From well protected wildlife habitats to dense village centers, how land is used in our town varies wildly. And as land changes uses from one form to another, the ability of the Town to provide services and facilities to meet the demands of the new uses can change dramatically.
This chapter surveys how land is currently used in Mount Desert, how these patterns of use have been changing, and what implications these changes might have on the Town’s ability to provide facilities and services.
General Pattern of Development
The Town of Mount Desert crosses Mount Desert Island from Bartlett Island in the west to Otter Creek in the east.
Punctuating this east-west orientation are several north-south geologic barriers that separate the town into several distinct areas.
Furthest west is Pretty Marsh Harbor and Bartlett Island. This area includes Indian Point Road and much of Pretty Marsh Road and is bounded by Blue Hill Bay to the west and Long Pond to the east. The area is generally low-lying with wetlands, ponds, and inlets determining where and how development could occur.
Somesville and Hall Quarry are bounded by Long Pond to the west and Somes Sound to the east. Oak Hill Road, Oak Hill Cross Road, Beech Ridge Road, and Route 102 are the transportation corridors in this section of town. Beech Mountain, Acadia Mountain, and St Sauveur Mountain occupy the southern end of this section of town, and the northern border with Bar Harbor is largely wetland.
The village of Northeast Harbor is located at the mouth of Somes Sound on the east side of the island. This is the largest commercial center the most densely developed area in town. Most of the town’s municipal services are located in Northeast Harbor, and the elementary school is located there as well.
Seal Harbor and Otter Creek lie along the southern shore of town to the east of Northeast Harbor. Seal Harbor is largely seasonal and both are located between Acadia National Park and the ocean. These communities are served by public water and sewer systems, which permits this development to occur on soils that otherwise would not be able to handle the development.
The interior on the east side of the island is largely occupied by Acadia National Park. This land includes most of the higher peaks on the island and is punctuated by long valleys, streams, and ponds. Trails and carriage roads crisscross this part of the island.
Overview of Recent Development
Between 1990 and 2003, we estimate that 336 new housing units have been added to the town’s housing stock. Of these, nearly 40% were added in the village of Northeast Harbor and another 20% were added on the east side of town. Approximately 40% of the units were added on the west side of town.
The new units added to the community have different impacts on the land and town facilities. Those to the east (Northeast Harbor and the East Side) tended to the built on public water and sewer systems while those to the west were more spread out on private water and septic systems.
Commercial development has not been widespread in the community. New activity tends to be located in the denser villages and in general new commercial development has been modest.
Residential Land Use
Residential land uses are spread out across our community, although they tend to be denser in the villages (especially Otter Creek, Seal Harbor, Northeast Harbor, and Somesville) and along the shoreline. Generally, the west side of the island is less densely development that the east side.
Residential development is predominantly single-family homes, and there are relatively few mobile homes in the community.
Commercial Land Use
Commercial land uses are concentrated in the town’s villages. These commercial uses tend to be comparison retail shopping and tourism-recreation focused businesses, with a fair number of art galleries in Northeast Harbor. Many of the bed and breakfasts are located in the villages as well.
Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park occupies more than 30,000 acres on Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula, and Isle Au Haut. Acadia occupies a significant portion of our town – approximately 40% of our town is located within the boundaries of Acadia. This land is owned by the federal government for recreation and habitat protection.
The largest section of Acadia is in the eastern part of our community. It occupies most of the land that is not immediately surrounding Northeast Harbor, Seal Harbor, and Otter Creek.
The west side of our town has another large section of Acadia. It includes much of the land around Long Pond/Pretty Marsh Harbor as well as the peaks of Beech Mountain, Acadia Mountain, and St Sauveur Mountain.
In addition to these lands, Acadia National Park holds conservation easements on 11 properties in our town. These easements generally abut the park boundary itself, and ensure that certain habitats and open spaces remain protected in the future.
Other Land Uses
Farming and forestry are not large land uses in our town. In 2004, a total of 1,900 acres were enrolled in the tree growth tax program – one-half of which is located on Bartlett Island. In addition, 153 acres on Bartlett Island are enrolled in the farmland tax program. While these numbers do not include all of the farming and forestry that occurs on the island, they do indicate a modest amount of natural resource activity.
In addition to these lands enrolled in the farmland and tree growth program (for more information see the Working the Land chapter) some other lands are held as conservation areas by Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
Municipal Land Use
The Town of Mount Desert itself does not own a large amount of land in the community. Northeast Harbor is the center of municipal activity, and includes the town offices, police station, marina/town landing, elementary school, fire station, public works garage, and public utilities.
Other town facilities are spread out in Seal Harbor (public utilities, town landing, fire station), Otter Creek (fire station), Somesville (fire station, public utilities), and Pretty Marsh Harbor (town landing).
Our town also owns a small number of open parcels of land (see Where We Play chapter).
Land Use Ordinance
Mount Desert has had a Land Use Ordinance since the late 1970s. This land use ordinance creates 14 zones and manages which type of land uses can occur in which zones.
Densities of development that are allowed in the zoning ordinance depend on a parcel’s access to public utilities and proximity to a village, shoreline, and/or important natural resource.
Developable lots are allowed to be as small as 5,000 sqaure feet in the heart of the town’s villages, while the Shoreland Residential 5 zone requires a minimum of 5 acres for each developable lot (approximately 215,000 square feet).
The zoning scheme is fractured throughout the community – it was developed more to reflect the development that had already occurred in the community than a prescription for future development.
In general, a list rating the allowable development from densest to least dense reads:
Northeast Harbor (both residential and commercial)
Seal Harbor and Somesville
Otter Creek
Halls Quarry
Pretty Marsh
Inland woodlands and conservation areas
Shoreland areas
Shoreland Commercial was designed to support commercial uses that are dependent on access to the water. The few parcels that are included in this zone are located in downtown Northeast Harbor, on Smallidge Point, at the northeast end of Somes Sound, and in Halls Quarry along Somes Sound.
The Resource Protection and Conservation zones were designed to protect the natural character of the land. The Resource Protection zone covers the wetlands adjacent to Ripple Pond and the headwaters
of Babson Creek. No development is allowed in this zone, except for low impact recreation uses. The Conservation zone covers parcels around Somes Pond, Sargent Brook, Lower Hadlock Pond, and Little Harbor Brook. These areas can be developed on a conditional basis.
Issues & Implications
1.Residential land use occurs overwhelmingly in the form of single-family dwellings.
2.Mount Desert has four village centers; however, there is little year-round commercial activity in the Town.
3.Most new development is occurring outside of traditional areas of settlement and into previously rural areas. This is somewhat encouraged by existing zoning.
4. As much waterfront land has already been fully built-out based on existing zoning, there is more pressure on what was previously considered marginal land for new summer homes.
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