November 08, 2024
VOTE 2001

Drive-through windows banned Bar Harbor voters act to limit growth of fast-food establishments

BAR HARBOR – Voters narrowly approved a zoning change Tuesday to outlaw drive-through restaurant windows within town limits.

According to supporters, the prohibition was designed to limit the growth of fast-food restaurants and their resultant traffic and litter problems – particularly along Route 3 where eateries were approved as a property use just last spring.

The ban passed by a vote of 578-463.

Voters also approved a threefold increase in the pay of town councilors, raising the annual stipend from $500 to $1,500 for regular members and from $600 to $1,800 for the chairman.

The stipend increase, which was an amendment to the town’s charter, passed by a vote of 756-285.

Voters also approved a slate of four minor changes to the town’s land use zoning ordinance.

A new requirement that developers show existing and grandfathered parking spaces on building plans passed by a vote of 891-116.

A proposal to use the standards listed in the federal Americans With Disabilities Act to determine the required size of handicapped parking spaces passed by a vote of 928-98.

A new requirement that developers planning to construct apartment buildings of more than two units go before the planning board for approval passed by a vote of 789-207.

A wording change that would link the size of trees required for development screening to measurements used by landscapers and nurseries passed by a vote of 826-162.

A single item failed with Bar Harbor voters, who supported all six state bonds by a comfortable margin. A property owner’s request to have the zoning of his land changed failed by a vote of 717-247. The property owner had revoked his support for the change before the election.


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