C.__"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 or traversing a development and 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.

D.__"Complete plan" means a plan signed and sealed by the professional land surveyor under whose responsible charge a land survey was completed and 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 5, have been addressed.

E.__"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.

F.__"Precertified development" means a development that, prior to final approvals by a local board, has been reviewed by the board established in subsection 3 and certified as an affordable neighborhood development.

3.__State Affordable Neighborhood Development Review Board.__ The State Affordable Neighborhood Development Review Board, referred to in this section as the "board," is established within the Maine State Housing Authority.

A.__The board consists of 6 members:__the Director of the Maine State Housing Authority or the director's designee, who is the 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.__The Director of the Maine State Housing Authority or the director's designee may not vote on applications that are seeking financing from the authority.

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

C.__Members of the board who are employed by State Government serve without pay.__Other members of the board are entitled to receive $75 per day for their attendance at meetings and to reimbursement for reasonable expenses, including travel, to be paid by the Maine State Housing Authority.

D.__Within 60 days of receiving a written request for a precertified development along with a complete plan, the board, by a vote of a majority of the members present and voting, shall issue a written finding:

(1)__Certifying that the plan meets the design guidelines established in this section for an affordable neighborhood development; or

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

4.__Regulation of affordable neighborhood development.__An affordable neighborhood development is 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 development be larger than 6,500 square feet or have frontage of more than 50 feet on any road, except that it may require that the average frontage of all lots in that development be at least 70 feet, and may not require dimensional standards for lots, buildings or roads in excess of the design guidelines established pursuant to subsection 5.

B.__Except as required under Title 38 or an ordinance adopted pursuant to Title 38, a municipality may not require that a multifamily lot within a precertified development have fewer than 7 dwelling units per acre and may not require dimensional standards for lots, buildings or roads in excess of the design guidelines established pursuant to subsection 5.

C.__A precertified 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 precertified development either through an existing line or one that could be extended to that development. If a municipal zoning district enacted pursuant to a consistent comprehensive plan permits only single-family dwellings, the precertified 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 affordable neighborhood development is subject to the same municipal subdivision and site plan reviews as other residential developments in the municipality, except that such reviews may not require dimensional standards for lots, buildings or roads in excess of the design guidelines established pursuant to subsection 5.__Municipal subdivision and site plan reviews of precertified developments must be completed within 180 days of the submission of a complete application for such reviews.

E.__A municipality may substitute its own definition of "accessory dwelling unit" for the definition in subsection 2, paragraph A as long as that definition does not have the effect of prohibiting such a unit in an affordable neighborhood development.

5.__Design guidelines; rule.__The board shall adopt by rule design guidelines for an affordable neighborhood development.__ The office, in cooperation with the board, shall prepare draft guidelines for the board's consideration.__The guidelines must include submission requirements and related fees and 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 protection and public safety and provide for appropriate internal open space and other common open space.__Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

Sec. 4. Submission of rules. Rules adopted by the State Affordable Neighborhood Development Review Board pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, section 4360, subsection 3 must be submitted to the Legislature in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A no later than December 1, 2002.

SUMMARY

This bill implements a recommendation of the Joint Study Committee to Study Growth Management. It establishes the State Affordable Neighborhood Development Review Board within the Maine State Housing Authority and establishes standards for affordable neighborhood developments. It also amends the definition of affordable housing in the growth management laws.