The city of Bath is in the process of overhauling and updating its zoning code, giving “special attention to housing,” according to the city’s director of community and economic development, Emily Ruger.

The project will include “cleaning up the code, which hasn’t had an update in quite some time,” Ruger said. It is expected to be completed late next year. 

Acting on a recommendation of the Bath Community Development Committee’s Housing Subcommittee, the city will examine “density and the kinds of housing we can have in different zones and (make) sure that requirements that go with housing align with the community’s vision,” Ruger said.  

The city plans to involve business owners and property owners in the process with the hope of making the zoning code more business friendly and easier to understand, and thus more accessible to the community, she said.

The Housing Subcommittee has identified recoding as its top priority, recognizing that the current zoning code “has lived its useful life,” said Deb Keller, subcommittee chairperson. An overhaul is needed to meet the city’s goals, including new housing that takes into account the character of neighborhoods and environmental concerns, she said.

The city, using a grant from Maine Housing, has contracted with Camiros, a planning and zoning consulting firm, to assist with the project.

Keller said she wants to “make sure that we have looked at every way we can expand housing.

“Our strength is the diversity of our community, and we want housing to be an opportunity and not an obstacle,” she said.

She emphasized that the project is important because zoning has far-reaching impacts. It also will help them incorporate changes required by a new state law. The recently passed LD 2003 uses zoning to create housing opportunities and to alleviate the state’s affordable housing shortage.

For more information on Bath’s zoning code update project or to provide feedback, visit bathzoningupdate.com.