Opinion ID: 2347740
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Licensed Development on January 1, 1970

Text: Also exempt from the Site Location Law are developments in possession of applicable state or local licenses to operate on January 1, 1970. The defendants concede that HH2 did not possess the Saco Planning Board's final approval, as required by the subdivision regulations of the municipality, until May, 1971. They argue, however, that the planning board gave its preliminary approval subject to certain conditions to the original Hillview Heights area in 1968, and that, once these conditions were satisfied prior to January 1, 1970, the defendants as developers of Hillview Heights Section 2 became entitled to the planning board's final approval as a matter of law. The defendants apparently contend that this alleged right to planning board approval relates back to the original preliminary approval. We disagree. The defendants' argument ignores the plain wording of the exemption. The exemption applies to developments in possession of applicable licenses to operate, not to those that merely have a right to receive the licenses. Therefore, even if Hillview Heights Section 2 was legally entitled to final planning board approval prior to January 1, 1970, it did not possess the license until well after that date, and is not entitled to the exemption on the reference basis.