Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§10, as amended by PL 1989, c. 562, §1, is further amended to read:

10. Local planning committee. "Local planning committee" means the committee established by the municipal officers of a municipality or combination of municipalities which that has the general responsibility established under sections 4324 and 4326. The Maine Land Use Regulation Commission or its designee shall represent a municipality within its jurisdiction on any local planning committee of a multimunicipal region or land use planning region in which the municipality may be participating.

Sec. 5. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§§11-A, 13-A and 14-A to 14-C are enacted to read:

11-A.__Multimunicipal region.__"Multimunicipal region" means a region made up of 2 or more municipalities that work together to cooperatively establish a unified growth management program or independent growth management programs that are unified with respect to the implementation of the statewide goal identified in section 4312, subsection 3, paragraph A.__The municipalities may establish a multimunicipal region pursuant to chapter 115.

13-A.__Priority growth area.__"Priority growth area" means a compact area designated in a local, multimunicipal or regional comprehensive plan as suitable for orderly residential, commercial or industrial development, or any combination of such development, and into which a significant amount of the development forecast over 10 years is directed.

14-A. Rural area.__"Rural area" means a geographic area identified and designated in a local, multimunicipal or regional comprehensive plan as an area deserving of some level of regulatory protection from unrestricted development for the purpose of preserving farmland, forest land, open space, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreational space and access to outdoor recreational space or scenic lands.

14-B.__Secondary growth area.__"Secondary growth area" means an area designated in a local, multimunicipal or regional comprehensive plan as suitable for a share of forecasted residential, commercial or industrial development, but that is not intended to accept the amount or density of development appropriate for a priority growth area.

14-C. Service center community.__"Service center community" means a municipality or group of municipalities identified by the

office as a primary, secondary, small or specialized service center community by rule pursuant to section 4303.

Sec. 6. 30-A MRSA §4303 is enacted to read:

§4303. Rules

The office shall make rules to implement this chapter, including a methodology that identifies service center communities as primary, secondary, small or specialized service center communities and that includes 4 basic identifying criteria: the level of retail sales, jobs-to-workers ratio, the amount of federally assisted housing and the volume of service sector jobs.

Sec. 7. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§5 is enacted to read:

5. Measurable performance outcomes. In addition to the broad goals identified in subsection 3, the Legislature declares that in order to manage the patterns of land development in the State for the purposes of conserving important resources, building and maintaining an efficient public infrastructure and preventing development sprawl, it is in the best interests of the State to achieve the following measurable performance outcomes.

A.__Beginning on January 1, 2005, at least 70% of all residential development occurring in a municipality or multimunicipal region over each 5-year period measured in years ending in "5" or "0" must be located in designated priority or secondary growth areas.

B.__Beginning on January 1, 2005, at least 50% of all residential development occurring in a municipality or multimunicipal region over each 5-year period measured in years ending in "5" or "0" must be located in designated priority growth areas.

In calculating percentages under this subsection, housing units built on lots in subdivisions approved and filed with a county registry of deeds prior to January 1, 2001 are excluded.__The number of housing units built must be based on municipal assessment records.

Beginning on January 1, 2005, highway access must be managed so that there will be no decrease from the posted speed that exists on January 1, 2003 on rural portions of arterial roads that run between urban compact boundaries or on major collectors that have a posted speed of 45 miles per hour or above.__"Major collectors" means major collectors as defined by the Department of Transportation.

Sec. 8. 30-A MRSA §4314, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 721, Pt. A, §1 and affected by Pt. H, §1, is amended to read:

2. Zoning ordinance. Notwithstanding section 4352, subsection 2, any portion of a A zoning ordinance that regulates land use beyond that the shoreland zoning required by Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter I, article 2-B and that is not must be consistent with a comprehensive plan adopted under this subchapter is void 24 months after adoption of the plan or by July 1, 1994, whichever date is later.

Sec. 9. 30-A MRSA §4314, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 722, §6 and affected by §11, is repealed.

Sec. 10. 30-A MRSA §4322, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. A, §45 and Pt. C, §10, is amended to read:

§4322. Exception

This article and section 4343, subsection 1, do not apply to municipalities within the jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission unless the commission elects to include one or more municipalities in its jurisdiction as participants in a multimunicipal region or land use planning region that includes municipalities outside of the commission's jurisdiction.

Sec. 11. 30-A MRSA §4324, as amended by PL 1993, c. 721, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. H, §1, is further amended to read:

§4324. Local or regional responsibility for growth management

This section governs a municipality's the responsibility of a municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region for the preparation or amendment of its local or regional growth management program. Where When procedures for the adoption of comprehensive plans and ordinances are governed by other provisions of this Title or municipal charter or ordinance, the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region may modify the procedural requirements of this section as long as a broad range of opportunity for public comment and review is preserved.

1. Growth management program. Each municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region may prepare a local growth management program in accordance with this section or may amend its existing comprehensive plan and existing land use ordinances to comply with this subchapter.

Critical rural areas must receive priority consideration for proactive strategies designed to enhance rural industries, manage wildlife habitat, preserve sensitive natural areas and other similar purposes.

2. Local planning committee. If a municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region chooses to prepare a local growth management program, the municipal officers of a municipality or combination of municipalities shall designate and establish a local planning committee.

