BAR HARBOR — A federal court has denied a request by businesses and river pilots for an injunction to temporarily suspend local cruise ship restrictions that are currently under appeal.
If it had been granted, the injunction would have stopped the town of Bar Harbor from pursuing those cruise limits until after the decision on the appeal. The request is now likely headed back to federal court.
The Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association said Wednesday that the organization is content to let the matter follow the path specified by the court.
The town is currently pursuing cruise ship disembarkation changes approved by voters in November 2022 and is also pursuing a second track of action which involves public interactions and potential changes to the land use ordinance.
At its Tuesday night meeting, the town council unanimously amended one ordinance, and moved the cruise ship disembarkation ordinance to a June 18 public hearing, and it directed Town Manager James Smith to look for ways to begin to gather public input and feedback in order to put in place regulatory tools to manage cruise ship visitation.
The new rules in the town’s ordinances and operating procedures cut cruise ship visitations to 1,000 disembarkations a day. If there are more than 1,000 disembarkations, fines occur. The changes are meant to be embedded within the town’s land use ordinance.
Opponents say that since those limits are so low, it will cut most, if not all, visitation, and that this will impact both local businesses and the town’s budget. Proponents say that the passengers cause pedestrian congestion on sidewalks and decrease the quality of life for Bar Harbor residents.
The request for an injunction was “denied without prejudice,” meaning that one can be sought again at a later point.
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