Bar Harbor City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
Permits
§ 125-77 Permit required for certain activities.
[Amended 5-7-1991; 11-2-1999]
After the effective date of this chapter, a written permit from the Code Enforcement Officer shall be required for the following activities, regardless of whether such activities have received site plan or subdivision approval or whether they also require review by the Design Review Board pursuant to Article XIII, Design Review:
A.
Flood hazard areas. All construction or earthmoving activities or other improvements within the one-hundred-year floodplain designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
B.
New construction. New construction of buildings and structures.
C.
Alteration. Alteration of a building, structure, or land, or parts thereof, including but not limited to:
[Amended 5-3-2004]
(1)
Change in size of windows or doors;
(2)
Repair of foundations, whether concrete, cinder block, granite and posts, or piles;
(3)
Interior renovations for change in use;
(4)
Remodeling interior walls to create new rooms;
(5)
Enclosing open frame porch;
(6)
Installing skylights;
(7)
Erection of fences;
(8)
Construction of new steps;
(9)
Creation of roads or driveways;
(10)
Erection of panels for winter closure or the erection of winter storm vestibules in the Downtown Village or Waterfront Development Districts; provided, however, that a permit need only be obtained in the first year of the useful life of the structure to be erected.
[Amended 6-8-2010]
D.
Placement of signs. Placement of signs except temporary signs.
[Amended 5-3-2004]
E.
Moving or demolition. All buildings or structures which are removed from or moved onto, or moved around within, a lot or demolished.
F.
Change of use. The change of any premises from one category of land use to any other land use.
G.
Activities. Any other activities described in Article III as requiring a permit from the Code Enforcement Officer.
H.
Disembarking persons from cruise ships on, over, or across any property located within the Town of Bar Harbor.
[Added 11-8-2022]
(1)
For the purposes of this section, "cruise ship" has the same meaning as set forth in § 153-22B of the Town of Bar Harbor Code.
(2)
As determined by the Harbor Master, no more than 1,000 persons, in the aggregate, may disembark on a single calendar day from any cruise ship(s) and come to shore on, over, or across any property located within the Town of Bar Harbor; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply with regard to any cruise ship reservations that have been accepted by the Harbor Master prior to March 17, 2022.
(3)
The Harbor Master shall develop rules and regulations in order to establish (a) a reservation system for cruise ships that transport persons by watercraft for disembarkation in the Town of Bar Harbor; (b) a mechanism for counting and tracking the number of persons disembarking each day; (c) a mandatory procedure for reporting violations to the Code Enforcement Officer; and (d) any other provisions that the Harbor Master deems necessary under this subsection. Any property owner issued a permit under this § 125-77H shall comply with all rules and regulations promulgated by the Harbor Master under this subsection.
(4)
This subsection shall be enforced by the Code Enforcement Officer in accordance with § 125-100 of this chapter, based on information as to violations provided by the Harbor Master, and property owners in violation of this subsection shall be subject to such fines, penalties, actions and orders as are authorized by 30-A M.R.S. § 4452, as the same may be amended, provided that each disembarking person exceeding the permitted daily limit in § 125-77H(2) is a specific violation under 30-A M.R.S. § 4452(3)(B), resulting in a minimum $100 penalty per excess unauthorized person.
(5)
Notwithstanding 1 M.R.S. § 302, and regardless of the date on which it is approved by the voters, this subsection will be applicable as of March 17, 2022, and shall govern any and all applications for permits or approvals required under this subsection that were or have been pending before any officer, board, or agency of the Town of Bar Harbor on or at any time after March 17, 2022; provided, however, that the Town will not take any enforcement action under this subsection with regard to any cruise ship visits occurring prior to the date of adoption by voters at Town Meeting.
§ 125-78 Prohibitions.
[Amended 6-13-2006[1]]
A.
No activity or use requiring a permit under this article shall be commenced unless and until the property owner has received any required permits for the Code Enforcement Officer.
