Bangor council unanimously approves ordinance to ease rules for existing manufactured-home parks

The Bangor City Council voted unanimously (9-0) on July 13 to adopt ordinance 26-223, which amends the land development code to allow manufactured-home parks existing as of Jan. 1, 2026 additional flexibility under alternative development standards.

The change replaces an older cutoff date (parks existing before Sept. 13, 1971) that had limited which parks could use alternative standards. Councilors said the revision is intended to enable expansions and to address a barrier preventing placement of homes on vacant lots in existing parks. The planning board had reviewed the proposal and unanimously recommended approval on July 7.

Council discussion raised questions about how the change would affect minimum lot sizes, road widths and common-area set-asides in existing parks. "I'm just worried about unintended consequences," said a councilor who asked whether the amendment would make older parks more condensed while maintaining stricter standards for new parks. Anne Krieg, the city’s director of community and economic development, said staff is preparing a broader rewrite of the land-development code to clarify these matters and noted that nonconforming protections would preserve existing rights for affected parks.

After the discussion the council took a roll-call vote: 9 yes, 0 no. The ordinance was recorded as having passed.

Next step: staff indicated the city will continue work on a comprehensive code rewrite to address lingering questions and avoid repeating similar issues in future applications.