LABOR DAY SPECIAL: Bar Harbor planner says daytime population spiked 6 times (minimum)

Most comprehensive snap shot yet of overwrought tourism on MDI; Some visitors say they are being priced out of Acadia National Park

BAR HARBOR, Sept. 2, 2023 - - Is there a more propitious time to take a snap shot of how our little island has been pushed to the brink than on its most heavily traveled holiday weekend?

Tourists pushed peak daytime population to six times the number of residents during the tourist season, according to the town planner who said her estimate was “conservatively calculated.”

Applying the same assumption for the rest of the island, which has about the same population as Bar Harbor, would it be fair to project more than 60,000 persons on MDI in July and August during the day?

That would make MDI one of the top five cities in population in Maine. Bangor is the third largest municipality in Maine with 32,000 residents.

The report from planner Michele Gagnon is part of the town’s effort to calculate its “carrying capacity” for tourism, as the Town Council is grappling with ways to address citizens complaints about overcrowding. She is presenting it to the council Tuesday night.

(No such effort is underway in neighboring Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor and Tremont, as if they do not have the same challenges. All MDI towns are in the wide shadow cast by Acadia National Park.)

“We have prepared this Housing and Tourism Overview as housing and tourism have been at the forefront of many community and Town Council discussions,” Gagnon stated. “We envision such an overview to be presented annually. Eventually, we would like this overview to be presented as a consistent set of data and benchmarks where we can show trends and assess performance.”

As if on cue, Acadia National Park this week issued a press release boasting of its economic impact on the region without consideration of any of the collateral downside on the quality of life for island residents.

Less than one third of the workforce live here, according to surveys, as housing prices are out of reach for many.

So how do restaurants and lodging facilities benefit Bar Harbor when two thirds of their employees live off island, buying groceries and gas, shopping, and conducting everyday economic activity away from their source of income.

Town Finance Director Sarah Gilbert reported that Bar Harbor generated $20,126,508 in sales tax revenue for the state in 2022 but received only $510,784 in revenue share.

That certainly is not enough to cover the public works staff emptying trash cans and hauling the contents to the transfer station, nor the EMT first responders whenever there is a mishap on one of the park’s trails, nor the police covering for officers directing traffic on West Street, nor infrastructure cost to keep the tourism industry humming.

The town budget was up $2 million - almost 10 percent - requiring an 11.5 percent tax increase this year.

How is that an economic benefit for the family on Ledgelawn Avenue who sees all the costs, traffic and other hassles and none of the economic upside?

Gagnon’s report verified what we already suspected about traffic which showed a 6 percent increase over last year, although Gagnon said she had expected a bigger jump. Several accidents at the head of the island this summer drew wide attention to the backups on Routes 3 and 102.

At a recent Town Council meeting, member Matt Hochman proposed a six-month moratorium on permitting “transient accommodations” so the town may catch its breath and review options.

There are now 5,791 motel/hotel/bed and breakfast rooms, campsites and short-term vacation rentals in a town with only 3,416 dwelling units, the report stated.

Acadia National Park’s press release was part of a public campaign to win Congressional support for more funding for the National Park Service.

“That (tourism) spending supported nearly 6,700 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit of $691 million,” it stated in a press release.

National Park Service Director Chuck Sams stated,

“The impact of tourism to national parks is undeniable: bringing jobs and revenue to communities in every state in the country and making national parks an essential driver to the national economy.”

But who does it really benefit?

The press release was followed by an outpouring of comments on social media from citizens who posted that they no longer can afford to come here.

Joan Peters wrote, “After coming for every year for the last 20+years, BH and Acadia are sadly off off our list. We’ve been priced out.”

That was followed by John Eichhorn, “Same here. Been going 6 years in the past 10 years to BH/MDI. We love it … July was a great vacation, but killed us financially. Informed my wife we are moving on to somewhere else next summer.”

Are national parks becoming a playground for the wealthy?

On Friday, the the only room available at the Hampton Inn was going for $2,286 on hotels.com for the three-night weekend. The Hampton Inn!

Acadia Superintendent Kevin Schneider did not address this conundrum in his press release. He’s not paid to worry about such matters, like how the tourist industry has hived off a sizable chunk of the year-round housing stock for their seasonal workers.

In this regard, Gagnon only could cite a 4-year-old survey showing 284 dwelling units used for this purpose. It’s anyone’s guess what that number is today. Safe to say the growth exceeded the addition of the 50 new dwelling units in town.

Bar Harbor is the only municipality on MDI with a codified strategy to attack the housing crisis after a December 2022 town study showed it needed 616 new dwelling units by 2033, with 524 as rentals.

Two non-profits on MDI - Island Housing Trust and MD 365 - have been pursuing an ownership model. Since 1989, IHT has built 45 affordable houses for families, and MD 365 is locked in a battle with neighbors to build six units in Northeast Harbor.

But the need is in rentals. High interest rates will be a huge gating factor for years to come as well.

Bar Harbor has a multi-prong strategy to battle the housing crisis. Since 2020, it has enacted nine amendments to the land-use ordinance - from stimulating dorm-style housing for seasonal workers to enacting a moratorium on short-term vacation rentals.

