Old Town city councilors on Monday criticized a proposal to charge a fee to owners of the roughly 200 vacant and abandoned properties in the city, an approach that has been tried in neighboring communities with apparent success.
Economic Development Director E.J. Roach brought the idea to the City Council as a way to identify underutilized properties in the city and bring in new residents and businesses.
The new fees could change the number of available or developed commercial and residential properties in Old Town at a time when the city is trying to bring in more residents and foster a more business-friendly environment despite multiple vacant storefronts across downtown.
Bangor and Brewer already require property owners to register vacant buildings in an initiative to keep cities safer and create more liveable space, according to the ordinances. Bangor had 70 vacant buildings when the City Council last raised its fee in May of 2023. That number decreased to 56 in August of 2024.
An estimated 200 to 225 buildings are vacant or abandoned in Old Town, but there could be more depending on how the city wants to categorize the properties, according to Roach. The buildings were deemed vacant or abandoned because they have had their water shut off through the water district but still have a sewer account with the city.
Between 80 and 85 percent, or roughly 160, of the vacant properties are residential. There are 3,797 housing units in Old Town, according to the United States Census Bureau.
The proposed vacancy ordinance would have exemptions for active military members and seasonal residents along with businesses in development.
Multiple councilors said the ordinance would be too intrusive on the community because of the process of determining what buildings would need to apply for a vacant building permit.
“I think it’s a step too far,” Councilor Linda McLeod said. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t look into it, but I think it’s just more of an invasion [of privacy].”
The council said the city should continue to look into the possibility of adding an ordinance based on current vacant property registration ordinances in Brewer, Bangor and Rumford.
The ordinance was previously brought up at meetings of the Downtown Old Town group that oversees improving the downtown area. Business owners, even those with vacant properties, have been in support of the ordinance as a way to bring in more shops to the city, Roach said.
Roach said an ordinance would require Old Town’s code enforcement to verify what buildings were vacant, but it would both bring in money with the fees and combat blight, eyesores and devalue across the city.
“It’s another tool in the toolbox to encourage development throughout the community,” Roach said.
If a $750 fee per property were put in place, the city could bring in $150,000 from the 200 properties. The Brewer fee currently starts at $750 while the Bangor fee starts at $500. The fees double with each permit renewal which occurs twice a year. In theory, the increasing fees would push property owners to find tenants or sell their properties.
The fee would attempt to pressure banks to sell foreclosed property with the hope that local developers and families would own more property in the city, Roach said.
Previously, Roach said there was no exhaustive list of all of the properties that could be affected by the ordinance but did name 284 Main St. and 2 Wood St. as two properties that would be affected if the ordinance were in effect today.
Discussion about the ordinance will continue at the next economic development committee meeting on Aug. 19. The ordinance would ultimately need to be approved by the City Council.