Bar Harbor rejects Walsh hotel
After a year of debate, the Bar Harbor Planning Board has unanimously rejected hotelier Tom Walsh's plans for a $12 million hotel on West Street.
The planning board last Wednesday denied the application in a 4-0 vote, a year to the day after it was first submitted, according to the Mount Desert Islander. Board members said the project did not meet the land-use ordinance requirements, specifically that four-story buildings must include an amount of year-round residences equal to the size of the fourth floor. Walsh, founder of Portsmouth-based Ocean Properties, argued that his plan did meet the guidelines of the ordinance. Preceding the public hearing on the project, a group of eight people, including West Street business owners, urged the board to approve the hotel, saying it would boost the local economy and improve the aesthetics of the area, according to the paper.
Bar Harbor officials and Ocean Properties have debated various specifics of the town's land-use ordinance and building requirements, including building height, parking and affordable housing requirements since the plan was submitted a year ago. In October, Ocean Properties downsized the project from five to four stories and added more parking spaces to address the planning board's concerns.
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