A. The municipal officers may designate any existing planning board or district established under subchapter IV, or a former similar provision, as the local planning committee. Planning boards established under former Title 30, section 4952, subsection 1, continue to be governed by those provisions until they are superseded by municipal charter or ordinance.

B. The local planning committee may develop and maintain a comprehensive plan and may develop an initial proposed zoning ordinance or an initial revision of an existing zoning ordinance. In performing these duties, the local planning committee shall:

(1) Hold public hearings and use other methods to solicit and strongly encourage citizen input; and

(2) Prepare the comprehensive plan and proposed zoning ordinance and make recommendations to the municipal reviewing authority and municipal legislative body regarding the adoption and implementation of the program or amended program.

3. Citizen participation. In order to encourage citizen participation in the development of a local growth management program, municipalities, multimunicipal regions or land use planning regions may adopt local growth management programs only after soliciting and considering a broad range of public review and comment. The intent of this subsection is to provide for the broad dissemination of proposals and alternatives, opportunity for written comments, open discussions, information dissemination and consideration of and response to public comments.

4. Meetings to be public. The local planning committee shall conduct all of its meetings in open, public session. Prior public notice must be given for all meetings of the local planning committee pursuant to Title 1, section 406. Prior to April 1, 1990, if the local planning committee provided notice in

compliance with Title 1, section 406, that notice was sufficient for all legal purposes.

8. Public hearing required. The local planning committee shall hold at least one public hearing on its proposed comprehensive plan.

A. Notice of any public hearing must be posted in the municipality at least 2 times 30 days prior to the hearing.

B. A copy of the proposed comprehensive plan shall must be made available for public inspection at the municipal office or other convenient location with regular public hours at least 30 days before the hearing.

9. Adoption. A comprehensive plan or land use ordinance is deemed to have been adopted as part of a local growth management program when it has been accepted adopted by the municipality's legislative body.

10. Amendments to an adopted plan. When amending an adopted comprehensive plan, a municipality shall follow the same procedures for citizen participation, public notice and public hearing that are required for adoption of a comprehensive plan.

Sec. 12. 30-A MRSA §4325, sub-§4 is enacted to read:

4.__Land use planning regions.__Two or more municipalities that include at least one service center community and a municipality within commuting proximity to the service center community may form a land use planning region according to this subsection. The benefits and responsibilities of forming a land use planning region are governed by this subsection.

A.__The primary purpose of forming a land use planning region is to implement the regional comprehensive plan as adopted by a regional council pursuant to section 4326, subsection 3.

B.__Municipal requirements established by this chapter related to the state goal identified in section 4312, subsection 3, paragraph A, municipal requirements that meet or exceed the measurable standards established in section 4326 and penalties established in section 4350, subsection 3 do not apply to any municipality that is part of a land use planning region.

C.__Municipalities that are members of land use planning regions shall enter into an interlocal agreement pursuant to the procedures established in chapter 115.__The interlocal

agreement governing a land use planning region must provide a governance structure sufficient to ensure the effective implementation and maintenance of a cooperative land use regulatory system among the participating municipalities.__ The regional councils may assist the participating municipalities in the development of the interlocal agreement, and all interlocal agreements must be submitted to the office for review and approval pursuant to section 2205.

D.__Critical rural areas identified in a regional comprehensive plan that are located within a land use planning region must be regulated by that region to allow for an increased residential density of no more than 1 dwelling unit per every 25 acres of high value rural area.

E.__Priority growth areas identified in a regional comprehensive plan that are located within a land use planning region must be regulated by the region to allow for a residential density of at least one dwelling unit per acre in growth areas not served by wastewater disposal systems and at least one dwelling unit per half-acre in growth areas that are served by wastewater disposal systems.

F.__Land use planning regions shall develop, adopt, implement and maintain a system of transferable development rights designed to provide the owners of property within the region's critical rural areas just compensation for the market effects of establishing increased density limits of no more than one dwelling unit per 25 acres.__In general, the system of transferable development rights must condition the permission to develop property in the identified growth areas within the land use planning region on the purchase of units of development capacity, at market prices, within the region's critical rural areas.__The office shall adopt rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375 that govern any system of transferable development rights adopted by a land use planning region, which are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

G.__Municipalities within a land use planning region are entitled to receive and have first access to nonproperty tax resources that have been identified in the regional comprehensive plan as necessary for the purpose of__building, acquiring, providing, rehabilitating, renovating and maintaining the necessary infrastructure to support the region's growth areas and implement the regional comprehensive plan.__These nonproperty tax revenues may be made available through the municipal investment trust fund, the community development block grant program, any similar

infrastructure grant programs and the General Fund.__ Providing access to an adequate level of nonproperty tax revenues to land use planning regions for the purpose of implementing regional comprehensive plans is a responsibility of the Legislature, and the degree to which the Legislature meets that responsibility must be part of the report submitted by the office pursuant to section 4331, subsection 5.

Sec. 13. 30-A MRSA §4326, sub-§§1 and 2, as amended by PL 1991, c. 722, §7 and affected by §11, are further amended to read:

1. Inventory and analysis. A comprehensive plan shall must include an inventory and analysis section addressing state goals under this subchapter and issues of regional or local significance the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region considers important. The inventory must be based on information provided by the State, regional councils and other relevant local sources. The analysis must include 10-year projections, split at least into 5-year periods, of local and regional growth in population and residential, commercial and industrial activity; the projected need for public facilities; and the vulnerability of and potential impacts on natural resources.

