BATH

The City Council approved an “idle-free zone” in the downtown and U.S. Route 1 commercial districts Wednesday. It must pass the council again Sept. 4 to become law.

The zone was pared down from the entire city when it became clear it would be unenforceable in residential districts and councilors expressed concern about police going onto private property to issue citations.

It’s also unclear that the ordinance will be enforced anywhere but downtown, since most of the Route 1 businesses own their own parking lots where police generally do not perform traffic enforcement.

Under the proposal, signs will be posted downtown informing drivers that cars should be turned off while parked. If property owners on Route 1 agree, the signs may be posted there as well.

Officials said enforcement would be conducted by parking enforcement staff and volunteers handing out cards that inform motorists of the new ordinance.

There are numerous exemptions to the ordinance, including keeping a car running for heat, or air conditioning, or other safety reasons, or being in a line of cars in traffic or at, for example, a drive-through restaurant or a drive-through bank or ATM.

Many councilors pointed out that Bath doesn’t have significant air quality issues, except on days when the whole region is affected. Nor, many pointed out, is engine idling a serious problem downtown.

Most engine idling beyond the five-minute limit in Bath actually occurs in residential areas in winter, while residents are warming up cars in the morning. Residential areas are not affected by this ordinance, but it is possible that employees of downtown businesses who wish to warm their cars up at the end of the day in the winter while cleaning off cars after a snowstorm, for example, may be subject to the ordinance. However, Chief Michael Field said Thursday that that kind of enforcement would be very unlikely.

“Although that kind of scenario isn’t written into the ordinance, there is a lot of leeway on enforcement,” he said. “I can’t imagine issuing a citation to someone who is cleaning off a car after a snowstorm or using the defroster to clear windows or anything like that.”

Field said that very occasionally, he could envision delivery trucks being warned to turn off their engines, but said that most already do, with the exception of refrigerated vehicles, and refrigerated vehicles are exempt from the ordinance in any case.

The motion passed 7-1, with Councilor Steve Brackett voting against. Brackett, owner of Brackett’s Market on Front Street, called it a “business unfriendly” piece of legislation.

There is no fine specified in the ordinance. It is possible that one may be added into the ordinance at the second passage, which will occur Sept. 4.

The council was divided about whether to have a fine at all, and City Solicitor Roger Therriault said it would be legal to adopt an ordinance without a fine.

In May, Gretchen Sibley, a Bath physician, addressed the council on behalf of residents interested in limiting vehicles’ idling time in the city. Sibley gave a presentation detailing the cost of energy used, the adverse effects on health that idling can cause, and enforcement possibilities.

Wendy Everham, of Bath, told councilors she had spoken with two residents of Bar Harbor, where she said such an ordinance was effective in limiting air pollution.

Like Bar Harbor’s ordinance, Bath’s applies only to commercial districts. However, Bar Harbor’s ordinance only applies during the summer months, while Bath’s would be year-round.

Both women spoke on behalf of the ordinance on Wednesday night before passage.

City Manager Giroux arranged a meeting with Field and the Idle Free Bath Group to produce the ordinance that was brought to council Wednesday.