Of all the data presented by Gagnon, the number of STRs and dorm-style occupation were two categories pointing in a positive direction. Total short-term rentals have declined from 740 to 637 in two years.

The number of workers in seasonal housing designed as shared accommodation or dorms went from eight to 154 in two years. Hotelier David Witham accounts for most of that. He is building a dorm on Kebo Street at the entrance to the village which should be completed next summer. Witham has vowed to return current staff housing back to the year-round housing stock.

Is compromise possible in Northeast Harbor workforce housing standoff?

NORTHEAST HARBOR - What does the unassuming house above have anything to do with the neighborhood row in the village over six units of workforce housing?

It is a two-bedroom, one-bath cottage asking way too steep a price of $599,000. Here is the listing.

Want something in the village instead?

How about this?

The listing agent wrote that the space above the garage may be converted to studio, say, for a working couple.

It is asking $695,000. It’s an 8-minute walk to the elementary school.

https://www.mainelistings.com/listings/ME/Mount-Desert/04662/41-Sylvan-Road/1560489

MD 365, which is the non-profit seeking to build the six units on an acre of land, has riled some neighbors who question the proposed density even though the town years ago amended its zoning ordinance to allow such higher density use for workforce housing. The state now is mandating similar changes.

MD 365 copied the ownership model from the Island Housing Trust (see above). Back in 1989, when IHT was conceived, it was a good idea. Affordable housing was a challenge but not at what we would consider a crisis.

But the audience it serves is limited, and a new economic force - inflation - is bound to trip up many aspiring owners. Maine Housing’s First Loan Program is now offering loans with an APR of 6.052 percent.

The model also requires significant lead time to acquire land, seek permits, construct homes and, in the case of MD 365, deal with the neighbors.

Meanwhile, the crisis is upon us. And it’s not an ownership crisis.

Consider this question:

Would MD 365 consider reducing its density to three units in exchange for three existing units which may be occupied immediately by a nurse, cop, teacher, ambulance driver, fire fighter, carpenter, electrician, plumber who would pay a below-market rent?

The one thing the opponents of the project have plenty of is money.

Would they consider a tax-deductible donation to help make that trade-off?

MD 365 has three other lots in the same neighborhood and will no doubt engage the same kind of resistance if it proposes the same density.

Lawyers for the neighbors could tie up the matter for years.

(In the 10-year battle in Hall Quarry, legal briefs were recently filed in the appeal of the town’s decision to deny the quarry owner a permit to resume operations after residential homes were built there. The stone-cutting business was dormant for decades.)

Even if MD 365’s application succeeds, its ownership model is limiting.

The Summer Residents Association raised more than $800,000 in two months during the pandemic to assist 56 businesses.

That kind of largesse would salve much of the pain between the year-rounders and seasonal residents if it purchased the above homes for immediate use as affordable, workforce housing. In exchange MD 365 would agree to reduce its footprint to just three units. It would be the neighborly thing to do to preserve the community, from both sides.

Planning board chair reverses course on naming of new members

The select board will consider Planning Board chair Bill Hanley’s recommendation to name Allen Kimmerly as a regular member, even though Hanley said Aug. 9 that he expected Kimmerly to be an alternative member for an undesignated time period.

More importantly, Hanley wants to move former school board chair Gail Marshall to the alternate slot.

As a retired attorney, Marshall is well schooled in the affairs of the town and familiar with parliamentary proceedings as a former board chair.

On Aug. 26 the QSJ reported on Marshall’s interest in the board and her passionate views to bring back more year-round residents.

In a commentary June 19 in the Islander, “Who gets to define a community?” Marshall wrote that, “The seasonal residents do not have to hire a lawyer to contest this project. It is a choice. They do not have to react with fear and suspicion. That is a choice. By making that choice, they risk turning this into an ‘us vs. them’ debate.

“We’d all be far better served if they tried to respect the very few remaining spaces for year-round residents, realizing they might have as much to gain in the bargain. We should not tolerate exclusionary economic redlining by zoning ordinance. Let the project continue through the Planning Board approval process without litigious interference.”

Marshall was witness to the sharp decline of enrollment at Mount Desert Elementary School in her years on the school committee.

“No one who lives here needs to be told that our communities are greatly imperiled by the extreme imbalance in our housing availability. We need far more housing for families who are not wealthy and want to live, work and contribute to the community year-round. We need many more nurses, ed techs, bus drivers, grocery clerks, plumbers, public safety workers, etc.”

Asked about Hanley’s flip-flop, Marshall wrote in an email:

“Apparently there was a misunderstanding about Mr. Kimmerly’s appointment. If the Select board approves, he will be changed to a full member and I will be an alternate. An alternate can- and I would - attend meetings and participate in board business. I simply would not be voting unless another is absent. It seems very similar to how AOS/High School boards have long operated.

”Regarding voting, given your written description of me as a supporter of workforce housing: That description might suggest to a cynical observer that I have a specific agenda for requesting appointment.  I am deeply opposed to that sort of behavior. It is not why I have requested a seat on the Planning Board. Further, it is highly unlikely I would vote on that proposal. And, even if I could, I would not do so if I felt I was not fully versed in the law, ordinance and record of the application, something which would be a very heavy lift to accomplish. My first and foremost objective is to deeply immerse myself the the subject matter. I have a lot to learn.”