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Bangor City Council passes rezoning, accepts grants and approves leases and licenses
Summary
At its Feb. 24 meeting, the Bangor City Council approved a rezoning ordinance, accepted multiple grants, renewed a casino license, authorized a lease amendment for Hope House and established a parks and recreation committee; several votes were unanimous or passed by consent.
The Bangor City Council approved a package of ordinances, grants, orders and licenses at its Feb. 24 meeting. Major actions included rezoning, acceptance of state and regional grant awards, an amended lease for shelter space and the renewal of a casino operator license.
Votes at a glance:
- Ordinance 25‑067 (rezoning, 861 Broadway): Council adopted an ordinance to amend the land development code and rezone the property at 861 Broadway from Contract Industry and Service and Low Density Residential to Shopping and Personal Service. The council recorded a roll‑call vote of 8‑0; the ordinance passed.
- Resolve 25‑068 (FY24 Homeland Security Grant appropriation): The council accepted and appropriated $96,247 in fiscal year 2024 Homeland Security grant funding from the Maine Emergency Management Agency for the police and fire departments. The item passed; no roll‑call tally was read into the record during the meeting.
- Resolve 25‑069 (Northern Border Regional Commission grant): The council accepted a $500,000 grant award from the Northern Border Regional Commission to support construction costs for the Bangor Central Kitchen project. The item passed; no roll‑call tally was read into the record during the meeting.
- HC Bangor LLC (Hollywood Casino Bangor) license renewal: The council opened and closed a public hearing on the operator license renewal for HC Bangor LLC, doing business as Hollywood Casino Bangor, 500 Main St., and voted to renew the license by unanimous consent (no objection noted on the record).
- Order 25‑080 (donation to patrol K‑9 program): The council authorized the city manager to accept a donation from author Jessica Blood (Blod in the packet) to support the city’s canine teams; donation estimated in the meeting as between $1,000 and $5,000. The order passed by voice vote/consent.
- Order 25‑081 (special committee on consolidated Parks & Recreation facility): The council established a special committee to review a feasibility study for a consolidated parks and recreation and Sawyer Ice Arena facility and directed a report back to the council by July 10, 2025. The order passed by voice vote/consent.
- Order 25‑082 (acceptance of 2025 Bangor Housing Study): The council accepted the 2025 Bangor Housing Study prepared by HR&A Advisors and added it as an appendix to the city’s comprehensive plan. The order passed; a public comment was recorded during the discussion.
- Order 25‑083 (consent to sublease and lease amendment, Hope House): The council authorized execution of documents consenting to a sublease of shelter space at the Hope House Health and Living Center and approved an amendment to the city’s ground lease with Penobscot Community Health Center to permit a building addition and to conform with Maine State Housing Authority funding rules. The council noted Councilor Beck had a previously acknowledged conflict and had left the room for this vote; the order passed.
Consent agenda items (approved as a block) included multiple ministerial orders and contracts: assembly of prior minutes, an order accepting a $500 donation from Carrot Top Corp for a postpartum/lactation support group; purchase authorization for sports field lighting at the Union Street Complex for $912,312; authorization to execute an agreement with MaineTurnpike/Maine DOT for US Route 2 resurfacing; and an access easement to Bangor Savings Bank for pedestrian access adjacent to 36 Pleasant St., among others.
Motions, movers and outcomes (as recorded): Where a speaker explicitly moved an item during the meeting, the mover is noted; otherwise the mover/second was not specified on the public record. The full text of each order and ordinance appears in the council packet and in the meeting minutes.
No ordinances or orders were tabled or failed at the Feb. 24 meeting. Several items were referred to planning or committees for additional review, including Ordinance 25‑079 (rezoning referral for 870 Broadway) which was referred to the planning board for a March 4 review.
