MOUNT DESERT ISLANDER • March 21, 2022
A group of residents has launched a citizen initiative to allow town voters to decide whether to limit the number of cruise ship passengers allowed to disembark in town on a given day. The group presented the language of a land use ordinance amendment to the Bar Harbor Town Clerk seeking to limit the number of cruise ship passengers to no more than 1,000 per day regardless of the number of ships in port. Three hundred signatures are required to put the question to town voters. A survey conducted in 2021 found a majority of Bar Harbor residents think cruise ship traffic is too high and has a negative impact on the quality of life in town.