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Consultant outlines citywide zoning overhaul to simplify districts, update design controls and ease housing conversions
Summary
A planning consultant presented a proposed rewrite of Bangor’s land‑use code that would reorganize residential, commercial, industrial and overlay districts, remove some density caps, add clear design controls and consolidate development standards. Councilors and planning board members discussed next steps toward a public draft.
A planning consultant presented a comprehensive proposal to reorganize Bangor’s zoning code, offering a new district framework, modern design controls and a consolidated approach to development standards aimed at simplifying regulations and making them more predictable.
What was proposed: The consultant recommended removing artificial density caps such as dwelling‑units per acre and per building; allowing averaged front setbacks based on adjacent lots; establishing discrete corner side setback conditions; and adding objective form‑based design elements such as requirements for transparency (windows and doors), limits on blank walls and clearly identifiable entrances.
Residential districts: The consultant proposed seven residential districts grouped into three buckets: an RRA rural district outside the growth boundary with a 1.5‑acre minimum lot area; R1–R3 districts for growth‑boundary areas (R1 analogous to current low‑density with a 12,000‑square‑foot minimum; R2 to accommodate lots…
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