Jun 11, 2026

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Bar Harbor Historical Society.

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by Sabrina Martin/BDN

BAR HARBOR—In less than a year, Bar Harbor has spent more than $111,000 on legal and regulatory expenses tied to ongoing disputes of the town’s controversial cruise ship passenger cap, which a federal judge ruled partially unconstitutional last month.

In May, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker ruled that the town’s cruise ship ordinance — a voter-approved cap that limits cruise ships to disembarking no more than 1,000 passengers per day — can only be enforced during July and August, the town’s peak tourist season.

After initially ruling in favor of the limits, but being ordered by the federal appeals court to reconsider his decision, Walker determined last month that the cap was unconstitutional during shoulder months in the spring and fall.

The ruling was the latest in a yearslong legal dispute over the ordinance, which has cost the town about $895,905 since the beginning of July 2023 through April 2026, according to Town Manager James Smith. Of that amount, approximately $111,838 was spent in the nine months preceding April 2026, Smith told the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday.

The town has budgeted $320,000 in legal expenses for the coming fiscal year, which is up 34% from what was budgeted this year, according to the town’s upcoming budget. The town’s annual fiscal budget runs from July 1 through June 30 each year.

Most of that $320,000 is expected to be spent on litigation over the town’s cruise ship ordinance, which has stirred sustained controversy from local business owners who oppose the limit and Bar Harbor voters who twice have approved the passenger caps.

Bar Harbor residents voted June 2 to approve a $30.5 million 2026-2027 annual municipal budget.

The town spent about $421,690 during the 2023-2024 budget year and $474,465 the year after that, according to budget documents. Although much of that went toward the cruise ship litigation that has dragged on for years, it was also spent on other town matters, including a legal dispute over a short-term rental permit that was later thrown out by the state’s top court.

Smith said the town anticipates the $320,000 budget would cover next year’s legal expenses, though he acknowledged that such expenditures can be “inherently difficult to predict” with ongoing litigation, appeals and “the continued need to evaluate and develop regulatory approaches that are consistent with the court’s guidance.”

“These expenditures reflect the reality that the town has been working through both the legal and policy questions surrounding cruise ship visitation for several years,” Smith said. “While the town remains prepared to defend its legal rights and interests when necessary, we believe the most durable solutions to these issues are ultimately achieved through the public policy process.”

The town has not yet decided if they would appeal Walker’s most recent ruling, Smith said, adding that the town council will consult legal counsel before making a final decision.

Smith said the town was evaluating “all potential regulatory approaches” following the court’s decision, but could not give a set timeline on whether those measures would be in place by the next year’s cruise ship season, which typically has run from May through October.

In the interim, Bar Harbor will not accept new advance cruise ship reservations, according to a May 20 council statement following the court ruling. The town council assured residents that it would “not allow a return to the unsustainable levels of cruise ship visitations of past years.”

On Tuesday, Bar Harbor voters re-elected Maya Caines and one-year incumbent David Kief to the town council and chose first-time candidate Deborah Vickers for the third open seat, according to Tuesday’s election results.

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This story appears through a media partnership with the Bangor Daily News.

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