At 1PM today, the Maine Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee will be holding a public hearing for LD 1268, An Act to Update the Site Location of Development Laws. 

Site Law was originally passed in 1970, and regulates the environmental impact of large developments.

The modification of the law currently proposed by the DEP would do something unprecedented – add a locational element to the law.  If passed, the new site law would limit development to locally designated growth areas–IF the town has a comprehensive plan (approximately 200 Maine towns do not). 

For towns without a plan, development would be severely limited and would require things like existing public sewer capacity, designation within the Federal Dicennial Census, or location within an urban compact area.

Bottom line: the new Site Law would shut down many planned commercial and residential developments, especially in rural areas.  Our opinion: This is not the time to shut down economic growth in the areas that need it most.