The Maine Legislature reconstituted the Land Use Regulation Commission in 2011 under Republican Gov. Paul LePage. LURC had planning and zoning authority over Maine’s unorganized territories, as well as townships and plantations. It was replaced by the Land Use Planning Commission, which exists today.
The policy aim at that time was to grant local control, to make sure that the appointed regulators serving as commissioners of LUPC represented the areas of the state being zoned and regulated.
By statute, the governor had the authority to appoint one of the eight members of the commission. The others were appointed by the respective county commissioners from the unorganized territories.
Politics being politics, there is within the legislative halls of Augusta an attempt to go full circle, to reconstruct the present Land Use Planning Commission in a way that undermines the local control facet of it and weakens the member appointment process markedly.
A proposed legislative change working its way through the law-making process is LD 870. The Legislature’s Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry held a public hearing on the bill in March, and a work session in which the committee could vote on whether it should pass will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10.
This bill would water down the local control element of LUPC’s zoning authority by changing the makeup of the commission in a stunning way. Under this bill, LUPC would comprise 13 members instead of eight. The governor would be able to appoint five commissioners instead of just the one already granted by law.
The summary statement of LD 780 does not say the purpose for this change. Can you guess why this would be the case? What else could it be other than an attempt to “pack” the commission, or to redirect the balance of LUPC’s regulating power from the representatives of the unorganized territories to the state’s executive branch.
Not surprisingly, a number of county commissioners and other organizations testified against it at the public hearing.
Andre Cushing, president of the County Commissioners Association, testified: “This would result in the chief executive appointing one-third of the newly constituted board, and these four appointments coming on at the same point would potentially add an unhealthy imbalance. This change in light of the additional language in the bill eliminates the requirement that appointees to the commission reside in or work in the unorganized territories.”
The Natural Resources Council and Nature Conservancy testified in strong support of this measure. The Maine Forest Products Council and the County Commissioners Association opposed it.
Cushing also testified that the bill says the county appointees can serve if they have significant professional experience in the commission’s jurisdiction.
“Notably, the term ‘significant professional experience’ has no definition, so experience as minimal as a single major project in an unorganized territory would be sufficient qualification, regardless of where such individual lives or works. In our view, this level of connectivity to the unorganized territories is insufficient, and we are concerned that decision-making by the Commission could increasingly be made by individuals with less of a personal investment in the region,” Cushing testified.
What impact would this change have upon those who hunt and fish and take part in outdoor recreation?
According to Cushing, “If the changes proposed in this bill were to pass it would dramatically change the membership and potentially allow individuals who do not have a connection with the unorganized territory and its rich tradition of open land access to rule on its uses,” Cushing said.
The result could be that landowners will limit access to heritage sporting, snowmobile and ATV access and end longtime and valued relationships between landowners and sports enthusiasts, he said.
The current structure of LUPC has existed since 2011. There have been no problems finding qualified individuals to serve, nor have there been any significant issues that have not been satisfactorily resolved by the present commission.
As one commissioner observed, LD 780 is a solution in search of a problem.
V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide and host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. He has written three books. Online purchase information is available at sportingjournal.com.
