Bangor adopts ban on loitering

BANGOR – City councilors adopted an amended version of a ban on loitering in two city-owned parking lots downtown, but agreed to hold off on a third parking lot to allow more time for problem-solving with the owners of the downtown nightclub that prompted the measure.

The ban affects the upper Abbott Square and Haynes Court parking lots, but not the lower Abbot Square parking lot, or the one closest to Club Gemini, which owns no parking spaces of its own.

Ways to mitigate noise and other problems connected to Club Gemini on Harlow Street will be the focus of a July 26 meeting of the council’s government operations committee, which oversees police matters.

The issue, however, also might need to be discussed by the council’s transportation and infrastructure committee, which has jurisdiction over parking lots.

Residents of nearby apartments and condominium units have long endured the noise, but the complaints have grown louder since the opening of Club Gemini in the building that formerly housed the Spectrum.

Adding to the problem is a recently enacted state law prohibiting smoking in public places. The law has pushed patrons of downtown drinking establishments outside for cigarette breaks.

Councilors said they considered the issue an important one. As Chairman Frank Farrington put it, the council wants to support efforts to make downtown an attractive place for young adults – but not at the expense of neighbors’ ability to get a decent night’s sleep.

The loitering ban, effective between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., was recommended last month as a response to a growing number of complaints from downtown residents and others. The public still can use the lots during those hours, but only to “promptly park or remove a vehicle.”

Those refusing to comply could be charged with criminal trespass, City Solicitor Norman Heitmann said last month during council discussion about the ban.

The club, owned by twin brothers Matt and Pat Brann, has drawn large numbers of patrons, some of whom have been congregating in nearby city-owned parking lots, keeping nearby residents awake long past their bedtimes.

Since the issue came to the forefront, however, the Branns have met with various city officials, police department representatives and residents of Franklin Place, a nearby condominium complex.

According to a memorandum by City Manager Edward Barrett, the Branns have proposed several steps to address the city’s concerns, including:

. Hiring a sound engineer to see how performance noise, namely bass, can be better contained.

. Replacing an interior wooden wall with a concrete or block wall to cut exterior sound.

. Building an exterior wall on the back side of the building to create an added barrier. That would require an agreement with the city for the use of a portion of the lower Abbott lot.

. Investigating the feasibility of creating an indoor smoking area to eliminate patrons’ need to go outside for a smoke.

Given the owners’ willingness to work with the city and the neighborhood, councilors agreed to hold off action on the lower Abbott lot.

“There’s no question that this is a noisy operation,” Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick, who has checked out the parking lot situation around closing time, said during Monday’s meeting.

“This is your problem,” he said. “You’ve got to solve it.”

Gratwick and Councilor Susan Hawes were among the councilors who wanted the Branns to hire city police as an added measure, an option Police Chief Don Winslow said has worked well at Barnaby’s, an Odlin Road lounge.

Given the department’s two-officer, four-hour minimum, hiring city police would cost the Branns $380 a night, Winslow said.