BAR HARBOR - May 3, 2022 - Organizer Charles Sidman announced today that he and his group have collected 450 signatures - only 300 were needed - and filed them last week with the town clerk to be placed as a ballot question in November to cap cruise ship visitors at 1,000 a day in 2022.
Called the “Bar Harbor Cruise Ship Disembarkation Initiative,” the signatures were gathered in just over a month, “with people absolutely coming out of the woodwork wanting to circulate and/or sign,” Sidman said.
“Now onto the Town Council, and then to the ballot box (hopefully in November), with the petition if approved then becoming operational immediately with an effective date of 3/17/22.”
The citizens group is proposing to amend the land use ordinance to prohibit property owners from disembarking more than 1,000 persons a day in the aggregate or face a penalty.
The citizens took it upon themselves to act after a Town Council effort sputtered over the past year, when it decided to negotiate with the industry instead of enforcing any caps. A subcommittee, consisting of members Jill Goldthwait, Val Peacock and the town manager, was created but has reported nothing about its progress or whether it still exists.
Instead, Goldthwait publicly criticized Sidman’s effort at a recent council meeting.
Just wondering how a vote in November 2022 is going to become effective in March 2022 (i.e. 2 months ago)?