~ An Order of the Bar Harbor Town Council ~
Whereas, there are occasional violations of the Town of Bar Harbor or State of Maine building or electrical regulations, and
Whereas, there are instances of repeated violations within a five year period, and
Whereas, ensuring compliance with Town and State regulations consumes considerable public tax dollars, due to the excessive town attorney and staff time required, and
Whereas, the Bar Harbor Town Council desires to encourage compliance in a more timely manner, and
Whereas, State Law and the Town of Bar Harbor Land Use Ordinance (LUO) section 125-101B(1) gives Town Council the authority to impose fines and penalties, now therefore,
Be It Resolved, that there is hereby added to the Planning and Code Enforcement Fee Schedule the category "After The Fact Penalty", which is subject to the following conditions:
1. For each building project begun before the applicable building or electrical permit is issued, there shall be due, in addition to the usual and customary permit fee, an "After The Fact Penalty" as provided below, the payment of which shall allow the applicant to obtain the necessary permit and proceed with the permitted work while the Town considers appropriate enforcement action.
2. A "First Violation" is deemed to have occurred when the code enforcement officer issues a Notice of Violation and within the immediately preceding five years no owner of the subject property has received a Notice of Violation for the subject property. Notices of violation issued prior to August 16, 2005 shall not be considered as within said five year period.
3. The penalty for a first violation shall be $100 for Single Family Residential projects, $200 for Small Commercial projects and $300 for Large Commercial projects, each class of project being defined in the current Town Budget Fee Schedule for Planning and Code Enforcement.
4. A "Subsequent Violation" is deemed to have occurred when the code enforcement officer issues a Notice of Violation for the same property within five years of a previous Notice of Violation, regardless of any change of ownership.
5. The penalty for subsequent violations shall be a multiple of the amount of the usual building and electrical permit multiplied by the total number of Notices of Violation issued for the lot upon which the project took place. For example, the second time that work starts prior to getting a building or electrical permit, that property owner shall pay a penalty equal to twice the amount of the usual permit fee. For a third offense, three times the usual permit fee will be charged as a penalty, and so on.
6. The After The Fact Penalty shall be charged in addition to the usual building or electrical permit fee.
7. After the fact penalties for plumbing permits shall be governed by State Law.
8. The After The Fact Penalty constitutes partial payment of the fines, penalties and attorneys fees that might eventually be assessed by a Court. It is not in lieu of other enforcement options available to the Town under State and Local law, and the Town reserves the right to pursue other remedies as appropriate.
9. The existing After The Fact fee structure, as shown on Chart E of the FY06 Budget, is hereby repealed.