An Act To Create a Comprehensive Permit Process for the Construction of Affordable Housing
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1673
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: TALBOT ROSS, MIRAMANT, CUDDY, GERE, MORALES, SUPICA, SYLVESTER, BALDACCI

Legislative Document
No. 1673
H.P. 1244
House of Representatives, May 5, 2021
An Act To Create a Comprehensive Permit Process for the 
Construction of Affordable Housing
Received by the Clerk of the House on May 3, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on Labor 
and Housing pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator MIRAMANT of Knox and
Representatives: CUDDY of Winterport, GERE of Kennebunkport, MORALES of South 
Portland, SUPICA of Bangor, SYLVESTER of Portland, Senator: BALDACCI of Penobscot.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA c. 201, sub-c. 14 is enacted to read:
SUBCHAPTER 14
MAINE COMPREHENSIVE PERMIT LAW
§4994-A.  Maine comprehensive permit process established; definitions 
The Maine State Housing Authority and the municipal boards of appeals established 
pursuant to section 2691 shall administer the Maine comprehensive permit process as 
provided in this subchapter.  As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise 
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
1.  Affordable housing.  "Affordable housing" means a decent, safe and sanitary 
dwelling, apartment or other living accommodation where the cost of housing and utilities 
is no more than 30% of gross household income for a household whose income does not 
exceed 120% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States Department 
of Housing and Urban Development under the United States Housing Act of 1937, Public 
Law 75-412, 50 Stat. 888, Section 8, as amended.
2.  Authority.  "Authority" means the Maine State Housing Authority.
3.  Board of appeals.  ''Board of appeals'' means a board of appeals established 
pursuant to section 2691.
4.  Committee.  "Committee" means the Affordable Housing Appeals Committee 
established under section 4994-C.
5.  Consistent with local needs.  ''Consistent with local needs'' means giving due 
consideration to the regional need for low-income or moderate-income housing as well as 
the need to protect the health or safety of the occupants of the proposed housing project or 
of the residents of the city or town, to promote better site and building design in relation to 
the surroundings or to preserve open space and applying that consideration equitably to 
both subsidized and unsubsidized housing.
6.  Fair housing goal.  "Fair housing goal" means, for a municipality with 500 or fewer 
households that would be eligible for low-income or moderate-income housing, at least 
10% of its housing stock is affordable housing.  For a municipality with 501 to 1,000 
households that would be eligible for low-income or moderate-income housing, "fair 
housing goal" means at least 13% of its housing stock is affordable housing.  For a 
municipality with more than 1,000 households that would be eligible for low-income or 
moderate-income housing, "fair housing goal" means at least 16% of its housing stock is 
affordable housing.  Any municipality where 1.5% of more of the total land area zoned for 
residential, commercial or industrial use is in use as low-income or moderate-income 
housing is also in compliance with its fair housing goal.
7.  Limited dividend organization.  "Limited dividend organization" means an entity 
that seeks to apply for a comprehensive permit and is not a public agency or a nonprofit 
organization and is eligible to receive a subsidy from a subsidizing agency after a 
comprehensive permit has been issued and that, unless otherwise governed by a federal act 
or regulation, agrees to accept no more than a reasonable profit for building and operating 
the housing project.
8.  Local board.  ''Local board'' means a municipal entity with a role in approving or 
supervising the construction of residential buildings or the power of enforcing municipal 
building laws.
9.  Low-income or moderate-income housing.  ''Low-income or moderate-income 
housing'' means housing subsidized by the Federal Government or State Government under 
a program to assist in the construction of low-income or moderate-income housing as 
defined in the applicable federal or state law and built or operated by a public agency or a 
nonprofit or limited dividend organization.
10.  Reasonable profit.  "Reasonable profit" means a maximum of 20% profit in for-
sale developments or 10% profit per year for rental housing developments unless indicated 
otherwise in the subsidy program or the comprehensive permit.
