Bath to hold hearing on land use code rewrite June 2
Bath officials will hear public comment June 2 on a land-use rewrite that could change where housing and business growth are allowed.
Bath residents will get a first chance to weigh in on a broad rewrite of the city’s land-use rules when the Planning Board holds a public hearing Tuesday evening at City Hall.
The hearing is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 55 Front Street, with a workshop set for 5 p.m. before the formal session begins. The city also plans to stream the meeting on BCTV and Facebook Live, widening access to a proposal that could reshape how Bath handles housing, business sites and neighborhood development.
City planning materials describe the update as a comprehensive rewrite meant to modernize an outdated code, align it with the 2023 Comprehensive Plan and make the rules easier for residents, applicants and staff to use. The project is also being framed as a tool for housing, economic growth, walkability and climate resilience, while still preserving the city’s character.
The version now in public review was updated in April 2026 after comments on the first draft released in July 2025. On the project website, the city has posted both a clean draft and a markup version showing changes since the first round of review, along with an updated executive summary and material showing how public comments were considered.
The stakes go well beyond paperwork. Zoning changes can determine where apartments and other homes can be built, what kinds of business activity are allowed, and how tightly the city controls growth in existing neighborhoods. Bath’s current code is laid out in a long, article-based format with separate zoning maps and multiple ordinance sections, a structure the city says no longer fits the community’s goals.
The overhaul has been years in the making. Bath began work on a comprehensive plan update in 2018 and hired North Star Planning in 2022 to help complete it. A future land-use workshop held March 13, 2023 at City Hall drew 34 people, and city officials said in November 2022 that the zoning project would focus on housing, density and cleaning up an outdated code. Emily Ruger said then that the city wanted to make the code more business-friendly and easier to understand, while Deb Keller said the current code had “lived its useful life.”
The rewrite also reflects state action. Maine enacted LD 1829 on June 20, 2025, requiring, with limited exceptions, that municipalities allow at least four dwelling units on residential lots in growth areas or served by public sewer, and three units on other residential lots. Bath’s local debate over housing rules has already been sharp, including the June 11, 2024 referendum in which voters approved a 1,233-563 zoning change that removed housing development as an allowed use in the Bath Golf Club district.
The hearing comes as Bath also tries to translate its climate goals into land-use policy. The city adopted the Resilient Bath Climate Action and Resiliency Plan in November 2024 after eight months of work and community feedback, and the zoning rewrite is being tied to those goals as officials move from long-range planning to day-to-day rules that will shape the city’s future.
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