Town of Mount Desert Workshop Minutes
January 24, 2008
Town Office Meeting Room, Northeast Harbor
Public Present
Peter Lord, and Dwight Lanpher, Island Astronomy Institute; John Kelly, Acadia National Park; Debbie Musetti; Sydney Roberts Rockefeller; Edd Hamor; Jeff Young; David Irvin; Mike Musetti
Board Members Present
James Clunan, Chairman; James Bright, Vice Chairman; Schofeild Andrews III; Joseph Tracy; Gerard M. Miller, alt; Patti Reilly, Secretary
Rich Rothe, Planning Consultant; Kim Keene, CEO; Danielle Goodwin, Recording Secretary
I. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m.
II. The Board met with Planning Consultant Rich Rothe of Rothe Associates, to continue the discussions of amending the Land Use Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances.
Section 6 (6.11 High Elevation Areas)
After reviewing newest draft of Section 6, Mr. Tracy had a few questions on 6.11 High
Elevation Areas including where the figure of 300 feet came from and how they would define
"offensive." He pointed out that it didn't seem practical or fair to identify something as offensive
just because it was visable and wanted to ensure that only regulations that were absolutely
necessary were added. Mr. Rothe explained that this Section on High Elevation offered a two
part approach to determining if a development qualified as "offensive." First, the additional
standards would apply only to lots on elevations exceeding a certain elevation for example,
300 ft above sea level. Secondly, this standard allows the Board to assess the impact of
proposed developments in these areas and mitigate with the owner and developer to reach
common ground for utilizing such high profile and controversial areas. Mr. Rothe further
suggested that a scenic inventory be done from public places such as roadways, Acadia
National Park, Somes Sound, etc. Mr. Rothe and the Board members would need to see and
photograph these locations, put together information and then could gain public input as well.
The Board tabled the conversation on Section 6 for the time being so they could hear from Peter Lord and Dwight Lanpher of the Island Astronomy Institute on Dark Sky Ordinances as Mr. Lord and Mr. Lanpher were also meeting with the Town of Bar Harbor later that evening.
Dark Sky Ordinances (Island Astronomy Institute)
Mr. Lord gave a brief overview of the Island Astronomy Institute and the work they do. He explained the importance of good nighttime lighting standards. Mr. Lord suggested a set of standards for in Town lighting to ensure safety and conserve energy as well as cost. Of course, there are always exemptions that generally include holiday lights, low wattage bulbs so you're not wasting time, etc. Mr. Lord then introduced Mr. Lanpher to go into more detail on the new project. Mr. Lanpher explained that the Institute was talking with the Town of Bar Harbor and wanted to get all of the Towns on Mount Desert Island involved in this project. What they hoped to do was to come up with a Lighting Ordinance that could be regionally shared across the whole island. This would contain good core nighttime lighting standards that would ensure safety, maintain
the cozy atmosphere of the town and conserve energy and money. Then Mr. Lanpher proposed that the Institute work with each town individually on supplemental standards that addressed the specific issues of each town. He further explained that while we can all agree that nighttime lighting is important to safety, and standards ensuring lighting that is respectful to the neighbors is probably a good idea the bottom line is often the cost. Therefore, Mr. Lanpher puts much effort into finding affordable, energy and cost effective lighting ordinances so that everyone wins. He then went over the handout explaining what "good lighting" is and how to best achieve it. The handout from the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) also outlined the process for starting an outdoor lighting ordinance.
Mr. Miller pointed out that our Town electric cost was quite high and thought all would be in favor of reducing that. He asked what a normal percentage was for the State and municipalities to spend on road lighting. Mr. Lanpher responded that 50% is usually average and unfortunately a nessessary cost that is difficult to cut.
Mr. Lord interjected with the issue of lighting trespass. He explained that this occurs when excessive wattage or inappropriate fixtures are used and shed excess light onto the neighbors, into the street, etc. He pointed out the last page of the hand out which illustrated the difference between "full cutoff" lighting control fixtures which were safer and easier on the eyes.
Mr. Kelly and Mr. Lanpher went on to say that education and public awareness are really a large piece of what they do. Mr. Lanpher suggesting drafting a basic ordinance to start with perhaps one that could go to Town Meeting and continue working with the Board on specific areas of concern over whatever time period it took. He also offered to put together a presentation for the public hearing to be held in February and or for the May Town Meeting.