The inventory and analysis section must include, but is not limited to:

A. Economic and demographic data describing the municipality and the region in which it is located. The demographic inventory must include a reasonable estimate, calculated in consultation with the office, of the amount of residential, commercial and industrial development that will occur in the municipality or multimunicipal region during the 10-year period subsequent to the adoption of the comprehensive plan or any amendments to the comprehensive plan;

B. Significant water resources such as lakes, aquifers, estuaries, rivers and coastal areas and, where applicable, their vulnerability to degradation;

C. Significant or critical natural resources, such as wetlands, wildlife and fisheries habitats, significant plant habitats, coastal islands, sand dunes, scenic areas, shorelands, heritage coastal areas as defined under Title 5, section 3316, and unique natural areas;

D. Marine-related resources and facilities such as ports, harbors, commercial moorings, commercial docking facilities and related parking, and shell fishing and worming areas;

E. Commercial forestry and agricultural land;

F. Existing recreation, park and open space areas and significant points of public access to shorelands within a municipality;

G. Existing transportation systems, including the capacity of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, secondary routes, pedestrian ways and parking facilities;

H. Residential housing stock, including affordable housing;

I. Historical and archeological resources including, at the discretion of the municipality, stone walls, stone impoundments and timber bridges of historical significance;

J. Land use information describing current and projected development patterns; and

K. An assessment of capital facilities and public services necessary to support growth and development and to protect the environment and health, safety and welfare of the public and the costs of those facilities and services.

2. Policy development. A comprehensive plan must include a policy development section that relates the findings contained in the inventory and analysis section to the state goals and the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5. The policies must:

A. Promote the state goals under this subchapter;

B. Address any conflicts between state goals under this subchapter;

C. Address any conflicts between regional and local issues; and

D. Address the State's coastal policies.

The comprehensive plan of any municipality or multimunicipal region satisfies this section with regard to the state goal established in section 4312, subsection 3, paragraph A if the municipality or multimunicipal region meets or exceeds the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5.__The comprehensive plan of any municipality or

municipality within a multimunicipal region or land use planning region may not be reviewed by the office for consistency with the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5 if the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region is entirely located in a labor market area, as defined by the United States Department of Labor, experiencing a residential housing growth rate of 5% or less during the most recent 5-year period as measured in years ending in "5" or "0," as long as during the same period the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region has had a net increase of housing units of 25 or fewer.

Sec. 14. 30-A MRSA §4326, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1999, c. 776, §8, is further amended to read:

3. Implementation strategy. A comprehensive plan must include an implementation strategy section that contains a timetable for the implementation program, including land use ordinances, ensuring that designed to address the goals and meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes established under this subchapter are met. These implementation strategies must be consistent with state law and must actively promote policies developed during the planning process. The timetable must identify significant ordinances to be included in the implementation program. The strategies and timetable must guide the subsequent adoption of policies, programs and land use ordinances. The implementation strategies of a municipality or multimunicipal region satisfy this section as it applies to the state goal identified in section 4312, subsection 3, paragraph A if the municipality or multimunicipal region meets or exceeds the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5.__The comprehensive plan of a municipality or municipality within a multimunicipal region or land use planning region may not be reviewed by the office for consistency with the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5 if the municipality or multimunicipal region is entirely located in a labor market area, as defined by the United States Department of Labor, experiencing a residential housing growth rate of 5% or less during the most recent 5-year period as measured in years ending in "5" or "0," as long as during the same period the municipality or multimunicipal region has had a net increase of housing units of 25 or fewer. In developing its strategies and subsequent policies, programs and land use ordinances, each municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region shall employ the following guidelines consistent with the goals of this subchapter:

A. Identify and designate at least 2 basic types of geographic areas:

(1) Growth Priority growth areas, which are those areas suitable for orderly residential, commercial and industrial development or any combination of those types of development, forecast over the next 10 years. Each municipality shall: where most of the development forecasted for the next 10 years must be directed.__A plan may also designate secondary growth areas.__Unless limited by natural conditions, a growth area designated for residential development must permit development at densities of at least 2 dwelling units per acre when a public wastewater disposal system is available, or at least one dwelling unit per acre when on-site, individual wastewater disposal is used; and

(a) Establish standards for these developments;

(b) Establish timely permitting procedures;

(c) Ensure that needed public services are available within the growth area; and

(d) Prevent inappropriate development in natural hazard areas, including flood plains and areas of high erosion; and

(2) Rural areas, which are those areas where protection should be provided for agricultural, forest, open space and scenic lands within the municipality as defined in this chapter. Each municipality shall adopt land use policies and ordinances to discourage incompatible development. When residential development is allowed in a rural area, it must be at a sufficiently low density and contain other proactive measures to allow for contiguous, undeveloped blocks of land large enough to accommodate economically viable farming and forestry and habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including wildlife that needs interior space to thrive.__A comprehensive plan must distinguish between critical rural areas and other rural areas.

