[Amended 5-22-2000 by Ord. No. 00-203; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 08-070]
A. There is hereby established a Planning Board for the
City of Bangor which shall consist of seven regular members and one
alternate member, who shall be appointed by the City Council. The
Planning Board shall, after the effective date of this article, act
as a Planning Board under the provisions of the Revised Statutes of
Maine, as amended.
[Amended 7-13-2009 by Ord. No. 09-223]
B. A quorum shall consist of five Planning Board members.
All members of the Planning Board shall be residents
of the City of Bangor, shall not be salaried officials of the City
and shall serve without compensation.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I, Art. I)]
The term of each appointed member shall be for
three years or until their successor has been appointed and has qualified.
Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner for the unexpired term.
No member shall serve more than two complete consecutive terms.
The Planning Board shall annually elect one
of its members as Chair.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I, Art. I)]
The Planning Board shall have full power and
authority to make such investigations, maps and reports, and recommendations
in connection therewith, relating to the planning and development
of the municipality as seem desirable to it; provided, however, that
the total expenditures for such purposes shall not exceed the appropriation
therefor, together with such gifts as may be placed at the disposal
of the Planning Board.
Each officer and department of the City is hereby
directed to give all reasonable aid, cooperation and information to
the Planning Board or to the authorized assistants of the Planning
Board, when so requested.
[Amended 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 08-070;
at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
It shall be the duty of the Planning Board to
make and adopt a Comprehensive Plan of the City and to perfect it
from time to time. Such Comprehensive Plan shall show existing and
desirable streets, highways, street grades, bridges and tunnels, viaducts,
public places, parks, parkways, playgrounds, roadways in streets and
parks, sites for public buildings and structures, use and building
zones, waterways, routes of railroads and buses, locations of sewers,
water conduits and other public utilities and other planning features.
Such Comprehensive Plan shall be established, added to and changed
from time to time by a majority vote of the Planning Board members
in attendance when adoption of the plan is considered. It shall be
a public record, but its purpose and effect shall be solely to aid
the Planning Board in the performance of its duties.
A. Changes in Comprehensive Plan. Whenever the Planning
Board shall have adopted a Comprehensive Plan or any part thereof,
then and thenceforth no street, park or other public way, ground,
place or space and no public building or structure shall be constructed
or authorized in the City and no change shall be made in the Zoning
Map of the City of Bangor until and unless the location and extent
thereof and the suggested change of the Zoning Map shall have been
submitted to the Planning Board and until the Planning Board shall
have made its report on any such matter submitted to it.
B. Failure of Board to act. The failure of the Planning
Board to act within 30 days from and after the date of submission
to it of such proposition as aforesaid shall be deemed to be its approval
of any such matter, unless a longer period is granted by the municipal
officers.
After the adopting of the Official Map, the
municipal officers shall, before approving any plat showing streets
or highways, refer such plat to the Planning Board for its report
and recommendation thereon, and the municipal officers shall not take
an action either approving or disapproving the plat until they have
received the report of the Planning Board, together with its recommendations
thereon.
A. Public hearing. Before making such report or recommendations,
as specified in this section, the Planning Board shall hold a public
hearing, which hearing shall be advertised in a daily newspaper of
general circulation in the City of Bangor at least 10 days before
the date of such hearing, the cost of said advertising to be paid
by the owner or developer. The Planning Board in its report may thereupon
approve, modify or disapprove such plan.
B. Disapproval of plats. If the Planning Board refuses
to approve any such plat submitted to it for its recommendation and
report, the reasons for said refusal shall be stated upon the records
of the Planning Board. After receiving the report of the Planning
Board, the municipal officers shall take action as they deem proper.
C. Failure of Board to act. If the Planning Board does
not make its report, with its recommendations thereon, within 45 days
from the date when said plat was referred to it, the Planning Board
shall be deemed to have approved said plat, and the municipal officers
shall take such action thereon as they deem proper.
D. Conditions precedent to approval. As a condition precedent
to its recommendation of approval of any plat, the Planning Board
may prescribe requirements of the extent to which and the manner in
which streets shall be graded and improved and water, sewer and other
utility mains, pipes, connections or other facilities shall be installed.
E. Plat approval requirements. In recommending the approval
of such plat, the Planning Board shall require that the streets and
highways shall have proper grades; shall be of sufficient width and
suitably located to accommodate the prospective traffic and to afford
adequate light, air and access, including access to firefighting equipment
and to buildings; and shall be coordinated so as to compose a convenient
system and so that the land shown on such plat shall be of such character
that it can be used for building purposes without danger to health,
and, also, in proper cases, that space for park or playground or other
recreation purposes of reasonable size is provided, and in determinations
concerning the streets, highways and parks, the Planning Board shall
take into consideration the prospective character of the development,
whether of residence, business or industry.
F. Plat requirements containing proposed streets. No
plat which includes a proposed street or way shall be approved by
the municipal officers except under the following conditions:
(1) The developer or owner has completed the work of grading and improving the proposed street or way in the manner and to the same extent as that required of the developer or owner by Chapter
271, Streets, Article
III, Establishment and Assessments, of the Code of the City of Bangor;
(2) The owner has signed an agreement to do the work prescribed in Subsection
F(1) above and has further agreed that if the work is not completed by the owner within a specified time, then the City of Bangor will have the right and obligation to complete the work. Such an agreement shall be accompanied by bond to be furnished by the owner, in the amount of the work, as determined by the City Engineer and approved by the City Manager; or
(3) The municipal officers have agreed to waive part or all of the requirements of Subsection
F(1) and
(2) above whenever the general public interest so requires.
G. Addition of plat to Official Map. Whenever such plat
shall be approved by the municipal officers, it shall be added to
the Official Map as an amendment thereto.