case fewer than 10 registered voters, the Town Council shall automatically insert in the warrant for a regular or special Town Meeting an article to amend this chapter.
(2)
Property owner. A property owner may submit a written request to the Planning Board to consider an amendment and the Planning Board shall consider this request at a public hearing. Notice of the public hearing shall be provided as set forth in § 125-9C below.
(a)
The Planning Board, may, upon a written request from a property owner, submit a written request to the Town Council to insert in the warrant for a regular Town Meeting an article to amend this chapter.
(b)
Such request shall contain at a minimum the following materials:
[1]
An application form from the Planning Department;
[2]
A map showing the existing neighborhood districts for the subject property and for properties within 600 feet;
[3]
A map showing the existing land uses at the time of application for the above-mentioned subject property and area;
[4]
A narrative and evidence of how the requested change meets the policies and strategies in the most recently adopted Comprehensive Plan (including the Land Use Plan);
[5]
Other information necessary to illustrate the need for a change in the district or other standards in this chapter.
(c)
Within 30 days of submission of the written request, together with fees and materials, the Planning Board shall meet to determine if the application is complete for their review. A public hearing will be held within 45 days of the Planning Board finding the application complete.
(d)
Notification to abutters within 600 feet of the subject property and a notice to a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Bar Harbor shall occur at least 10 days prior to the hearing.
(e)
At the public hearing, the Planning Board shall hear the request, accept public comment on the request and deliberate to determine which of the following courses of action they will perform:
[1]
Recommend to the Town Council the written request as submitted as per § 125-9A.
[2]
Recommend with amendments or conditions that would bring the proposal into conformance with the most recently adopted Comprehensive Plan.
[3]
Take no action.
(f)
If the Planning Board takes no action on the written request, the subject property owner may seek other alternatives outlined in § 125-9A. Planning Board action under § 125-9 is not the subject of appeal under § 125-103.
(g)
The Planning Board shall submit its decision to the Town Council within 30 days of the close of the public hearing.
(3)
Planning Board. The Planning Board may propose an amendment and the Planning Board shall consider this amendment at a public hearing. Notice of the public hearing shall be provided as set forth in § 125-9C below.
(4)
Town Council. The Town Council may submit a written request to the Planning Board to consider an amendment, and the Planning Board shall consider this request at a public hearing. Notice of the public hearing shall be provided as set forth in § 125-9C below.
B.
Final public hearing. Following the conclusion of the Planning Board's public hearings, the Town Council shall hold a public hearing to accept or reject final amendments for the warrant. Notice of the public hearing shall be provided as set forth in § 125-9C below.
C.
Notice requirements.
(1)
Notice of the hearing shall be posted in the municipal office at least 13 days prior to such hearing.
(2)
Notice of the hearing shall be published at least two times in a newspaper that complies with 1 M.R.S.A. § 601 and that has a general circulation in the municipality. The date of the first publication must be at least 12 days before the hearing, and the date of the second publication must be at least seven days before the hearing.
(3)
In addition to the notice required by the preceding two subsections, when an amendment is proposed to the existing Land Use Ordinance or the Neighborhood Districts Map of Bar Harbor that, within a geographically specific portion of the Town, will have the effect of either prohibiting all industrial, commercial or retail uses where any of such uses is permitted, or permitting such uses where any of such uses is prohibited, the following is required:
(a)
The notice must contain a copy of the map indicating the portion of the Town affected by the proposed amendment.
(b)
For each parcel within the Town that is in or abutting the portion of the Town affected by the proposed amendment, the notice must be mailed by first-class mail at least 13 days prior to the public hearing to the last-known address of the person to whom property tax on each parcel is assessed. The municipal officers shall prepare and file with the Town Clerk a written certificate indicating those persons to whom the notice was mailed and at what addresses, when it was mailed, by whom it was mailed and from what location it was mailed. This certificate shall constitute prima facie evidence that notice was sent to those persons named in the certificate. Notice is not required under this subsection for any type of zoning ordinance adopted under the laws governing growth management contained in Chapter 187, Subchapter II of 30-A M.R.S.A., as amended, or the laws governing shoreland zoning contained in Title 38, Chapter 3, Subchapter I, Article 2-B, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4312 et seq. and 38 M.R.S.A. § 435 et seq., respectively.
D.
Following a hearing conducted pursuant to the preceding subsection, the Planning Board shall, by majority vote, make a recommendation as to whether the proposed amendment ought to be adopted or ought not to be adopted. Such recommendation shall be printed on the warrant.
E.
Such amendment may be adopted by a majority vote at a duly constituted Town Meeting.
[Amended 11-8-2022]
F.
Copies of amendments to this chapter related to shoreland regulation, attested and signed by the Town Clerk, shall be submitted to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection following adoption by the Town Meeting and shall not be effective unless approved by the Commissioner. If the Commissioner fails to act on any amendment within 45 days of his/her receipt of the amendment, the amendment is automatically approved. Any application for a permit submitted to the Town within the forty-five-day period shall be governed by the terms of the amendment, if such amendment is approved by the Commissioner.
§ 125-10 Availability.
[Added 11-5-1991]
A certified copy of this chapter shall be filed with the Town Clerk and shall be accessible to any member of the public. Copies shall be made available to the public at the expense of the person making the request. Notice of availability shall be posted at such locations as notices of public meetings are typically posted.