In order to meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5 and to effect the goals established by this chapter, each municipality or multimunicipal region is encouraged to adopt land use policies and ordinances to discourage incompatible development, establish standards to govern all development, establish timely permitting procedures, ensure that the needed public services are available within the growth area and prevent

inappropriate development in natural hazard areas including flood plains and areas of high erosion.

These policies and ordinances may include, without limitation: density limits; cluster or special zoning; acquisition of land or development rights; or performance standards.

A municipality or a multimunicipal region is not required to identify growth areas for residential growth if it demonstrates that it is not possible to accommodate future residential growth in these areas because of severe physical limitations, including, without limitation, the lack of adequate water supply and sewage disposal services, very shallow soils or limitations imposed by protected natural resources; or it demonstrates that the municipality has experienced minimal or no residential development over the past decade and this condition is expected to continue over the 10-year planning period. A municipality or multimunicipal region exercising the discretion afforded by this paragraph shall review the basis for its demonstration during the periodic revisions undertaken pursuant to section 4327;.

The penalties listed in section 4350 that apply to municipalities or__multimunicipal regions that fail to meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5 do not apply to any municipality or municipality within a multimunicipal region or land use planning region that is entirely located in a labor market area, as defined by the United States Department of Labor, experiencing a residential housing growth rate of 5% or less during the most recent 5-year period as measured in years ending in "5" or "0," as long as during the same period the municipality has had a net increase of housing units of 25 or fewer.

Once the growth areas and rural areas in the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region have been identified and designated pursuant to an adopted comprehensive plan or plans and the office has found that the relative size and configuration of those designated areas are consistent with this chapter, the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region shall ensure that the measurable performance outcomes identified in section 4312, subsection 5, paragraphs A and B are met or exceeded.__The percentage of allowable development governing the patterns of development may be modified to account for regional variance in accordance with paragraph L;

B. Develop a capital investment plan for financing the replacement and expansion of public facilities and services required to meet projected growth and development. The capital investment plan must include a calculation of the resources needed from sources other than the property tax, including resources from the municipal investment trust fund and the community development block grant program, in order to provide the functionally necessary infrastructure so that the designated growth area will reasonably be able to accommodate and support the anticipated growth, recognizing that contributions for that infrastructure are a shared state and local responsibility.__Pursuant to section 4347, and in the context of the municipality's, multimunicipal region's or land use planning region's overall capital investment plan, the office shall review the calculation of the nonproperty tax resources necessary to implement a functional growth area to ensure that it meets the criteria of this section;

C. Protect, maintain and, when warranted, improve the water quality of each water body pursuant to Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter I, article 4-A and ensure that the water quality will be protected from long-term and cumulative increases in phosphorus from development in great pond watersheds;

D. Ensure that its land use policies and ordinances are consistent with applicable state law regarding critical natural resources. A municipality may adopt ordinances more stringent than applicable state law;

E. Ensure the preservation of access to coastal waters necessary for commercial fishing, commercial mooring, docking and related parking facilities. Each coastal municipality may identify and designate a critical waterfront area and implement policies to ensure that area's protection or shall discourage new development that is incompatible with uses related to the marine resources industry;

F. Ensure the protection of agricultural and forest resources. Each municipality, multimunicipal region and land use planning region shall discourage new development that is incompatible with uses related to the agricultural and forest industry;

G. Ensure that its land use policies and ordinances encourage the siting and construction of affordable housing within the community and comply with the requirements of section 4358 pertaining to individual mobile home and mobile home park siting and design requirements. The municipality,

multimunicipal region or land use planning region shall seek to achieve a level of 10% of new residential development, based on a 5-year historical average of residential development in the municipality, meeting the definition of affordable housing. Municipalities are encouraged to seek creative approaches to assist in the development of affordable housing, including, but not limited to, cluster zoning, reducing minimum lot and frontage sizes, increasing densities and use of municipally owned land;

H. Ensure that the value of historical and archeological resources is recognized and that protection is afforded to those resources that merit it;

I. Encourage the availability of and access to traditional outdoor recreation opportunities, including, without limitation, hunting, boating, fishing and hiking; and encourage the creation of greenbelts, public parks, trails and conservation easements. Each municipality, multimunicipal region and land use planning region shall identify and encourage the protection of undeveloped shoreland and other areas identified in the local planning process as meriting that protection; and

J. Develop management goals for great ponds pertaining to the type of shoreline character, intensity of surface water use, protection of resources of state significance and type of public access appropriate for the intensity of use of great ponds within a municipality's or multimunicipal region's jurisdiction. Representatives of the Department of Marine Resources, as applicable, the Department of Conservation, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Environmental Protection and the office shall attend public hearings convened within the municipality or multimunicipal region for the purpose of developing these management goals and shall provide clearly stated recommendations at those public hearings with respect to the criteria listed in this section;

K.__Ensure the efficient use and functional integrity of state and state aid highways.__The municipality or multimunicipal region shall ensure that the measurable performance outcome identified in section 4312, subsection 5 is met or exceeded; and

L.__The office may adopt rules in accordance with the procedures of Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A that modify the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5 according to regional variation.__In the process of adopting those rules, the office shall

conduct public hearings within the regions of the State where the proposed modifications to the measurable performance outcomes would apply.__The office shall also adopt rules to govern the determination of good-cause failure of a municipality or multimunicipal region to meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5.__At a minimum, municipalities and multimunicipal regions have good cause not to meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes if:

(1)__The actual development growth occurring in the municipality or multimunicipal region over the 5-year period exceeded the growth rate estimates calculated pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph A by 50%; or

(2)__Either the financial assistance grants identified in section 4346 or the nonproperty tax resources identified pursuant to paragraph B have not been made available to the municipality or multimunicipal region.

