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Planning board recommends code change to extend flexibility to newer manufactured-home parks
Summary
The City of Bangor Planning Board voted July 7, 2026, to recommend a zoning amendment that would extend alternative development requirements to manufactured/mobile-home parks established as of Jan. 1, 2026; a public commenter urged clearer lot-line dimensions and staff said site-plan requirements remain separately enforced.
The City of Bangor Planning Board voted July 7 to recommend that the city council amend the land development code to add flexibility for manufactured and mobile-home parks created as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Chair John Boucher opened discussion by explaining the board’s two roles — reviewing code amendments for recommendation to the city council and acting as the regulatory authority on site plans — and read the proposed change that would allow newer parks to use the same alternative requirements currently available to parks predating 1971.
Board members debated whether the Jan. 1, 2026, cutoff should remain in the ordinance or be omitted to avoid re-opening the subject in the near future. One member said a delayed ordinance would force a pending application to re-start the process, requiring additional council advertising and at least six weeks before the application could proceed.
At public comment, Ronnie Pinkham, former president of the Cedar Palace Cooperative, said flexibility can be misinterpreted and urged that site maps include exact lot-line dimensions so residents are not left guessing. "Site maps should have the dimensions," Pinkham said, adding that lack of dimensions had led to conflict among neighbors in his park.
Director of Community and Economic Development Anne Krieg clarified that the amendment is an ordinance-level change and that requirements for lot-line dimensions and setbacks would be addressed separately when staff reviews the specific site plan submitted for an expansion. "This is just an ordinance amendment," Krieg said. "If passed, the same requirements that have been allowed for older mobile home parks would apply to newer parks as well."
Member Janet Jonas moved that the board recommend the ordinance change (adding flexibility for manufactured-home parks existing as of 01/01/2026) "ought to pass." The motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote; the board will forward its recommendation to the city council for final action.
Next steps: the recommendation will appear on a future city council agenda for public hearing and final vote.