11.  Uneconomic.  ''Uneconomic'' means any condition brought about by a single factor 
or combination of factors to the extent that it makes it impossible for a public agency or 
nonprofit organization to proceed in building or operating low-income or moderate-income 
housing without financial loss or for a limited dividend organization to realize a reasonable 
profit in building or operating such housing within the limitations set by the subsidizing 
agency without substantially changing the rent levels, unit sizes or density proposed by the 
public agency or the nonprofit or limited dividend organization.
§4994-B.  Comprehensive permits
In order to facilitate timely and efficient decision making on proposed housing projects, 
a public agency or a nonprofit or limited dividend organization proposing to build low-
income or moderate-income housing may submit to a board of appeals a single 
comprehensive permit application to build that housing in lieu of separate applications to 
the applicable local boards pursuant to this section.
1.  Procedures.  The following procedures govern applications for a comprehensive 
permit under this section.
A.  Upon receipt of a comprehensive permit application, a board of appeals shall notify 
each local board whose jurisdiction is affected by the permit of the filing of the 
application by sending a copy of the application to each local board for its 
recommendations.
B.  The board of appeals shall, within 30 days of the receipt of a comprehensive permit 
application under paragraph A, hold a public hearing and shall request the appearance 
of such representatives of local boards as are determined necessary or helpful. The 
board of appeals shall take into consideration the recommendations of local boards and 
has the authority to use the testimony of consultants.
C.  The board of appeals in issuing a comprehensive permit has the same power to issue 
permits or approvals as any local board that would otherwise act with respect to an 
application, including but not limited to the power to attach conditions and 
requirements with respect to the site plan and the height, size or shape and building 
materials of the housing consistent with this section.
D.  The board of appeals shall render a decision, based upon a majority vote, within 40 
days after the conclusion of the public hearing under paragraph B and, if favorable to 
the applicant, shall issue a comprehensive permit.
E.  If a public hearing under paragraph B is not convened or a decision under paragraph 
D is not rendered within the time allowed, unless the time has been extended by mutual 
agreement between the board of appeals and the applicant, the application is deemed 
to have been approved and the comprehensive permit must be immediately issued.
F.  An applicant aggrieved by the decision on a comprehensive permit application may 
appeal to the Affordable Housing Appeals Committee under section 4994-C.
G.  A board of appeals shall adopt rules, not inconsistent with the purposes of this 
subchapter, for the conduct of its business pursuant to this subchapter and shall provide 
those rules to the municipal clerk.
2.  Waivers.  A board of appeals has authority to waive local laws or regulations in 
whole or in part, including but not limited to local density limitations, if that waiver results 
in a comprehensive permit application decision that is consistent with local needs.
3.  For-profit developers.  An applicant seeking a comprehensive permit for a housing 
project must enter a binding, verifiable obligation with the board of appeals that it agrees 
to accept no more than a reasonable profit on that project.
4.  Other state law.  Nothing in this subchapter may be interpreted to limit the 
application of state laws to an application for a comprehensive permit, including but not 
limited to laws governing land use and environmental protection.
§4994-C.  Affordable Housing Appeals Committee
The authority shall establish and operate the Affordable Housing Appeals Committee, 
referred to in this section as "the committee," pursuant to this section.
1.  Committee members.  The committee consists of 5 members.  The authority shall 
appoint to the committee 3 members with substantive experience in affordable housing or 
housing finance, including one member who is an employee of the authority.  The Governor 
shall appoint as the remaining members of the committee 2 members with experience in 
municipal government.  Terms of appointment are for one year and may be renewed by the 
appointing authority.  The members serve without compensation.
2.  Powers and duties.  The committee is authorized to hold hearings and to consider 
and decide upon appeals from a board of appeals' denial under section 4994-B of a 
comprehensive permit or grant of a comprehensive permit with conditions rendering the 
housing project uneconomic, as follows.
A.  The committee may not consider or decide upon any appeal of a comprehensive 
permit application for a housing project proposed to be located in a municipality that 
appears on the list of municipalities in good standing for low-income or moderate-
income housing established by section 4994-D.