Sec. 15. 30-A MRSA §4327, first ¶, as amended by PL 1993, c. 721, Pt. A, §4 and affected by Pt. H, §1, is further amended to read:

Except as provided in subsection 1, certification by the office of a municipality's or multimunicipal region's local growth management program under this article is valid for 5 years. To maintain certification, a municipality or multimunicipal region shall periodically review its local growth management program and submit to the office in a timely manner any revisions necessary to account for changes, including changes caused by growth and development.

Sec. 16. 30-A MRSA §4331, sub-§§1, 4 and 5, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 721, Pt. A, §5 and affected by Pt. H, §1, are amended to read:

1. Criteria. In conducting the evaluation, the office shall develop criteria based on the goals of this chapter. The criteria must be objective, verifiable and, to the extent practicable, quantifiable.

4. Level of analysis. The office shall evaluate the program generally at a regional and statewide level. To illustrate the impact of the program, the office shall compare land use development trends and patterns in a sample of towns that have participated in the program with a matched sample of towns that have not participated. The evaluation performed by the office must include an analysis of the State's financial commitment to growth management.__Specifically, and in the context of section

4326, subsection 3, paragraph L and section 4346, the office shall determine to what degree the Legislature made resources available to the municipalities, multimunicipal regions, land use planning regions, regional councils and the office in order to effectively implement their respective growth management responsibilities.

5. Periodic reports. Beginning on January 1, 1995, the office shall report in writing on the results of its evaluation process every 4 years and more frequently if necessary. The office shall submit its report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resource matters and to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs, which shall submit the report to the full Legislature with any comments or recommendations they may wish to include.

Sec. 17. 30-A MRSA §4345, as amended by PL 1995, c. 395, Pt. D, §13, is further amended to read:

§4345. Purpose; office to administer program

Under the provisions of this article, a municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region may request financial or technical assistance from the State Planning Office, referred to in this article as the office, for the purpose of planning and implementing a local growth management program. A municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region that requests and receives a financial assistance grant shall develop and implement its growth management program in cooperation with the office and in a manner consistent with the provisions of this article.

To accomplish the purposes of this article, the office shall develop and administer a technical and financial assistance program for municipalities, multimunicipal regions and land use planning regions. The program must include direct financial assistance for planning and implementation of local growth management programs, standards governing the review of local growth management programs by the office, technical assistance to municipalities and a voluntary certification program for local growth management programs, multimunicipal regions and land use planning regions.

Sec. 18. 30-A MRSA §4346, as amended by PL 1993, c. 721, Pt. A, §§7 to 10 and affected by Pt. H, §1, is further amended to read:

§4346. Technical and financial assistance program

The technical and financial assistance program for municipalities, multimunicipal regions, land use planning regions and regional councils is established to encourage and facilitate the adoption and implementation of local growth management programs throughout the State.

The office may enter into financial assistance grants only to the extent that funds are available. In making grants, the office shall consider the need for planning in a municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region, the proximity of the municipality or region to other towns that are conducting or have completed the planning process and the economic and geographic role of the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region within a regional context. The office may consider other criteria in making grants, as long as the criteria support the goal of encouraging and facilitating the adoption and implementation of a local growth management program consistent with the provisions of this article.

2-A. Financial assistance grants. A contract for a financial assistance grant must:

A. Provide for the payment of a specific amount for the purposes of planning and preparing a comprehensive plan;

B. Provide for the payment of a specific amount for the purposes of implementing that plan; and

C. Include specific timetables governing the preparation and submission of products by the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region.

The office may not require a municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region to provide matching funds in excess of 25% of the value of that municipality's financial assistance contract.

2-B. Use of funds. A municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region may expend financial assistance grants for:

A. The conduct of surveys, inventories and other data- gathering activities;

B. The hiring of planning and other technical staff;

C. The retention of planning consultants;

D. Contracts with regional councils for planning and related services;

E. Assistance in the development of ordinances;

F. Retention of technical and legal expertise for permitting activities;

G. The updating of growth management programs or components of a program; and

H. Any other purpose agreed to by the office and the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region that is directly related to the preparation of a comprehensive plan or the preparation of policies, programs and land use ordinances to implement that plan.

2-C.__Additional funding to fully implement growth management programs.__By working with state agencies, quasi-state agencies and independent agencies that administer the distribution of state and federal resources and resources backed by state and federal guarantees, including, but not limited to, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Department of Education, the Maine State Housing Authority and the Maine Municipal Bond Bank, the office shall assist municipalities, multimunicipal regions and land use planning regions in securing the nonproperty tax resources identified in a growth management program's capital improvement plan that are determined reasonably necessary for the municipality or multimunicipal region to meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes established in this chapter.

