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Home My WebLink About2024-07-22 24-237 Ordinance24-237 07/22/2024 CITY COUNCIL ACTION Council Meeting Date: July 22, 2024 Item No: 24-237 Responsible Dept: Planning Action Requested: Ordinance Map/Lot: n/a Title, Ordinance Amending Chapter 165, Land Development Code, by Exempting Certain Uses from Requiring a Land Development Permit. Summary This Ordinance will amend Chapter 165, Land Development Code, by replacing the language in subsections 7- 10 of §165-111(A) with language that more closely matches the State subdivision requirements. The current language requires a Land Development Permit for construction or renovation of uses with 3 or more residential or commercial units. While the Code does need to require this permit for new construction of 3 or more residential units to comply with State subdivision law, the additional requirements on renovation and on commercial units are more restrictive than the State's subdivision requirements, they discourage investment into renovation of existing structures, and they create a burden for small scale property owners simply wanting to add 1 dwelling unit to their property or wanting to renovate previously discontinued units to bring them back online. This work is in keeping with the Comprehensive Plan and the Council directive to reduce regulatory barriers to housing development. Committee Action Committee: Planning Board Action: Staff Comments & Approvals Meeting Date: August 6, 2024 For: Against: a-�* 10-;-) AW�4 - - City Manager V City Solicitor I Inance Director Introduced for: First Reading and Referral 24-237 07/22/2024 CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE Date: July 22, 2024 Assigned to Councilor: Fish ORDINANCE, Amending Chapter 165, Land Development Code, by Exempting Certain Uses from Requiring a Land Development Permit. WHEREAS, at present, the current language in Chapter 165 requires a Land Development Permit for construction or renovation of uses with 3 or more residential or commercial units; WHEREAS, while the Code does need to require this permit for new construction of 3 or more residential units to comply with State subdivision law, the additional requirements on renovation and on commercial units are more restrictive than the State's subdivision requirements; WHEREAS, this language discourages investment into renovation of existing structures and creates a burden for property owners wishing to create 1 or 2 dwelling units; WHEREAS, this work is in keeping with the Comprehensive Plan and the Council directive to reduce regulatory barriers to housing development; BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BANGOR AS FOLLOWS, THAT Chapter 165 of the Code of the City of Bangor is amended as shown below: § 165-111 Site developments requiring permit. A. Any activity covered under this chapter shall require a land development permit under the following conditions: Tjx-C-A-P5ARU-1EtiE)R E)F renevatmen ef ene eF ngere buildings with three eF n9ere dwelling units, indudi uses. Construction or placement of 3 or more dwelling units on a tract or parcel of land within a 5- year period, including the division of a new structure or structures on a tract or parcel of land into or more dwellina units or the division of an existing structure or structures previously used for commercial or industrial use into 3 or more dwelling units. "Tract or parcel of land" and "new_ -QX structure or structures" take the same definitions outlined in 30-A M.R.S.A. W01. -etmen er renevatmen ef three er mere eemmereial units, ineluding but net limited te busil 1— k�117---rUTT-Use er site develepn9ent which, by adding ene er n9are residential er eemn9ereial units J..L►1:lR.l�ll 24-237 07/22/2024 Additions underlined, deletions struc4kr ffi W M e �'1 f� ` I �� .�.�� "" �� ./ � �1. F 1.�.� //; .q w '' I�EV'�� L��1"�T � M� .� CIT� �F BAI�T+G+C�R. PLANV�IC�ICr QIWI51ClN Memorandum To: Honorable Bangor City Council Debbie Laurie, City Manager From: Anja Collette, Planning Officer Date: August 21, 2024 CC: Courtney O'Donnell, Assistant City Manager David Szewczyk, City Solicitor Anne Krieg AICP — Director of Community & Economic Development Re: Planning Board Recommendation August 20, 2024 Amending Chapter 165, Land Development Code, by Exempting Certain Uses from Requiring a Land Development Permit Please accept this memorandum as the recommendation from the Planning Board for the noted item. The Planning Board considered this item at two noticed public hearings on August 6 and August 20, 2024. The meeting at which the vote was made (August 20t") was conducted in the Council Chambers at City Hall and on Zoom. Members in attendance in the Chambers were Chair Reese Perkins, Vice