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An Act To Amend the Maine Land Use Planning Commission Laws and Enhance the Economic Vitality of Neighboring Communities
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §683-A, sub-§§1 and 2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 256, §3, are further amended to read:
 
1. Appointment by the Governor.   Except as provided in subsection 2, the Governor shall appoint one member4 members to the commission. In selecting an appointeeappointees, the Governor shall actively seek and give consideration to persons residing in or near the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State and, to persons residing on unorganized coastal islands and to persons who reside across the State to ensure broad geographical representation on the commission and to ensure that each of the areas of expertise set forth in paragraph D is represented on the commission. AnEach appointee under this subsection must be familiar with the needs and issues affecting the commission's jurisdiction and must:
 
A. Reside in the commission's jurisdiction;
 
B. Work in the commission's jurisdiction;
 
C. Be a former resident or be retired after having worked for a minimum of 5 years within the commission's jurisdiction; or
 
D. Have expertise in commerce and industry, fisheries and wildlife, forestry or conservation issues as they relate to the commission's jurisdiction.one or more of the following areas as it relates to the commission's jurisdiction:
 
(1) Municipal government in towns adjacent to the commission's jurisdiction;
 
(2) Fisheries or wildlife;
 
(3) Forestry or the forest-based recreation economy; or
 
(4) Conservation issues.
 
2. Appointment of members representing a county.   One member must be appointed by each of the 85 counties with the most acreage in the unorganized or deorganized areas subject to the jurisdiction of the commission. The board of county commissioners for each of the counties shall appoint by majority vote a resident of that county to serve as a member of the commission. A county commissioner who is a candidate for appointment to serve on the commission may not vote on that appointment. In making the appointment, the board of county commissioners shall actively seek and give consideration to persons residing in or near the unorganized or deorganized areas within the county. The board of county commissioners shall advertise the position in the same manner as the county advertises personnel positions. The board of county commissioners shall accept written or electronic applications from candidates, conduct interviews with candidates as determined by the board and select from among those candidates an appointee.
 
An appointee under this subsection must have expertise in commerce and industrymunicipal government in towns adjacent to the commission's jurisdiction, fisheries andor wildlife, forestry or the forest-based recreation economy or conservation issues as they relate to the commission's jurisdiction and must:
 
A. Reside in the commission's jurisdiction;
 
B. Work in the commission's jurisdiction; or
 
C. Be a former resident or be retired after having worked for a minimum of 5 years within the commission's jurisdiction.
 
If a board of county commissioners fails to appoint a member to the commission under this subsection within 90 business days of a vacancy on the commission to be filled by that county, the Governor shall appoint a resident of that county meeting the criteria in subsection 1 to fill the vacancy.
 
For any county appointee, the board of county commissioners shall provide to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the name and address of the appointee, together with information concerning that person's background and qualifications, in the same manner required of the Governor for nominations made pursuant to Title 3, section 154. A board of county commissioners has the same authority as the Governor, pursuant to Title 3, section 154, to withdraw the name of an appointee at any time before the Senate votes. The provisions of Title 3, sections 155 to 158 apply to the process of legislative review and confirmation of all county appointees to the commission.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §685-A, sub-§8-A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 682, §13, is further amended to read:
 
8-A. Criteria for adoption or amendment of land use district boundaries.   A land use district boundary may not be adopted or amended unless there is substantial evidence that:
 
A. The proposed land use district is consistent with the standards for district boundaries in effect at the time, the comprehensive land use plan and the purpose, intent and provisions of this chapter; and
 
B. The proposed land use district has no undue adverse impact on existing uses or resources or a new district designation is more appropriate for the protection and management of existing uses and resources within the affected area.; and
 
C.  For adoptions or amendments of land use district boundaries for development subdistricts, there is no alternative site in an organized municipality that is suitable to the proposed use and reasonably available to an applicant.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §685-A, sub-§§15 to 17  are enacted to read:
 
15.  Coordination with organized municipalities that share a border with the jurisdiction.     When considering an application for rezoning or development, or the adoption of any rule, standard, policy or plan regarding the location of future development, the commission shall consult with municipalities that share a border with the commission's jurisdiction and are within 10 miles of the land that is subject to the application and the commission shall consider the impacts on the municipalities.
 
16.  Guiding development.     When adopting any rule, standard, policy, plan or procedure that would affect the location of future development, the commission, to the extent possible, shall guide future development into organized municipalities as long as it is not inconsistent with any existing comprehensive land use plan adopted by the affected municipality.
 
17.  Adjacency principle.     Except as provided in paragraph A, the commission may not change the interpretation of the adjacency principle set forth in the commission's comprehensive land use plan in effect on January 1, 2019 for any region of the State until regional land use planning for that region has been completed or approval by the Legislature has been obtained.
 
A.  In applying the adjacency principle during a review of a rezoning application, the commission may not approve an application that would allow development to extend from a developed great pond to an undeveloped great pond.
Sec. 4.  12 MRSA §685-C, sub-§§1-B and 1-C  are enacted to read:
 
1-B.  Regional planning with municipalities that share a border with the jurisdiction.     Upon request by one or more organized municipalities that share a border with land that is within the commission's jurisdiction, the commission shall engage in regional land use planning and zoning with the requesting organized municipalities.
 
1-C.  Regional planning in the Katahdin region.     The commission shall make regional land use planning and zoning in the Katahdin region its highest regional planning priority upon request by 2 or more of the following municipalities: Millinocket, East Millinocket, Medway, Stacyville, Sherman, Patten, Mount Chase or Island Falls.
Sec. 5. Land use structure inventory. In order to inform future land use planning in the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State, the Maine Land Use Planning Commission shall conduct an inventory of existing structures in the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State by July 1, 2020.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing the Maine Land Use Planning Commission by requiring the commission to coordinate with neighboring municipalities by engaging in regional land use planning and directing future development into the communities where possible and consistent with municipal comprehensive land use plans. In order to ensure that the commission has current, critical data necessary for regional planning, the bill directs the commission to conduct a land use structure inventory by July 1, 2020. The bill also changes the appointment process for members of the Maine Land Use Planning Commission to ensure that a statewide perspective and relevant areas of expertise are represented on the commission.