3. Technical assistance. Using its own staff, the staff of other state agencies and the resources of the regional councils, the office shall provide technical assistance to municipalities, multimunicipal regions and land use planning regions in the development, administration and enforcement of local growth management programs. The technical assistance component of the program must include a set of model land use ordinances or other implementation strategies developed by the office that are consistent with this subchapter.

4. Regional council assistance. As part of the technical and financial assistance program, the office may must develop and administer a program to develop regional education and training programs, regional policies to address state goals and regional assessments. Regional assessments may include, but are not limited to, public infrastructure, inventories of agricultural and commercial forest lands, housing needs, recreation and open space needs, and projections of regional growth and economic development. The program may must include guidelines to ensure methodological consistency among the State's regional councils.

To implement this program, the office may must contract with regional councils to assist the office in reviewing local growth management programs, to develop necessary planning information at a regional level or to, provide support for local planning efforts and develop, adopt and maintain regional comprehensive plans in order to provide context for the comprehensive planning and growth management efforts of municipalities, multimunicipal regions and land use planning regions. The regional comprehensive plans must be designed to achieve the state goals and measurable performance outcomes identified in this chapter and must be reviewed by the office for consistency with this chapter in the same manner and according to the same criteria as local growth management programs are reviewed pursuant to section 4347.

5. Coordination. State agencies with regulatory or other authority affecting the goals established in this subchapter shall conduct their respective activities in a manner consistent with the goals established under this subchapter. Without limiting the application of this section to other state agencies, the following agencies shall comply with this section:

A. Department of Conservation;

B. Department of Economic and Community Development;

C. Department of Environmental Protection;

D. Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources;

E. Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife;

F. Department of Marine Resources;

G. Department of Transportation;

H. Finance Authority of Maine; and

I. Maine State Housing Authority.

Sec. 19. 30-A MRSA §4347, as amended by PL 1993, c. 166, §§9 and 10, is further amended to read:

§4347. Review of local programs by office

A municipality or multimunicipal region that chooses to prepare a local growth management program and receives a planning or implementation assistance grant under this article, and any regional planning agency preparing a regional comprehensive plan, must submit its comprehensive plan and proposed zoning ordinances

to the office for review. The office shall review plans and zoning ordinances local and regional growth management for consistency with the goals and guidelines established in this subchapter. Any contract for a planning assistance grant or an implementation assistance grant must include specific timetables governing the review of the comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance growth management program by the office.

1. Review of program. In reviewing a local growth management program, the office shall do the following.

A. The office shall solicit written comments on any proposed comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance from regional councils, state agencies, all municipalities contiguous to the municipality or multimunicipal region submitting a comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance and any interested residents of the municipality or of contiguous municipalities. The comment period extends for 45 days after the office receives the proposal.

(1) Each state agency reviewing the proposal shall designate a person or persons responsible for coordinating the agency's review of the proposal.

B. The office shall prepare all written comments from all sources in a form to be forwarded to the municipality or multimunicipal region.

C. The office shall send all written comments on the proposal to the municipality or multimunicipal region within 60 days after receiving its proposal. The office shall also forward its comments and suggested revisions to any applicable regional council.

D. If warranted, the The office shall issue findings specifically describing how the submitted plan or ordinance is not consistent with this subchapter and the recommended measures for remedying the deficiencies. In its findings, the office shall clearly indicate its position on any point on which there are significant conflicts among the written comments submitted to the office.

E.__With respect to a determination of consistency between any growth management program adopted by a municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region and the state goal identified in section 4312, subsection 3, paragraph A, the office shall review the identification of growth and rural areas for size and configuration in accordance with section 4326, subsection 3, paragraph A and otherwise only consider whether the municipality,

multimunicipal region or land use planning region failed, without good cause, to meet or exceed the measurable standards established in section 4312, subsection 5.

2. Updates and amendments. A municipality or multimunicipal region may submit proposed amendments to a comprehensive plan or zoning ordinances to the office for review in the same manner as provided for the review of new plans and ordinances. Subsequent to voluntary certification under section 4348, the municipality or multimunicipal region shall file a copy of an amendment to a zoning ordinance with the office within 30 days after adopting the amendment.

3. Regional councils. Subject to the availability of funding and pursuant to the conditions of a contract, each regional council shall review and submit written comments on the proposal of any municipality within its planning region. The comments must be submitted to the office and contain an analysis of:

A. How the proposal addresses identified regional needs; and

B. Whether the proposal is consistent with those of other municipalities that may be affected by the proposal.

Sec. 21. 30-A MRSA §4348, as amended by PL 1993, c. 166, §11, is further amended to read:

§4348. Voluntary certification

A municipality or multimunicipal region may at any time request a certificate of consistency for its local growth management program. Upon a request for review under this section, the office shall review the program and determine whether the program is consistent with the local growth management goals and guidelines established in this subchapter.

1. Solicitation of comments. In conducting a review under this section, the office shall solicit written comments on the local growth management program from regional councils and state agencies, all municipalities contiguous to the municipality or multimunicipal region submitting the program and any interested residents of the municipality or contiguous municipalities.

A. Any regional council commenting on a program shall determine whether the program is compatible with those of other municipalities that may be affected by the program and with regional needs identified by the regional council.

B. Within 90 days after receiving the municipal request, the office shall issue a certificate of consistency or request revisions to the program. If the same local growth management program or a component of the program has been previously reviewed by the office under this article, denial of certification or requested revisions must be based on written findings prepared by the office at that time.

