City solicitor says court briefs filed in Bangor Mall enforcement case; vacant-building registrations rising

City Solicitor Dave Sobchak told the Bangor City Council on Feb. 24 that the city has filed closing briefs in two pending enforcement cases tied to the Bangor Mall and is awaiting a judge’s decision.

The cases involve alleged violations of multiple land-use and maintenance ordinances, Sobchak said, including failure to maintain a large-diameter stormwater pipe and a sewer line. The city says repeated sinkholes opened on the property after soils were washed away, and in late August a sinkhole caused breakage to the mall’s sewer and a stormwater pipe. The city stepped in to re-establish a temporary bypass and ultimately to repair the damaged pipes and remediate contamination that entered the sewer main, Sobchak said.

“The matter is still pending and is awaiting the judge’s decision,” Sobchak said. He told the council the city asked the court for ordinance-required civil penalties, abatement orders and remediation; some penalties sought were larger where the city argued a contractor…