BAR HARBOR, Maine — In a close decision, Bar Harbor residents voted to maintain the town's current limit of 1,000 cruise ship passengers that can come ashore per day.
A "Yes" vote on Article 4 would have repealed the current limit and replaced it with a 3,200 daily passenger cap and monthly limit of 20,000 during peak season. It was narrowly defeated by 63 votes.
Many longtime supporters of the 1,000-person limit, like Charlie Sidman who originally got the cap on the ballot in 2022, are pleased with the outcome.
"Obviously, I am delighted," he said.
Sidman said the vote is a victory for residents, keeping cruise ship crowds down.
"We hear over and over and over again that Bar Harbor is just not the pleasant place they fell in love with," he said. "It's too crowded, they can't park, they can't go down the sidewalk. People are staying away and that hurts everybody."
Andrew Geel, an innkeeper in Bar Harbor, said the cruise ship traffic has affected his visitors.
"It was kind of out of control and unchecked," Geel said. "It kind of made the experience for the majority of our guests in Bar Harbor to kind of suffer."
The Bar Harbor Town Council proposed the increased cap that was rejected.
Town councilors said the plan would have put regulation of cruise ship passengers in the town's hands, making it easier to enforce and avoid litigation.
"We just have to keep working through this, keep working through each challenge that comes up, and figuring out solutions and ways through that so we can do what the people are asking us to do," Val Peacock, Bar Harbor Town Council Chair, said.
The local business community made up many of the voters in support of raising the passenger limit.
Many business owners said they've seen a decrease in customers since the cruise ship passenger limit was put into effect.
"There is a big fear from businesses on how to adapt," Executive Director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce Everal Eaton said. "For some of the businesses, it's really making them look at their budgets for next year in terms of hiring and how they support the community."
Now that Bar Harbor's cruise season has ended, residents and businesses await the return of ships in April to see how the 1,000-passenger cap will continue to shape the town's economy.
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to the Association to Preserve and Protect Local Livelihoods, the organization that has pushed back against the passenger limit in court, but has not heard back.