C. If the office requests revisions to the program, it shall provide the municipality or multimunicipal region with findings specifically describing the deficiencies in the submitted program and the recommended measures for remedying the deficiencies.

D. The office shall provide ample opportunity for the municipality or multimunicipal region submitting a local growth management program to respond to and correct any identified deficiencies in the program.

F. The office shall provide an expedited review and certification procedure for those submissions that represent minor amendments to certified local growth management programs.

G. The office's decision on certification constitutes final agency action.

Sec. 22. 30-A MRSA §4350 is enacted to read:

§4350.__Penalties

Municipalities and multimunicipal regions that fail without good cause to meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes established in this chapter shall bear their share of the financial consequences of__inefficient development patterns and unmanaged development growth.

1. Duration of penalty period.__The penalties described in this section apply to any municipality or municipality that is part of a multimunicipal region that has failed without good cause to meet or exceed the measurable performance outcomes established in section 4312, subsection 5 during a defined 5-year period.__The period of the penalty must run during the 5-year period immediately following the 5-year period in which the failure to meet or exceed the measurable standards occurred.__For the purposes of this section, the first 5-year period runs from January 1, 2005 to January 1, 2010, and all subsequent 5-year periods run consecutively, beginning and ending in a year that ends in "5" or "0."

2. Financial penalties.__A municipality or municipality located within a multimunicipal region subject to penalties pursuant to subsection 1 is not eligible for:

A.__Grants or other financial assistance from or through the State for growth-related capital investments, as defined in section 4301, subsection 5-B, paragraphs A to D;

B.__Assistance from the Land for Maine's Future Program for locally significant recreation and conservation projects; and

C.__State aid for minor collector capital projects as might otherwise be provided under Title 23, section 1803-B, subsection 5.

3. Regulatory penalties.__A municipality or municipality located within a multimunicipal region subject to penalties pursuant to subsection 1 may not:

A.__Adopt or administer uniform minimum lot size ordinances more stringent than the State's minimum lot size law, Title 12, chapter 423-A, unless the municipality provides to the office, and the office approves, clear documentation that the ordinances are required to protect the public health or a critical natural resource; and

B.__Adopt regulations or ordinances that cap or set quotas for the amount of development or growth in the municipality except outside of priority growth areas as identified in a consistent comprehensive plan.

4. Appeal.__The office shall inform in writing the municipal officers of any municipality as soon as the office determines that the municipality, on its own or as part of a multimunicipal region, has become subject to the penalties imposed by this section.__Within 60 days of receiving this notice, the municipality may appeal the decision by filing a notice of appeal to the director of the office.__Upon receiving notice of the appeal, the director shall schedule an appeal hearing over which the director shall preside.__The burden of proof that the municipality is subject to the penalties provided by this section rests with the office.__At the appeal hearing, the director shall allow into evidence any credible data or information provided by the municipality that pertains to a finding that the municipality is subject to the penalties provided by this section, including, but not limited to, information pertaining to the standards of good-cause failure to meet or exceed the measurable performance standards established by section 4326, subsection 3, paragraph L, demographic information compiled by the municipality regarding the actual location of residential growth within the

municipality, and information regarding the highway management practices of the municipality or multimunicipal region and the degree to which those practices were related to a reduction of posted speeds on arterial or major collector roads.__Upon conclusion of the appeal hearing, and no later than 30 days after the appeal hearing, the director shall issue to the municipal officers a final determination, in writing, with respect to whether the municipality is subject to the penalties provided by this subsection.__That determination is a final agency action.

5. Corrective plan.__Any municipality and any municipality located within a multimunicipal region that is found to be subject to the penalties imposed by this subsection may, at any time during the penalty periods imposed by subsection 1, submit a corrective plan to the office that identifies the actions that have been taken by the municipality to adopt, amend or further implement its growth management program in such a way as to substantially achieve the goals of this chapter and meet the measurable performance standards identified in section 4312, subsection 5.__The director of the office is authorized upon review and approval of the plan to lift the penalties provided by this section for that municipality for prescribed periods or for the duration of the penalty period imposed by subsection 1.

6.__Redistribution of restricted funds.__All funds that are not distributed to municipalities due to the application of this section must be retained in the fund from which they would otherwise be distributed and made available to other participating municipalities during the appropriate fiscal year and in accordance with the systems of distribution applicable to those programs.

Sec. 20. 30-A MRSA §4357-B is enacted to read:

§4357-B.__Regulation of traditional neighborhood development

1.__Definitions.__As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

A.__"Accessory dwelling unit" means a dwelling unit of 600 square feet or fewer within a single-family dwelling or a building accessory to and on the same lot as the single- family dwelling when the owner of the property occupies either the main dwelling or the accessory dwelling unit.

B.__"Common open space" means a parcel or parcels of land, an area of water or a combination of land and water, including floodplains and wetlands, within a development

designed and intended for the use and enjoyment of residents of the development.__"Common open space" does not include land or yards allocated to specific dwelling units or other structures or in public rights-of-way.

C.__"Complete plan" means a plan signed and sealed by the professional land surveyor under whose responsible charge a land survey was completed and signed and sealed by a landscape architect certified in the State under whose responsible charge all elements of the plan, as required by the design guidelines established in subsection 4, have been addressed.