Chair Ted Brush, Members Trish Hayes, Jonathan Boucher, Don Meagher, and Mike Bazinet, and Alternate Member Janet Jonas. At the August 6t" meeting, the Planning Board voted to postpone their vote on the changes so that staff could evaluate changing the proposed language to be more user-friendly since there were concerns that the language from the State statute was difficult to understand. Staff returned with follow-up information and recommendations at the August 20t" meeting. The information in the memos from both meetings is outlined below. From the August 6t" staff inemo: A. The purpose of this proposal is to replace the language in subsections 7-10 of §165-111(A) (included in your packets) with language that more closely matches the State subdivision requirements. The current language requires a Land Development Permit for construction or renovation of uses with 3 or more residential or commercial units. B. In order to comply with State subdivision law, the Code does still need to require this permit for new construction of 3 or more residential units, as well as conversion of commercial or industrial space into 3 or more dwelling units. However, the additional requirements on renovation and on the construction of commercial units go above and beyond the State's subdivision requirements. They also discourage investment into renovation of existing structures and they create a burden for small scale developers and property owners simply wanting to add 1 dwelling unit to their property or wanting to renovate previously discontinued units to bring them back online. 73 HARLOW STREET,BANGOR,ME 04401 TELEPHONE: (207)992-4280 FAX: (207) 945-4447 WWW.BANGORMAINE.GOV CITY OF BANGOR PLANNING DIVISION PLANNING BOARD RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL 8.20.2024 Te�t Change-Land Development Permit Requirements C. Additionally, there isn't currently a clear need for requiring this permit for renovation since renovation often only affects the interior of a building and if it does significantly affect exterior work, it would typically trigger the need for Planning Board or staff approval via other portions of the Code. Similarly, construction of commercial units would already trigger Planning Board approval through the requirement for any uses in the City's commercial zones to receive a Land Development Permit. D. The proposed amendment to replace the noted language in the Code with language mirroring the State subdivision statute is in keeping with the Comprehensive Plan and the Council directive to reduce regulatory barriers to housing development. From the August 20t" staff inemo: A. This item was reviewed at your last meeting and was postponed to give staff time to determine if the wording of the proposed language could be changed on the current Council order. Staff have determined that it would not be possible to change the wording on this order and that the order would either need to be approved or denied as is, and a new order would need to be brought forward with revised language. B. Additionally, upon further discussion, staff have determined that it would not be advisable to deviate from the State language since using this language ensures that the City is following State law. Other communities such as Portland simply refer to the State statute in their codes rather than attempting to create language at all for this purpose. C. It should also be noted that this section of the Code will be revisited during the land use code re- write that is about to begin. During that process, staff and the consultants will analyze this section very closely to ensure that it is both user-friendly and compliant with State law. Member Boucher stated that he felt comfortable relying on staff to interpret the proposed language of the ordinance if inembers of the public or others have questions about it since this is something that is already done for the Code in general. There were no comments from the public. Member Boucher moved to recommend to City Council that the proposed changes ought to pass. Member Bazinet seconded the motion. The motion passed 7:0 with all members voting in favor. The result of the vote is that a majority of Planning Board members voted to recommend that the proposed changes ought to pass. Anja Collette Page 2 � 2 IN CITY COUNCIL JULY 22, 2024 COrd 24-237 First Reading and Referral to Planning Board Meeting on August 6, 2024 ��:,w�,��° '" .�� °,„�,��"��,°��*°.�� CITY CLERK IN CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 26, 2024 COrd 24-237 Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 7—0 Councilors Voting Yes: Deane, Fish, Fournier, Hawes, Tremble, Yacoubagha, Pelletier Councilors Voting No: None Passed ��.�` � M,�� w�� s� CITY CLERK