B.  The committee may not overturn or modify the decision of a board of appeals if the 
board of appeals establishes that its decision is consistent with local needs.
C.  In the case of the denial of an application, a hearing by the committee must be 
limited to the issue of whether the decision of the board of appeals was reasonable and 
consistent with local needs.  If the committee finds, in the case of a denial, that the 
decision of the board of appeals was unreasonable and not consistent with local needs, 
it shall vacate that decision and shall direct the board of appeals to issue a 
comprehensive permit to the applicant.
D.  In the case of an approval of an application with conditions and requirements 
imposed, the hearing must be limited to the issues of whether those conditions and 
requirements make the construction or operation of that housing uneconomic and 
whether they are consistent with local needs.  If the committee finds, in the case of an 
approval with conditions and requirements imposed, that the decision of the board of 
appeals makes the building or operation of that housing uneconomic and is not 
consistent with local needs, the committee shall order that board of appeals to modify 
or remove any condition or requirement so as to make the proposal no longer 
uneconomic and to issue the comprehensive permit.
E.  The committee may not issue any order that would permit the building or operation 
of housing in accordance with standards less safe than requirements of state laws or 
rules or federal laws or regulations applicable to the proposal.
F.  Decisions or conditions and requirements imposed by a board of appeals that are 
consistent with local needs may not be vacated, modified or removed by the committee, 
notwithstanding that those decisions or conditions and requirements have the effect of 
making the applicant's proposal for a comprehensive permit uneconomic.
G.  The committee or the applicant for a comprehensive permit has the power to enforce 
the orders of the committee at law or in equity in Superior Court.
H.  The board of appeals shall carry out the order of the committee within 30 days of 
the committee's decision and, upon failure to do so, the order of the committee is 
deemed to be the action of the board of appeals, unless the applicant consents to a 
different decision or order by the board of appeals.
3.  Procedure.  An applicant contesting a board of appeals' denial under section 4994-B 
of a comprehensive permit or grant of a comprehensive permit with conditions attached 
must initiate an appeal with the committee within 20 days of receiving notice of the 
decision of the board of appeals.  The committee shall hold a hearing and shall render a 
written decision, based upon a majority vote, stating its findings of fact, its conclusions and 
the reasons for its conclusions within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing, unless 
the committee and the applicant have mutually agreed upon a time extension.  A decision 
under this subsection may be reviewed in Superior Court in accordance with the provisions 
of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B.
§4994-D.  Register of municipalities in good standing for low-income or moderate-
income housing
The authority shall maintain a register of municipalities indicating whether each 
municipality is in good standing for low-income or moderate-income housing as set forth 
in this subchapter. The authority shall establish the methodology and frequency for such 
determinations, which must be no less frequent than annually. 
1.  Municipalities in compliance with fair housing goal.  The register must include 
any municipality that the authority determines to be in compliance with its fair housing 
goal.
2.  Municipalities making substantial progress.  The register must include any 
municipality that the authority determines to be making substantial recent progress toward 
meeting its fair housing goal and that has a substantial probability of meeting that goal 
within 3 years.  When determining substantial recent progress, the authority may consider 
whether a municipality has instituted a density bonus to developers in proportion to the 
number of affordable housing units planned for housing projects and whether the 
municipality has adopted a local plan by which the municipality incentivizes the 
development of affordable housing and is in compliance with that plan.
3.  Discount for devalued siting.  When determining a municipality's compliance with 
its fair housing goal, the authority shall disregard 1/2 of the housing units created after 
January 1, 2022 that are located in close proximity to major transportation infrastructure or 
industrial facilities or that result in excessive clustering of low-income or moderate-income 
housing.  The authority may adopt rules under section 4994-E to implement this subsection.
§4994-E.  Rules 
The authority may adopt rules necessary to carry out the duties imposed by this 
subchapter and to ensure compliance with its provisions.  Rules adopted pursuant to this 
paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a comprehensive permit process to streamline the building 
construction permitting system and promote the creation of additional affordable housing 
by public agencies, nonprofit organizations and limited dividend organizations.