D.__"Internal open space" means a component of common open space, consisting of one or more parcels with a minimum area of 500 square feet, of a distinct geometric shape and bounded by streets or other rights-of-way.

E.__"Precertified development" means a development that, prior to final approvals by a local board, has been reviewed by the State Development Review Board established in subsection 2 and certified as a traditional neighborhood development.

F.__"Traditional neighborhood development" means a primarily residential development designed to be compact and walkable, served by public sewer, with common and internal open space, with small-scale nonresidential uses either built within the development or within 1/2 mile of the development, with at least 30% of dwelling units in the development affordable housing as defined by section 4301, and meeting design guidelines established pursuant to subsection 4.

2.__State Development Review Board.__The State Development Review Board is established.

A.__The State Development Review Board, referred to in this subsection as the "board," is established within the Maine State Housing Authority.__Its membership consists of the director of the Maine State Housing Authority or the director's designee, who is its chair; the Director of the State Planning Office or the director's designee; the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or the commissioner's designee; a landscape architect certified in the State, appointed by the Governor; a town or city planner employed by a municipality in the State appointed by the Governor; and an elected municipal official, appointed by the Governor.

B.__Appointed members of the board shall serve 3-year terms, or until a successor is named, whichever is later, as long as they continue to hold a position that qualified them for appointment.__A quorum is 4 members.

C.__Within 60 days of receiving a written request, along with a complete plan, the board shall, by a vote of at least 2/3 of the members present and voting, issue a written finding:

(1)__Certifying that the plan meets the criteria and design guidelines, as established in this section, for a traditional neighborhood development; or

(2)__Denying certification that the plan meets the criteria and design guidelines for a traditional neighborhood development, and the reasons for the denial.__An applicant whose request for certification is denied may resubmit a new complete plan at a later date.

D.__Members of the board who are employed by state government shall serve without pay.__Other members of the board are entitled to receive $75 per day for their services and to reimbursement for reasonable expenses, including travel, to be paid by the Maine State Housing Authority.

3.__Regulation of traditional neighborhood development.__ Traditional neighborhood developments are regulated as follows.

A.__Except as required under Title 38, or an ordinance adopted pursuant to Title 38, a municipality may not require a single-family house lot within a precertified traditional neighborhood development to be larger than 6,500 square feet or to have frontage of more than 50 feet on a road, except that it may require the average frontage of all lots in the development to be at least 70 feet, and may not require dimensional standards for lots, buildings or roads in excess of the guidelines established pursuant to subsection 4.

B.__Except as required under Title 38, or an ordinance adopted pursuant to Title 38, a municipality may not require a multifamily lot within a precertified traditional neighborhood development to have fewer than 7 dwelling units per acre, and may not require dimensional standards for lots, buildings or roads in excess of the guidelines established pursuant to subsection 4.

C.__A certified traditional neighborhood development may be located in any area of a municipality where other

residential development is allowed, as long as public sewer is available to the development and, if a municipal zoning district enacted pursuant to a consistent comprehensive plan permits only single-family dwellings, the certified traditional neighborhood development must be restricted to single-family dwellings, accessory dwelling units and small- scale nonresidential structures and uses found by the board to be integral to the development.

D.__A precertified traditional neighborhood development is subject to the same municipal subdivision and site plan approvals as other developments in the municipality.

E.__A municipality may substitute its definition of "accessory dwelling unit," as long as it does not have the effect of prohibiting those units in a traditional neighborhood development.

4.__Design guidelines; rule.__The board shall adopt, by rule, design guidelines that define a traditional neighborhood development.__The rule must include submission requirements and related fees. The State Planning Office, in cooperation with the board, shall prepare draft guidelines for the board's consideration.__The guidelines must generally respect the principles of walkable neighborhoods with a variety of lot sizes and types and choice of housing for households of different incomes that are built to human scale, respect the natural environment, provide for adequate fire and public safety and provide for appropriate internal and other common open space.__ The rule is a major substantive rule as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A and must be submitted to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2001.

Sec. 23. 36 MRSA §1951-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read:

3. Report to treasurer; treasurer's obligations.__At the end of each month, and based on the reports provided under subsection 1, the State Tax Assessor shall certify to the State Treasurer the sales tax revenues collected on the value of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house, tourist or trailer camp and on the value of prepared food sold in establishments that are licensed for on-premises consumption of liquor pursuant to Title 28-A, chapter 43 during the most recently completed reporting period.__ Upon receiving that certification, the State Treasurer shall transfer 10% of the certified amount to the Municipal Investment Trust Fund, established under Title 30-A, section 5953-D.__The funds transferred to the Municipal Investment Trust Fund in accordance with this section may only be made available to municipalities, multimunicipal regions or land use planning regions that are eligible for funding in accordance with Title

30-A, chapter 187, subchapter I, and must be used by the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region for the payment of principal and interest to holders of bonds issued for the construction of a major capital project undertaken by the municipality, multimunicipal region or land use planning region.__For the purposes of this subsection, "major capital project" means the construction or expansion of a building or facility to be used for public purposes with a total construction cost of $1,000,000 or more.

SUMMARY

The bill amends the growth management law and laws relating to growth management.