Bangor City Planning Board unanimously approves 8,900‑sq‑ft office at 861 Broadway

The Bangor City Planning Board unanimously granted a land development permit on Jan. 20 for a new 8,900‑square‑foot office building at 861 Broadway, approving the project's site plan and a series of code findings that cleared the proposal to move into permitting and construction coordination.

Andy Johnston, principal and civil engineer at Atlantic Resource Consultants, presented the plan on behalf of 861 Broadway LLC. He described removing several accessory structures and deteriorated pavement, abandoning a northern Broadway driveway for safety, straightening the retained southern driveway, expanding and reconfiguring parking with improved ADA access, and adding planted bioretention cells for stormwater treatment. "The key element of the new plan ... is the new office building, which will be occupied by Means Wealth Management," Johnston said during his overview.

Why it matters: The board's findings address multiple technical requirements the city uses to judge site plans — parking and access, setbacks and buffers, lighting and landscaping, stormwater management, utility service, and fire and electrical provisions. By approving the findings the board authorized the project to move forward to building permit and to be recorded as required by the land development code.

The board voted through the code findings in a sequence: Part 1 (minimum parking, parking area locations and screening, design and construction standards, and service provisions), Part 2 (district/site development standards such as height, floor‑area ratio and buffer yards), and Part 3 (specific uses for the Shopping & Personal Service district). Motions for each sub‑finding were made, seconded and passed in roll‑call votes recorded as affirmative for all members present.

Chair Jonathan Boucher read the final decision and congratulated the applicant upon approval: "You have approval on this item." Staff reminded the applicant that a new serial connection fee will apply when construction begins and directed the applicants to coordinate next steps with the code enforcement office. The chair also noted the project will appear before City Council the following week for routine processing.

Procedural details and authorities: During review the board cited multiple sections of the City of Bangor land development code (for example, sections cited by staff included the parking and site design sections and section 165‑101 for district use compliance) as the basis for each finding. The board also noted that state statute and normal appeals processes (appeal to the Superior Court of Maine) apply to final permitting decisions.

Next steps: With the site plan findings and permit in hand, the applicant will arrange utility connections, obtain building permits, and coordinate final plan recording and code enforcement review before construction begins. The project team and staff suggested applicants contact the code enforcement office for guidance on the filing and implementation schedule.