Motorists, There Will be a Significant Mount Desert Street Traffic Interruption This Friday!
May 07, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank.
BAR HARBOR—The changes in how Bar Harbor treats special amusement permits had its first test, May 5, at a Town Council meeting.
“We have switched up the way we do special amusement permits in the Town of Bar Harbor,” Chair Val Peacock explained to those gathered.
Those permits are required to play amplified or unamplified music in places that also have a liquor license.
The process had come into some hiccups in the past two years, with some business owners feeling unfairly singled out in permit denials and some residents worried about their quality of life being upset from amplified music.
On Tuesday, the Town Council let people speak for up to three minutes at the public hearing on any or all the permit requests. Other than the applicants who spoke mostly to clarify their applications, only one resident chose to speak.
A neighbor of Atlantic Brewing’s Town Hill property said the music there was too loud.
“I can hear it in my house with the doors closed. I can’t go anywhere to get away from it unless I leave my house,” Eleanor Richardson said.
She’s not opposed to music happening, but she’d like it turned down and wanted to know how many days it would occur.
Music will be played two nights a week, according to Max Douglas from Mainely Meats at Atlantic Brewing. That will be Friday from 5-7 p.m. and Sunday afternoons from 2-5 p.m.
“I’m all about selling food. I’m all about keeping it down,” Douglas said.
Alex Maffucci said the brewery plans to do nothing different at its Knox Road location where there has been music for years.
He’s an abutting neighbor as well. He said they would look to make it more reasonable for neighbors. There were three letters from abutters as well.
“Obviously, we will take any consideration to make it more reasonable for other neighbors,” Maffucci said.
Permits were approved for Atlantic Brewing Midtown, Atlantic Brewing/Mainely Meat BBQ, Sand Bar Cottage Inn, Bar Harbor Winery, Lompoc Café, and Bar Harbor Lobster Bakes.
Now with the new procedure, next year, those businesses have to come back before the council again to get their permits renewed. After that, unless there are issues, the permits will just be administratively approved and not come to public hearing again.
“In theory it will help make it more efficient moving into the future,” Peacock said and will hopefully make space for conversations about locations creating concerns in the future.
“So far so good,” Councilor Steven Boucher said about the new application process.
Vice Chair Maya Caines thanked people for putting together the new process.
Councilor Randell Sprague also said he appreciated the new process.
“I think it will make it easier for everyone,” Sprague said.
“There’s this balance of folks coming out in the community,” Peacock had said during the revisioning of the process in February. “I like the idea of the council being able to propose—based on what we’re hearing from the folks in the room about what the concerns are—propose some solutions within that space, but I don’t really want to have this sort of back and forth negotiation with the crowd in the room at the expense of the applicant in the middle of that.”
Graves said there are currently approximately two dozen special amusement permits in Bar Harbor. As of July 15, 2025, there had been 19 permits that went before the council. At that time, two had been denied: Siam Orchid and The Links Pub. Those permits are renewed annually.
LICENSES
The Town Council also renewed bus licenses for Acadia National Park Tours and bus and limousine licenses for Oli’s Trolley as well as a new taxi license for King of Kings Car Group.
TEMPORARY ADVISORY GROUP
The Town Council authorized town staff to establish a temporary advisory group as part of EPA grant-funded work on the Northeast Creek Watershed Management Plan.
Town Manager James Smith said that the staff has had conversations from multiple agencies as well as its own Conservation Commission and Marine Resources Committee. Those agencies included the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Acadia National Park, Friends of Acadia, MDI Biological Laboratory, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Downeast Audubon, the Chair of the Bar Harbor Marine Resources Committee, and the Chair of the Bar Harbor Conservation Commission.
Chair Peacock asked if it they were publicly noticed meetings.
Smith said he believed that they would be.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Brechlin thanked Smith and others for the temporary grass and leaf program.
Caines asked for an update about the crosswalks for Pride month.
Mount Desert Street Traffic Interruption This Friday!
(via the Town of Bar Harbor)
BAR HARBOR—The town’s contractor will be replacing a curb stop for a water service line on Mount Desert Street on Friday, May 8 from 6 am to 6 pm. Mount Desert Street will be temporarily closed to through traffic from 64 to 68 Mount Desert Street. Vehicles will detour around the closure via Spring Street and Shannon Way during this time.
In addition to the temporary road closure/detour from Spring Street to Shannon Way all day on Friday, May 8, other construction activities will occur in the east bound lane of Mount Desert Street near the Jesup Memorial Library between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Flaggers will direct traffic around the Library work zone.
If possible, through traffic should avoid Mount Desert Street between Spring Street and Main Street.
If you have any questions, please email water@barharbormaine.gov or call 1-207-288-3555.
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