CAMDEN — The Planning Board in Camden will hold four public hearings this evening beginning at 5 p.m. on land use amendments that it is proposing will appear before voters at June Town Meeting. The ordinance amendments include short-term rental definitions and rules governing them, as well as new rules for piers.

There is also a public hearing on a proposed zoning change for a parcel of land on the corner of Union and Elm streets, which is home to the Elm Street School. There, School Administrative District hopes to convert the school to apartments, including the ground floor.

The Planning Board will convene at 5 p.m. in the French Meeting Room, in the Camden Town Office.

The Planning Board Public Hearing process precedes the Select Board consideration of the ordinance amendments, which will follow if the Planning Board formally votes this evening to send the proposed amendments along to the Select Board with a recommendation to put them before voters for final consideration.

Public Hearing Notice

Camden Planning Board Agenda 02.29.24

Public Hearing Pier Amendments Final Draft 02.13.24

Proposed language for pier construction amendments stipulates that new residential piers be allowed only if a professional engineer has certified that a land-attached float is not a feasible or practicable alternative for servicing vessels, “and that no other alternative is available or practicable, such as an out-haul system, or mooring or dock space at a marina or yacht club within three miles of the site.”

Additionally, no residential piers are to be built within 200 feet from the Camden Hills State Park shoreline boundary, or any public right of way providing access to outer and inner harbor.

No piers are to be built in significant wildlife habitat of values of one or higher (as designated by Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 2024); likewise no piers to be in tidal wildlife habitat, or eelgrass locations designated by Maine Dept. of Marine Resources.

No piers are to be built on or near (within 100 feet) areas of unstable bluffs, per the Coastal Bluff map of Maine Geologic Survey.

Additional languages governs flood map locations, construction requirements, and maintenance.

Public Hearing 2 AUE Amendments

Accessory dwelling units are defined as 600 square feet or smaller of living area.

Proposed amendments add that the ADU is to serve as a primary resident of its occupant.

The ADU is also to be subordinate to the principal structure in size and may be attacked or detached.

For accessory units permitted before June 17, 1997, there is not a primary residence requirement

Public Hearing 3  SAD 28 multi-family amendments

This proposed zoning change comes from School Administrative District 28 (Camden-Rockport K-8), which wants to use the ground floor of the Elm Street School for apartments, as it plans to convert the entire building to living quarters for teachers and additional education staff.

Read more about the plans: Plan to convert Camden’s Elm Street School to workforce apartments gathers steam

The proposed ordinance language change includes: “The restriction on residential use on a floor at street level shall not apply to structures that are owned by a school administrative district.”

Public Hearing 4 Chapter 290 STR amendments - definitions and uses

The short-term rental proposed ordinance changes include a list of four new definitions of such dwelling units, as well as a definition of a transient occupant.

The Planning Board is then suggesting which municipal zoning districts will allow any or all of the four defined types of rentals.

The STU amendment is related to the language change of the ADU definition in that it the proposed Residential Short-Term Rental stipulates that a STU on a lot owned by a licensee as a primary residence who is not “ in residence” are permitted but not with ADUs constructed after June 17, 1997.  

Extensive public comment has been submitted concerning proposed STU amendment language and can be found here: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/camdenme/Public%20Comment%20Emails.pdf