Forms/Links:
BANGOR - CITY MAP
FY11 Planning Division Processing Fee Schedule
Downtown Design Guidelines
(PDF - 118KB)
Bangor's 2005
Comprehensive Plan
Table of Contents
Planning Board Meetings, Agenda & Minutes
Penjajawoc Marsh Bangor Mall Management Commission
City of Bangor Map
73 Harlow Street
Bangor, ME 04401
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
City Services
Land and Building: Planning
Welcome to the Planning Division
The primary mission of the Planning Division is to promote and implement City policies and programs that conserve public resources, preserve community character, and enhance citizens’ quality of life, through long-range planning, by coordinating and guiding development, and by providing research and technical assistance.
The City’s volunteer Planning Board consists of seven regular members appointed by the City Council. Each member serves for a three-year term. The Board’s charge is to develop the City’s Comprehensive Plan, to make recommendations on rezoning requests, and to approve subdivisions and site plans.
The Planning Board meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the 3rd floor of Bangor City Hall.
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Essential to the Division’s mission is the preparation and maintenance of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The City of Bangor has been involved in comprehensive planning since 1948 when the Planning Board and Planning Department were established. The City adopted its first Master Plan in 1951.
Bangor’s current planning efforts grew out of the desire for planned growth and a local concern for the environment in the late 1960’s. The first Comprehensive Plan the City adopted in 1969 served as a development guide for Bangor throughout the 1970’s. The City adopted an update to the Zoning Ordinance In 1974 and an update to the Master Plan in 1979.
A Comprehensive Plan Committee established in 1989 to address the City’s rapid growth during the 1980’s oversaw the development of the first major revision of the Comprehensive Plan since its 1969 adoption. The Committee also
provided leadership in the Citizen Participation Program adopted by City Council and that included a number of components and tasks such as a community wide survey designed to solicit residents’ opinions on many planning issues.
The Bangor Comprehensive Plan Update adopted in June 1990 by the City Council was followed by a major revision of Bangor’s 1974 Zoning Ordinance that resulted in the current Land Development Code adopted in 1991.
In order to remain current and adjust to changing conditions, the City’s Plan was revised and updated in 2000 and in 2006 and such updates will continue. The City’s Plan includes descriptions and analyses of existing conditions and specific "planning elements" that address housing, economic development, community services, transportation systems, physical development, fiscal policy, historical and archeological resources, natural resources, and State and regional considerations, along with an Implementation Strategy and Action Program.
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One of the City’s major planning tools is its zoning ordinance. This ordinance outlines the types of land uses permitted in various locations throughout the City. Zones range from single-family residential to high intensity commercial and industrial. The overall intent of zoning is to insure the compatibility of land uses throughout Bangor. Zoning also provides a measure of predictability to land owners or potential land owners by providing them with information regarding the types of uses permitted on their property as well as on surrounding properties. Potential property owners are advised to check both the City’s Zoning District Map and Comprehensive Plan to determine what types of development are currently allowed or may be allowed in the future.
A property owner may apply for a zone change by submitting a zone change application to the Planning Office, located on the second floor of Bangor City Hall, along with the established processing fee and a newspaper advertising fee. Any zone change request must comply with the provisions of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
Once a zone change application has been received, it is placed on the City Council agenda for first reading and referral to the Planning Board where a public hearing is scheduled. Adjacent property owners are sent notices of the proposed change, and both opponents and proponents have the opportunity to speak at the public hearing. The Planning Board then makes a recommendation to the City Council based on the City’s Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan. The City Council then votes to either approve or reject the proposed zone change request. If approved, the change becomes effective ten days after Council action.
Applicants and potential applicants are urged to meet with Planning staff in advance of any formal request for a zone change.
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Many development projects also require a permit and/or Planning Board approval. These include, but are not necessarily limited to, subdivisions, mobile home parks, site plans for non-residential buildings, any conditional use permitted under the zoning ordinance, any change in use of a nonconforming use, off-street parking lots with 20 or more spaces, and certain projects involving grading and filling land. Property owners are urged to contact Code Enforcement to determine whether a permit is required for a particular project.
Initial application for a land development permit is made at the Code Enforcement Office located on the first floor of City Hall.
Once an application and the necessary plans and documents have been received, Code Enforcement will conduct a preliminary review and notify the applicant of any deficiencies. The application and plans are then forwarded to the Planning and Engineering Offices for further review.
Certain plans require the approval of the Planning Board. In those instances, the application and plans are placed on the Planning Board agenda and adjacent property owners are notified of the meeting. Within twenty-one days of the time final approval of a land development permit is before the Planning Board, the Board must approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the request. Once approved, the Code Enforcement Office is notified and the necessary permit is issued.
Projects over a certain size also require review under the Maine Site Location of Development Act. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has granted the City the authority to review most projects requiring such a permit. These permits may require additional information from applicants, and Code Enforcement and Planning staff are prepared to work with applicants to insure that all information is available. In most instances, the Planning Board can act on both local and state permits at the same meeting.
For more information about the Planning Division,
EMAIL US at planning@bangormaine.gov
CALL US at 207-992-4280
FAX US at 207-945-4447
OR VISIT US on the second floor of City Hall
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