Whereas, certain projects that come before the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission require inordinate resources for appropriate review; and

Whereas, the complexity, size and uniqueness of these projects can significantly affect the ability of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission and its staff to process more routine applications; and

Whereas, the expedient processing of all applications is important to people proposing projects within the jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §685-B, sub-§2, ¶B, as amended by PL 1995, c. 487, §1, is further amended to read:

B. The fee prescribed by the commission rules, that fee to be a minimum of $50 but no greater than 1/4 of 1% of the total development costs, except that the fee for subdivision applications is $300 per lot. Zoning petitions submitted by other than a state or federal agency range from $50 to $500 depending on size and complexity. The fees apply to all amendments except for minor changes to building permits. A fee may not be assessed for a petition that seeks to change an area's designation under section 685-A from a management district to a development district In addition to the fee paid in accordance with this paragraph, the director of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission may assess a processing fee on applications for extraordinary projects in accordance with section 685-F;

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §685-F is enacted to read:

§685-F.__Extraordinary projects

1.__Designation as extraordinary project.__The director of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, referred to in this section as "the director," may designate a proposed project