An Act To Refonn the Land Use and Planning Authority in the Unorganized Territories
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1534
Committee Amendment CA_A-HA_A_H591 (House)
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

HOUSE AMENDMENT" A" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1126, 
L.D. 1534, Bill, "An Act To Refonn the Land Use and Planning Authority in the 
Unorganized Territories" 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of section 4 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 4. Duties. Resolved: That the commission shall consider the governance of 
land use planning in the unorganized territory and make recommendations to the Joint 
Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The commission shall: 
1. 
Review options for improving land use planning and regulation for the 
unorganized territory, with the goal of advancing the public welfare, balancing competing 
interests and providing efficient and effective decisions on proposals to develop, utilize 
and conserve resources within the unorganized territory; 
2. Consider the role of state and local governments. The commission shall review 
the pennitting and appeals process, seek opportunities for improved attention to local 
needs and priorities and increase predictability while still achieving the purpose of the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, chapter 206-A; 
3. 
Consider options for refonning the governance of land use planning in the 
unorganized territory; 
4. 
Review the historical pennitting data of the Maine Land Use Regulation 
Commission, referred to in this resolve as "LURC," to assess LURC's perfonnance in 
processing pennit applications and identify and propose process improvements, including 
suggestions to improve pennit processing timelines; 
5. Consider ways to create, implement and enforce unifonn standards across the 
unorganized territory for timber harvesting activities and forest management, wildlife 
habitat protection and issues under the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Protection 
Act; 
6. 
Recommend ways in which LURC can better receive and incorporate local 
community input; 
7. Explore the desirability of establishing an ombudsman position at LURC to assist 
applicants in the pennit application process; 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
·,. 
". 
HOUSE AMENDMENT" ~'to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1126, L.D. 1534 
8. Review LURC's regulations and guidance documents to identify opportunities to 
make them clearer, more business-friendly and more efficient for applicants; 
9. Determine whether any permitting activities currently performed by LURC should 
be transferred to the Department of Environmental Protection; 
10. Consider ways to ensure that, as LURC reviews an application, LURC has the 
benefit of the expertise of the agency responsible for economic development in the 
county in which the project or project for which the application is sought is located; 
. 11. Suggest one or more regions that should be priorities for prospective zoning by 
LURC; 
12. 
Compare LURC's rules with ordinances and rules with similar objectives 
administered by municipalities and the Department of Environmental Protection to 
determine whether more consistency between the rules is desirable and, if so, advise ways 
to make them more consistent; and 
13. Review the current and historical membership of LURC to detennine whether 
there is adequate representation of residents of the unorganized townships and adj acent 
service centers to ensure a broad diversity of representation of the counties in which 
unorganized territories are located; and be it further' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment strikes the duties that the Commission on Reform of the Governance 
of Land Use Planning in the Unorganized Territory is required to perform under 
Committee Amendment "A" and replaces them w' h the duties that the commission is 
required to perform under Committee AmendT!fnt 'B." 
SPONSORED BY: 
1vn 
m----
(Representative MCCABE) 
TOWN: Skowhegan 
HOUSE AMENDMENT