An Act to Create a Statewide Housing Resolution Board
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1921
Committee: Housing and Economic Development
Sponsors: GERE
Amends: 4 MRSA §18-C

Legislative Document
No. 1921
H.P. 1282
House of Representatives, May 6, 2025
An Act to Create a Statewide Housing Resolution Board
Reference to the Committee on Housing and Economic Development suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GERE of Kennebunkport.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  4 MRSA §18-C is enacted to read:
§18-C.  Housing Resolution Board
1.  Board established.  There is established within the Administrative Office of the 
Courts the Housing Resolution Board, referred to in this section as "the board," to hear 
appeals of final decisions by a municipal reviewing authority regarding housing 
development and mixed-use development that includes housing. 
2.  Board authorized to hear appeals.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 
contrary, the board is authorized to hear appeals from municipal reviewing authorities, such 
as a municipal board of appeals established pursuant to Title 30-A, section 2691, planning 
board, site plan board, design review board, historic preservation review board or other 
review board created by municipal charter or ordinance.  The decision must be a final 
decision as described in Title 30-A, section 4482-B regarding housing development or 
mixed-used development that includes housing.
3.  Membership; appointment.  The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, or 
the justice's designee, shall appoint 3 members to the board with experience and knowledge 
of land use law or housing development.  One member must be an attorney licensed to 
practice law in the State and one member must be a professional engineer or land surveyor.   
4.  Term; chairs; compensation; vacancy.  Board members serve 5-year terms or 
until a successor is appointed, whichever is later.  The initial members of the board serve 
staggered terms of 3, 4 and 5 years.  The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, or 
the justice's designee, shall designate one member as chair to serve in that capacity for the 
duration of the member's term.  The Chief Justice, or the justice's designee, shall establish 
compensation for board members and for the payment of expenses.  Any vacancy on the 
board must be filled for the unexpired term of the vacant seat. 
5.  Conflicts of interest.  Board members shall avoid actual and perceived conflicts of 
interest with their duties as a board member.  A board member may not represent a party, 
testify as an expert witness or render any professional service for any party or interest 
before the board, and any member having an interest in a matter before the board is 
disqualified to act on that appeal.
6.  Removal.  A board member may be removed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, or the justice's designee, for inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in 
performance of the member's duties.   
7.  Duties.  The board has the power and authority to and shall hear and affirm, reverse 
or modify, in whole or in part, appeals of a final decision of a municipal reviewing authority 
under subsection 2 regarding questions of housing and housing development.  The powers 
and duties under this subsection include, but are not limited to, appeals concerning:
A.  Decisions on subdivisions or site plans;
B.  Decisions on variances, special exceptions, administrative appeals and ordinance 
administration; 
C.  The use of innovative land use controls;
D.  Growth management controls and interim growth management controls;
E.  Decisions of historic district commissions, heritage commissions and conservation 
commissions;  
F.  Decisions on other municipal permits and fees applicable to housing and housing 
developments; and
G.  Decisions on mixed-use combinations of residential and nonresidential uses. Such 
different uses may occur on separate properties as long as the properties are all part of 
a common scheme of development.
8.  Timing of appeals.  Appeals must be filed with the board within 30 days of the 
final land use decision of a municipal reviewing authority. At the same time an appeal is 
filed with the board, the appellant shall notify the municipal reviewing authority of the 
appeal.
A.  The municipal reviewing authority shall within 30 days of receipt of the notice of 
appeal submit to the board a certified record of its proceedings on the matter subject to 
the appeal.
B.  The board shall hold a hearing on the merits within 90 days of its receipt of a notice 
of appeal.
C.  The board shall issue a written decision on an appeal within 60 days after 
conducting a hearing on the merits.
9.  Parties to the appeal.  After local remedies have been exhausted, appeals may be 
brought before the board by an applicant to the municipal reviewing authority, or by any 
other aggrieved or injured party who demonstrates legal standing to appeal.  The 
municipality shall be a party to the action. If the applicant is not the party initiating the 
action before the board, then the applicant is automatically an intervenor. The board shall 
grant intervenor status to abutters and to any other aggrieved or injured party who 
demonstrates legal standing to appeal.
10.  Notice.  The board shall serve written notice of the time, place and cause of any 
hearing upon all parties at least 20 days prior to the hearing date.
11.  Jurisdiction.  In matters within its authority, the board has concurrent jurisdiction 
with the Superior Court. An election by any party to bring an action before the board waives 
any right to bring an action in the Superior Court.  At any time during an appeal to the 
board, if the board determines that it does not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal, the 
appellant has 30 days to file an appeal with the Superior Court.  
12.  Automatic stay; dismissal.  An appeal to the board of a final decision of a 
municipal reviewing authority that has previously been or is subsequently included in an 
appeal in Superior Court by another party to the final decision of the municipal reviewing 
authority, or by any other aggrieved or injured party who demonstrates legal standing to 
appeal, must automatically be stayed by the Superior Court to provide the party with 
standing the opportunity to intervene in the matter before the board. If intervenor status is 
granted, the stay of the Superior Court action regarding those claims continues during the 
pendency of the appeal to the board. After the board has decided the appeal, the Superior 
Court shall dismiss the matter before it to the extent the matter has been resolved by the 
board. Any claim included in an appeal to Superior Court that is not within the board's 
authority is not subject to the automatic stay.
13.  Subpoena power; administration of oaths.  The board has the same authority to 
issue subpoenas, administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses to proceedings 
before it as exists for the Superior Court.
14.  Perjury.  Any testimony given by a person duly sworn in an action before the 
board is subject to the penalties of perjury.
15.  Hearing procedure; record.  Appeals to the board must be consistent with appeals 
to the Superior Court.  Appeals must be on the written record of the municipal reviewing 
authority certified by a notary public, and, except in such cases as justice may warrant, in 
the sole discretion of the board, additional evidence may not be introduced.  The rules of 
evidence do not strictly apply. The board shall record the proceedings of any hearing before 
it and shall make the recordings available to the public for inspection and viewing from the 
date of the hearing to a date 15 business days after the board has made a final decision on 
the appeal. Decisions of the board must be reduced to writing and signed by a quorum of 
the board, served upon the parties and made available to the public upon request.  
16.  Standard of review.  The board may not reverse or modify a final decision of a 
municipal reviewing authority except for errors of law or if the board is persuaded by the 
balance of probabilities, on the evidence before it, that the final decision of the municipal 
reviewing authority is unreasonable.  If the appeal is of a final decision regarding an 
affordable housing development, the board may also reverse or modify a decision if the 
municipality's land use ordinances or requirements do not provide a reasonable and realistic 
opportunity for the development of affordable housing or if the municipal reviewing 
authority imposed conditions on approval that render the proposal economically infeasible.
17.  Remedies.  In exercising its authority under this section, the board has the power 
to award all remedies available to the Superior Court in similar cases, including permission 
to develop the proposed housing and to award costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
18.  Filing and enforcement of decisions.  The board shall file a certified copy of a 
final decision in the Superior Court of the county in which the municipal reviewing 
authority is located.  The judgment may be enforced in the same manner as a final Superior 
Court judgment.
19.  Appeal.  Decisions of the board may be appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court 
by any party.
20.  Procedures and rules.  The court may adopt administrative orders and court rules 
to govern the practice, procedure and administration of the board.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Housing Resolution Board within the judicial branch.  The 
board has concurrent jurisdiction with the Superior Court to hear appeals of final decisions 
by municipal reviewing authorities regarding housing and housing development.  Decisions 
of the board may be appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court.