B.
No building permit shall be approved for a particular property if the property owner is in violation of this chapter or of any other previously approved subdivision or site plan on said property.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also provided that it shall apply retroactively to all proceedings, applications and/or petitions pending on or commenced after 9-6-2005, notwithstanding the provisions of 1 M.R.S.A. § 302.
§ 125-79 Procedure.
A.
Application. All applications for permits shall be submitted in writing in duplicate to the Code Enforcement Officer on forms provided for the purpose, together with such fees as shall, from time to time, be set by the Town Council.
B.
Submissions. All applications for a permit shall be accompanied by a plan accurately drawn to scale or showing actual dimensions or distances and showing:
(1)
The actual shape and dimensions of the lot for which a permit is sought.
(2)
The location and size of all buildings, structures, water bodies, and other significant features currently existing on the lot.
(3)
The location and building plans of new buildings, structures or portions thereof to be constructed.
(4)
The existing and intended use of each building or structure.
(5)
Where applicable, the location of soils test pits, subsurface sewage disposal system, parking lots and driveways, signs, buffer strips and private wells.
(6)
Such other information as may be reasonably required by the Code Enforcement Officer to provide for the administration and enforcement of this chapter.
C.
To whom issued. No permit shall be issued except to the owner of record or his authorized agent. Written proof of authorization shall be required.
D.
Compliance with this chapter. All activities undertaken pursuant to a permit issued under this article shall comply with all applicable standards set forth in Article V. Each application and each permit shall bear the following conspicuous notations which, on the application, shall be acknowledged in writing by the applicant: "The undersigned applicant acknowledges that the applicant and the person on whose behalf a permit is sought are responsible to ensure that the proposed activity complies with all applicable standards of the Bar Harbor Land Use Ordinance."
E.
Deadline for decision. The Code Enforcement Officer shall, within 30 days of receipt of an application, issue the permit, if all proposed construction and uses meet the provisions of this chapter, refer the applicant to the Planning Board for site plan review under Article V, or deny the application. All decisions of the Code Enforcement Officer shall be in writing. Failure of the Code Enforcement Officer to act within 30 days shall constitute denial of the application.
F.
Copies. One copy of the application, with the permit or other written decision of the Code Enforcement Officer, shall be returned to the applicant and one copy, with a copy of the permit or written decision, shall be retained by the Code Enforcement Officer as a permanent public record. The applicant shall cause any permit issued to be conspicuously posted on the lot where the activity will occur at a location clearly visible from the street.
G.
Other permits required. No permit shall be issued for any structure or use until all other necessary federal, state and local permits and approvals have been obtained. The issuance of a permit under this article shall not be deemed a permit under any federal or state statutes or other ordinance of the Town of Bar Harbor. It is the responsibility of the landowner or applicant to comply with all other laws and regulations.
§ 125-80 Certificate of occupancy.
A certificate of occupancy, certifying that all applicable provisions of this chapter have been satisfied, shall be obtained from the Code Enforcement Officer:
A.
After a building, structure or part thereof has been erected, altered, enlarged or moved pursuant to a permit, site plan approval or subdivision approval, for the proposed use before the building or structure or part thereof may be used or occupied;
B.
After a site has been modified or otherwise developed pursuant to a permit, site plan approval, or subdivision approval to ensure all terms, conditions and the plan approved by the Planning Board, the Design Review Board, the Board of Appeals, the Planning Department or the Code Enforcement Officer, as applicable, have been met;
[Added 6-8-2010[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This amendment also redesignated former Subsections B through E as Subsections C through F, respectively.
C.
After a building has been modified to accommodate additional dwelling units, before such units may be used or occupied;
D.
After a building or structure has been modified to accommodate a home occupation, before said home or structure may be used or occupied for a home occupation;
E.
Before a change in use of a nonconforming structure or lot;
F.
Before the occupancy and use, or change in use, of vacant land, except for the raising of crops.