Bar Harbor reviews possible strategies to address housing crunch
File photo / Laurie Schreiber
The town is reviewing strategies to expand the housing stock in Bar Harbor, with possibilities including revisions to the town's zoning districts, dimensional requirements, parking setbacks, cluster housing and inclusionary housing.
Convoluted regulations, high construction costs and a contentious review processes are some of the factors contributing to Bar Harbor’s housing crunch, according to a new report commissioned by the town and the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
The Sept. 15 report informed a draft action plan reviewed by the town council earlier this month.
“It’s clear that housing needs to happen,” Michele Gagnon, the town’s planning director, told the council.
The town and chamber hired Steve Whitman of Resilience Planning and Design LLC, in Plymouth, N.H., to facilitate a series of small group and one‐on‐one conversations about the town’s development review process.
Gagnon said she is seeking input on the findings from the council, planning board, design review board and chamber directors ahead of preparing the next draft.
The council’s vice-chair, Matthew Hochman, said the report “feels very pro-development.”
He added, “I would love to also see a roundtable with resident homeowners or renters — what they feel the barriers are to buying, to building, to expanding — to get some balance in there.”
“This document supports one of our main goals, which is affordable housing,” said Councilor Jeff Dobbs.
Development hurdles
In August, Whitman and the chamber’s executive director, Alf Anderson, met with 12 people who have experience in Bar Harbor as developers and business owners, or as design and permitting professionals assisting the development community.
The goal was to understand hurdles to development and improve customer service, especially as it relates to housing.
There was agreement on a number of topics, including:
- A lack of land area and infrastructure to generate the density and additional housing units that might be needed.
- Frustration with the length of time, expense and unpredictable nature of the development review process.
- A need to review and revise sections of the zoning ordinance to address unclear or contradictory items.
- A need to invest in training for board members and continued staff support to ensure the process is administered well.
- The process is contentious and general distrust by some residents and "NIMBYism" sways the process.
Zoning, density present challenges
Among specific comments:
- A few participants said the current zoning ordinance is permissive with hotels and vacation developments, but stringent with residential development.
- Some participants said lot size requirements are too large, and density is too low. At the same time, it was recognized that density is a challenge, and that some neighborhoods may want to retain their density parameters.
- Participants identified space minimums, parking minimums and other regulations that were put in place in the 1980s and are now outdated.
- In discussions about affordable housing, participants said finding places to build affordable housing is a challenge due to zoning use and density requirements now in place. They suggested that the town allow the use of tent/camper sites to provide more opportunities by employers to house seasonal workers and said that could also free up housing units for year‐round residents.
Review process 'contentious'
Many participants said Bar Harbor’s development review process is more contentious than in other communities. Several development teams said they found the approval and permitting process was “extremely long and costly, swayed by public opinion, and could have resulted in a better end product if it wasn’t for these factors,” according to the report, which added, “The time and money spent in this process was also identified by some as an impediment to creating year-round workforce housing.”
Participants questioned the ability of the town’s aging water and sewer systems to support additional development or redevelopment. They said the infrastructure doesn’t serve all areas that could accommodate future development and cited constraints to development on many undeveloped lots outside of major roadways.
Additionally, they said, land availability is low in Bar Harbor, which drives up the cost for new development.
Participants advised the town to host an island-wide or county level discussion on housing and related issues and suggested the town hire professional planners to rewrite the ordinance.
A subsequent memorandum from Gagnon, the town’s planning director, outlined possible actions, including a revision of the town's zoning districts, dimensional requirements, parking setbacks, cluster housing and inclusionary housing, with a focus on incentivizing the creation and retention of affordable housing units.
Gagnon also suggested expanding the number of districts for employee living quarters and looking at the campsite option and other housing alternatives.
A review of the current infrastructure and potentially expansions could also be considered, Gagnon suggested, along with improved community engagement and outreach to address NIMBYism and mistrust of government and staff.
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