An Act To Clarify Appeals of Municipal Land Use Decisions
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1381
Committee Amendment CA_A_H358 (House)
Amends: 30-A MRSA §2691, 30-A MRSA §4482, 30-A MRSA §4482-A, 30-A MRSA §4482-B

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/1 " to H.P. 960, L.D. 1381, Bill, "An Act To 
Clarify Appeals of Municipal Land Use Decisions" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §2691, sub-§3, 1C, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, 
§2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, 
is further amended to read: 
C. The board may provide, by regulation v,rllioh shall that must be recorded by the 
secretary, for any matter relating to the conduct of any hearing, provided except that 
the chair may waive any regulation upon good cause shown. 
Unless otherwise 
established by charter or ordinance, the board shall conduct a de novo review of any 
matter before the board subject to the requirements of paragraph D. If a charter or 
ordinance establishes an appellate review process for the board, the board shall limit 
its review on appeal to the record established by the board or official whose decision 
is the subject of the appeal and to the arguments of the parties. The board may not 
accept new evidence as part of an appellate review. 
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2691, sub-§3, ~' as amended by PL 2003, c. 635, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
F. The board may reconsider any decision reached under this section within 45 days 
of its prior decision. A request to the board to reconsider a decision must be filed 
within 10 days of the decision that is to be reconsidered. A vote to reconsider and the 
action taken on that reconsideration must occur and be completed within 45 days of 
the date of the vote on the original decision. The board may conduct additional 
hearings and receive additional evidence and testimony as provided in this 
subsection. 
Notwithstanding paragraph G, appeal of a reconsidered decision must be made within 
days after the decision on reconsideration or within the applicable time period 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~'?> 
·~o 
COMMITIEEAMENDMENT"A "to H.P. 960, L.D. 1381 
under section 4482-A if the final municipal review of the project is by a municipal 
administrative review board other than a board of appeals. 
Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §2691, sub-§3, ~ 
is enacted to read: 
H. For purposes of this section, a decision of the board is a final decision when the 
proiect for which the approval of the board is requested has received all required 
municipal administrative approvals by the board, the planning board or municipal 
reviewing authority, a site plan or design review board, a historic preservation review 
board and any other review board created by municipal charter or ordinance. If the 
final municipal administrative review of the project is by a municipal administrative 
review board other than a board of appeals, the time for appeal is governed by section 
4482-A. Any denial of the request for approval by the board of appeals is considered 
a final decision even if other municipal administrative approvals are required for the 
project and remain pending. A denial of the request for approval by the board of 
appeals must be appealed within 45 days of the date of the board's vote to deny or 
within 15 days of final action by the board on a reconsideration that results in a denial 
of the request. 
Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §4482, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3. Final decision. A party may not file an appeal of a significant municipal land use 
decision under this section until the decision is a final decision pursuant to section 2691, 
if the decision is by a board of appeals, or pursuant to section 4482-B, if the decision is 
by a municipal administrative review board other than a board of appeals. 
Sec. 5. 30-A MRSA §4482-A is enacted to read: 
§4482-A. Review of other municipal land use decisions 
This section governs the review process for a municipal land use decision that is not a 
significant municipal land use decision under section 4482, except as provided in section 
4482, subsection 3, or a decision of a board of appeals under section 2691. 
1. Filin~ of appeal. A party may file an appeal with the Superior Court of a 
municipal land use decision subiect to this section that is a final decision within 30 days 
of the date of the vote on the final decision, except that the time period for filing an 
appeal under this subsection may be extended by the court upon motion for good cause 
shown. The hearing on an appeal filed pursuant to this section before the Superior Court 
must be conducted without a iury. 
2. Final decision. A party may not file an appeal of a municipal land use decision 
subject to this section until the decision is a final decision pursuant to section 4482-B. 
Sec. 6. 30-A MRSA §4482-B is enacted to read: 
§4482-B. Finality of municipal land use decision 
For the purposes of this chapter and except as provided in section 2691, a municipal 
land use decision is a final decision when an application for a project requiring the 
approval of one or more municipal boards has received all required municipal 
administrative approvals by the board of appeals. the planning board or municipal 
reviewing authority, a site plan or design review board, a historic preservation review 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT «A" to H.P. 960, L.D. 1381 
board and any other review board created by municipal charter or ordinance. An appeal 
may not be filed under this section prior to the review and final approval of a project by 
each applicable municipal administrative review board, except that a denial of an 
application by a municipal administrative review board is considered a final decision 
even if other municipal administrative approvals are required for the project and remain 
pending. An appeal of the denial under this chapter must be in accordance with the 
requirements of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. 
Sec. 7. Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause. In the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, chapter 190, in the chapter headnote, the words 
"judicial review of significant municipal land use decision" are amended to read "judicial 
review of municipal land use decisions" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this 
revision when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes a number of technical, clarifying edits to the bill but retains 
all substantive provisions of the bill that provide that a local land use decision is a final 
decision when an application has received all required municipal administrative approvals 
by a municipal board of appeals, a planning board or municipal reviewing authority, a site 
plan or design review board, a historic preservation review board and any other review 
board created by municipal charter or ordinance and that an appeal to the Superior Court 
may not be made until a final decision occurs. 
FISCAL NOTE R£QlllRED 
(See attlebed) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/25/17 feac. 
LD 1381 
LR 1739(02) 
An Act To Clarify Appeals of Municipal Land Use Decisions 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment •A{ 11-J!>tr) 
Committee: State and Local Government 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor savings - General Fund 
Minor revenue decrease - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Decreases the number of civil suits. 
A reduction in filing fees may also decrease General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
LRl 739(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1