US Senate committee advances bill to transfer Acadia land for workforce housing

COURTESY / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Federal legislation advanced this week that could allow for development of 55 acres of Acadia National Park land for affordable year-round and seasonal housing for residents.

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By Staff

The U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday approved a plan to transfer an undeveloped parcel of land from Acadia National Park to the town of Bar Harbor for the development of affordable housing.

The parcel is located in Town Hill, a village on Bar Harbor’s outskirts.

The goal is to create more affordable year-round and seasonal workforce housing on Mount Desert Island.

Part of the 55-acre parcel would go to the town and the remainder would be used by the National Parks Service to construct NPS staff housing.

The proposal was cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and supported by the National Park Service, the town of Bar Harbor and the Island Housing Trust.

The bill next goes to the Senate floor, potentially as part of a larger package within the next few months.

“From the National Park to Bar Harbor businesses, every part of MDI’s economy is currently feeling the squeeze of a significant affordable worker housing shortage — causing businesses to run limited hours, or even shut their doors completely,” King said in a news release.

In 1986, federal legislation that established a permanent boundary for the park also directed the National Park Service to convey the Town Hill parcel, without monetary consideration, to the town of Bar Harbor. The intent at the time was that towns on the island could develop the land into a centralized solid waste transfer station.

But the transfer never occurred and the need for a centralized transfer station has diminished in recent years.

The new legislation would amend the existing requirement and would allow the National Park Service to retain up to 15 acres to address its own housing needs.

If passed, the legislation would direct the NPS to work with the towns and other stakeholders on MDI to develop a plan to use the parcel for affordable year-round and seasonal employee housing.