Bangor council adopts multiple land-use changes, downtown assessments and committee appointments; one winter-parking ordinance fails

Bangor City Council on May 28 adopted a series of ordinances and orders that together change local land-use rules, approve a downtown special assessment and municipal development program, and create an advisory committee to oversee opioid-settlement spending. The council also postponed a land-lease item and rejected an ordinance to allow on-street winter parking except during snow-clearing orders.

The most consequential votes included ordinance 25-154, which amended the land development code to add a "general public safety" use to the Airport Development District; councilors said the change is intended to allow a planned fire training facility to locate on airport property. Councilor Fish moved 25-154; the roll call recorded seven yes votes and no opposition and the ordinance passed.

The council also passed ordinance 25-155 to clarify requirements for land development permits (added phasing-plan requirements, greater flexibility for permit expiration, and a bar on accepting new applications from applicants with unresolved code violations) and ordinance 25-156 expanding the city's disruptive-property ordinance to include nonresidential properties and sites without buildings. Both measures were recommended unanimously by the planning or government operations committees and passed on council roll call votes.

The council approved several downtown measures tied to the Bangor Center Development District. By adopting the special assessment (25-185), the council set a levy that will raise roughly $265,566 in additional revenue for the district. The municipal development program and financial plan for the district (25-186) was adopted with a proposed downtown budget of $601,062, which allocates $316,159 for safety-and-security services (the Street Plus/Downtown Ambassador program), marketing, events and administrative support.

Other actions taken at the meeting included: - Passage of council order 25-131 (amended) to declare the structure at 271 Elm Street a dangerous building and authorize demolition; the council adopted an amendment before voting and passed the order. - Postponement of council order 25-177 (land-lease agreements with Enterprise Rent-A-Car) to the June 9 meeting so staff can correct the square-footage figure in the materials. - Approval of two special-amusement licenses: Waterfront Concerts LLC (1 Railroad St.) and a new license for Salt Maine LLC doing business as Salt North Taproom (16 Union St.). - Appointment of nominees to the Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee (25-187); the committee will advise the council on use of the city's settlement funds. - Approval of a trail-naming order (25-184) to name a section of trail connecting Sylvan Road to Stillwater Avenue the "Talbot Trail" in honor of Gerald E. Talbot.

One ordinance failed. Councilors considered 25-158, which would have allowed on-street winter parking except during snow-clearing orders and codified locations for off-street parking during snow events; the motion did not secure a majority and the ordinance failed on the council vote.

Votes and procedural notes were recorded on the public record during roll calls; where a roll call was taken the council recorded individual yes/no votes. Several items had been recommended unanimously by the planning or government operations committees before council action.

The council also approved a large consent agenda containing procurement orders, grants and routine resolutions: contracts for resurfacing and runway planning, pilot program grant applications, cultural development grants (including to Bangor Ballet and Bangor Public Library), and an interim city manager appointment (25-171). The consent agenda passed with no recorded objections.

The council's actions will affect downtown services, airport zoning, property enforcement authority and advisory-committee rules. Implementation steps and contract execution were authorized where noted in individual orders; staff were directed to return amended documents when necessary (for example, the Enterprise lease).

End notes: Many items on the consent agenda and several ordinance votes were recommended by committee earlier in May. Notices for development-district proceedings followed statutory requirements, including publication of affected-area descriptions and maximum assessment rates under Maine law.