Case focuses on use of Ells Pier in downtown Bar Harbor for small cruise ship disembarkations.
Mar 03, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank.
BAR HARBOR—Superior Court Judge Michael A Duddy decided that Charles Sidman does indeed count as an aggrieved party under the town’s ordinance when it comes to the administrative appeal of the town’s cruise ship disembarkation permit for the town pier.
The March 2 ruling means that the town’s appeals board’s decision that Sidman lacked standing is vacated. It will now go back to the board.
“Today’s court decision was a minor, but significant nonetheless, win in a long campaign to which we are totally committed,” Sidman said Monday afternoon. “It showed that the would-be despots who run our town (at our expense) cannot always avoid a court’s consideration of the legal merits and perhaps then correcting their misbehavior by a routine first tactic of slandering and trying to disenfranchise the messenger. Net:net, a small victory and recognition for citizens’ rights and the rule of law. On we go, with kudos to Attorney Papazian!”
Robert Papazian (Gebhardt & Kiefer) represented Sidman at both the town’s appeals board meeting and Portland court proceedings.
In June 2025, the town’s appeals board had denied standing to Sidman, a local business owner and lead petitioner of a citizen’s petition that significantly decreased cruise ship visits in Bar Harbor. That separate case is still in appeals.
This case involves Sidman appealing the town’s decision to allow small cruise ships to disembark passengers at 23 Ells Pier.
Ells Pier is the town pier at the end of West Street. The cruise ships who can disembark passengers there are American Cruise Line ships, which have American flags (meaning that they don’t require Customs officials) and are smaller cruise ships, typically holding approximately 100-200 passengers.
Because American Cruise Lines (ACL) ships are United States flagged vessels, the town doesn’t need a secure facility to disembark its passengers, according to Harbormaster Chris Wharff. The company’s tenders tend to carry 30 passengers at a time.
The appeal would have been about the town’s issuing a disembarkation facility permit to itself on land zoned “Shoreland General Development 1.” Sidman and his attorney would have argued that this is not an allowed use in the zone. However, since the board decided he lacked standing in June, they could not.
Judge Duddy wrote, “The ourt concludes that Charles Sidman is an ‘aggrieved party’ under the ordinance because he has established that his property is directly or indirectly affected by the permit. Thus, Sidman has standing to pursue his administrative appeal.”
During the appeals board meeting, town attorney Stephen Wagner (Rudman Winchell) had argued that because Sidman is not a direct neighbor to the pier and his property is on Mount Desert Street, that Sidman’s interest is no different than the general population’s since it is 400 meters away.
Papazian had argued that abutter status was not needed for particularized injury.
Judge Duddy denied that the appeal fee was unconstitutional.
The Town of Bar Harbor issued a statement on March 2, writing, “In Charles Sidman v. Town of Bar Harbor, Docket Number BCD-APP-2025-00016, the Business and Consumer Court ruled today on the limited threshold issue of standing in the pending appeal concerning the Cruise Ship Disembarkation Permit for the Town Pier. The court concluded that Mr. Sidman has standing to pursue an administrative appeal and therefore vacated the Board of Appeals’ prior decision denying the appeal for lack of standing and remanded the matter for further proceedings.
“The court did not reach the merits of the underlying permit decision and declined to rule in Mr. Sidman’s favor on his remaining arguments, including his constitutional challenge to the administrative appeal filing fee.
“The matter will now return to the Board of Appeals for consideration under the established procedures and the town continues to believe the Cruise Ship Disembarkation Permit was properly issued in accordance with the applicable ordinances and looks forward to the board’s review.”
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
2026
183KB ∙ PDF file
Town’s Appeals Board Denies Charles Sidman Standing in Appeal Concerning Whether Town Can Disembark Cruise Ship Passengers on Ells Pier.
Application Materials
- Application (submitted May 9, 2025)
- Additional Submission-1 (Submitted June 4, 2025)
- Additional Submission-2 (Submitted June 4, 2025)
- Additional Submission-3 (Submitted June 4, 2025)
- Town of Bar Harbor Lawyer Submission (submitted June 17, 2025)
- Town of Bar Harbor Lawyer Submission – Letter (submitted June 17, 2025)
- Golden Anchor Interested Party Submission – Letter (submitted June 17, 2025)
- Golden Anchor Interested Party Submission (submitted June 17, 2025)
- ACL (American Cruise Lines) Interested Party Letter (submitted June 17, 2025)
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