Cruise ship limits are again on the poll in Bar Harbor, Maine. Two years in the past, the city’s residents voted to restrict the variety of ship passengers who might come ashore.
A majority voted to cap it at 1,000 passengers a day.
Bar Harbor ship restrict is again on the poll
Now, Bar Harbor is ready to vote once more on the difficulty in November. This time, a Sure vote might reverse the 2022 ordinance. Bar Harbor City Council has proposed a brand new system that it thinks would higher steadiness the wants of residents and cruise tourism-reliant companies.
A brand new licensing system proposal would impose a every day cruise ship passenger cap of three,200 but additionally require month-to-month and seasonal limits. For instance, through the busy Could-August cruise season, there could be a month-to-month restrict of 20,000. It will additionally name for some days to be designated ship-free.
Learn: Bar Harbor Passenger Restrict Partially Waived for 2024 Cruise Season
“A part of that is about having the instruments that we have to actually be capable to handle visitation into the longer term,” mentioned city council Chair, Valerie Peacock. “Our strategy has a every day passenger cap of three,200 nevertheless it additionally contains month-to-month caps and annual and seasonal caps as nicely and contracted days off.”
“It does give the city complete management over how a lot visitation and what number of ships and what number of passengers come sooner or later, however the city council and the individuals must work collectively to try this,” Peacock added.
Blended reactions to new cruise ship restrict proposal
The new poll query is garnering blended views amongst residents. Charles Sidman, who was instrumental in getting the unique cruise ship passenger cap on the poll in 2022, says the brand new possibility would probably diminish residents’ energy.
“The city is solely overtaken with cruise ship guests, and so they’re guests like anyone else, nevertheless it’s just too many individuals in too brief a time,” Sidman mentioned.
City officers say the present system is just too inflexible to implement successfully, resulting in many authorized challenges.