The Board agreed that it would be a good idea to work with the institute on a Lighting Ordinance and perhaps lead the island in this project. Mrs. Reilly suggested inserting a "place holder" in the Draft Land Use Zoning Ordinance for a Lighting Ordinance. Mr. Rothe agreed and recommended letting Mr. Lanpher and Mr. Lord run with the Lighting Ordinance leaving it mostly up to them as that was their area of expertise. He felt confident that would be a timely and strong step toward a good Lightning Ordinance while allowing the Board to focus on other issues at hand. The Board agreed.
Section 6 (6.22 Street Design and Construction)
Mr. Kelly from Acadia National Park interjected with the new language in Section 6.22.2 on page 6-14 of the January 24th Draft. This included the literature he had e-mailed Mr. Rothe regarding the new culvert project the Park was working with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on. Mr. Bright questioned whether or not the Park Service would be maintaining the culverts after the initial digging. The Board seemed to agree that it was a good idea. In fact, Mr. Andrews pointed that the State's comments on the New Draft Comprehensive plan had come back and including suggestions for updating the Town's culvert standards.
Section 6 (6.11 High Elevation Areas)
Returning to the Discussion on Section 6.11, Mr. Tracy declared that the ridgelines really
needed to be looked at and defined before we could assign numbers such as 300 feet to the
standards. Mr. Bright echoed this sentiment stating that it wasn't really a number issue so
much as the visual impact of developments that are poorly done and seem to be slammed "in-
your-face". He suggested more focus on conditions regarding camouflaging and less on
numeric values. Mr. Andrews further suggested striking points 4 and 5 under Section 6.11.3
and instead focusing on the visual impact. The Board agreed and decided to table Section
6.11 for the time being.
Section 6 (6.14 Lots)
Mr. Tracy directed attention to the issue of road frontage as it had becoming an increasingly
frequent problem for people trying to develop back lots and the Board had discussed
eliminating that stipulation . The Board ageed and also decided, after brief discussion to
emove the last sentence of Section 6.14.5 "Lots abutting a cul de sac…"
Chairman Clunan suggested the Board work on an inventory of scenic vistas and gaining
public input starting in March once the Planning Board's Workshop schedule would slow down
and wasn't quite so intense.
Mr. Rothe went over the basic administrative changes he made in this draft to clean-up the
appearance, clarity, format, and organization.
Section 7 Code Enforcement Officer
Mr. Rothe explained that although it seemed like a lot of additions to this Section much of it was just putting existing procedures in writing. The Board ran down through the additions made by Mr. Rothe confirming them with CEO, Mrs. Keene and had only a few corrections again mostly clerical. The changes included changing Conditional Use Permit to Conditional Use Application in places it was missed before. Mr. Andrews questioned the wording of Section 7.2.11 Permit Revocations and after brief discussion the Board decided to clarify by inserting "Revoke any permit [issued by the CEO]…" Mr. Tracy brought up the complication of defining the "front yard" as stated in Section 7.4.3 Permit Application and the Board agreed to change it to "Depth of setback of structure(s) and front adjoining lots." Mr. Andrews
asked Mrs. Keene how she felt about the addition of Section 7.5.1.1 as it would be more responsibility on her. Mrs. Keene responded that it was fine as she already does that anyway. Finally, the Board decided to end Section 7.2.2 after "activity will occur" removing the end of that sentence again due to road frontage issues.
Section 5 Conditional Use Permits
The Board reviewed the discussed additions once again and made minimal changes. They
asked Mr. Rothe to work on the wording of Section 5.2 Waiver so it was clearer that waivers
could be granted at the Board's discretion when furnished with a justifiable request and the
appropriate documentation but that they did not have to grant waivers. After lengthy
discussion, the Board also agreed to change Section 5.2.1.3 to Notice rather than Abutters
and notify those within 200 feet. There were issues with upset residents who were not notified
under the old ordinance as they were not technically abutters but they were affected by the
developments. Therefore, this new system of notification was introduced. However, the Board
felt that the initial 500 feet was too vast for a small town and would include notifying the entire
Town for each application so they agreed on 200 feet as adequate radii.
The Board further discussed Section 5.2.1.9 Technical and Financial Ability questioning
whether it was necessary at this stage in development. Mr. Rothe explained that it was a
common standard that is good to implement and would help reduce wasting the Board's time
with less serious or infeasible applications. The Board agreed to keep it along with the rest.
IV. Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. The next scheduled meeting/public hearing(s) is at 5:00 p.m., Thursday 31, 2008 in the Meeting Room, Town Hall, Northeast Harbor.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Reilly, Secretary
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