Public Present
J. Rick Mooers, Ellen Kappas, Morehead Kennedy
Board Members Present
Sandy Andrews; Ellen Brawley, Chair, James Clunan, Vice Chairman; Robert Ho; Gerard M. Miller
Kim Keene, CEO; Claire Woolfolk, Recording Secretary
I. The meeting was called to order at 4:06 p.m.
It was confirmed that the workshop notice was published in the November 24 and December 8, 2010 Bar Harbor Times.
II. Workshop: For proposed Land Use & Shoreland Zoning Ordinances & Zoning Map amendments for May 2011 Town Meeting.
A. Review of proposed changes to the LUZO
The Planning Board began their review of the changes made during the previous workshops on 11/29/2010 and 12/8/2010.
The following adjustments were made:
1. Remove “*see Note (e)” from VR1 MINIMUM WIDTH OF LOTS (pg 3-11)
2. Insert “e” next to (g) in the heading on the Section 3.5 Dimensional Requirements for Districts chart for SC so that it shows: SC see Note (g, e). (pg 3-13)
3. 3.5 (pg 3-14) NOTES:
(e) The minimum SC setback from shoreline is 75 feet except for functionally water-dependent structures.
4. Section 4.2.3 change “comply” in the last line to “complies”.
5. Section 4.3 Non-conforming Structures
1. Determination of Conformity. In …
Make a heading and begin paragraph with “In”.
6. Reformat section 4.5 to read:
Change of Use of a Non-conforming Structure. The use of a non-conforming structure may not be changed to another use unless the Planning Board, after receiving a written application, determines that the new use will have no greater adverse impact than the existing use on:
a. the subject or adjacent properties and resources
b. a water body, tributary stream, or wetland.
7. Section 4.5 Non-conforming lots add “either;” at the end of 4.5.3.1.b and then return and add “or” before beginning 4.5.3.2
III. Other Business
1. Discussion of the memo sent to the board by Selectman J. Rick Mooers regarding amendments to section 3.5, Dimensional Requirements for Districts, of the Town of Mount Desert’s LUZO.
The board discussed concerns over the effects of using “Road Frontage” as a border descriptor for dimensional requirements for districts, or in other words using road frontage as a requirement for determining the minimum width of a lot. The main concern is the prior inadvertent creation of non-conforming lots in subdivisions during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Owners of these lots have no recourse except to file a lawsuit against the town in the Superior Court if they wish to build on their properties.
In order to proactively address the issue, the board decided to add item “o” to the notes in section 3.5 Dimensional Requirements for Districts as follows:
(o) Lots that pre-exist May 2011 that are divided by an existing public or private road are divided by an existing public or private road are exempt from the requirement for minimum width of lots on road.
Add “o” next to m as thus: **see Note (m,o) on MINIMUM WIDTH OF LOTS: on pg. 3-13 of the LUZO.
2. The notice of violation regarding Edward L. Higgins (CUA 025-2007) was brought to the board’s attention at the meeting of 12/13/2010. The board discussed if the new Stormwater wording would assist abutters in addressing drainage issues when neighbors make changes to their property.
Board member Mr. Andrews stated that when they review these types of requests attention needs to be paid to the conditions of approving requests and follow-up made to ensure that the conditions are met. On this particular case, there was no limit made to the amount of fill Mr. Higgins could bring in, only the surface area he could cover and that “vegetation” would be replaced.
CEO, Kim Keene, said that the wet basement issue that Mr. Higgins’ neighbor is experiencing is not due to the fill that Mr. Higgins has brought in. The neighbor is located at a higher elevation than Mr. Higgins and drains onto his property, not the other way around.
3. Ellen Kappas brought up concerns voiced at a recent Revitalization Committee meeting that changes made to the LUZO could open the town up for the kind of development that is occurring in Bar Harbor. The committee wants to encourage appropriate commercial development, but “appropriate” needs to be defined.
Board members stated that under the current LUZO someone could buy up all the property on Main Street in Northeast Harbor and put up a large structure such as a hotel or retail store (as an example). There is currently a Gentleman’s understanding between the town and summer residents that there would only be two large “hotels” in the town at any given time.
Mr. Andrews voiced a concern that changing the zoning along Route 3 to commercial in Otter Creek will open up for the development of a strip mall.
The board then discussed if they could amend the LUZO to limit the size of building on properties by restricting the footprint, number of stories, number of rooms, etc. to effectively hamper someone from developing an area that is not in keeping with the “character of the town.”
It was determined that further examination needs to be done to determine the ramifications of these types of limitations before making any changes to the LUZO in this regard.
4. Discussed scheduling additional meetings:
• 1/13/2011 4pm @ MR (NEH)
• 1/27/2011 4pm @ MR (NEH)
IV. Motion to continue the meeting on December 16, 2010 at 4pm by Mr. Andrews; seconded by Mr. Clunan. (5-0)
Respectfully submitted,
Claire Woolfolk, Recording Secretary
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