An Act To Foster Economic Development by Improving Administration of the Laws Governing Site Location of Development and Storm Water Management
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §420-D, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2009, c. 602, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §482, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1997, c. 603, §2, is further amended to read:
(1) The proposed subdivision is located wholly or partly within the shoreland zone;
(1) Sale or lease of lots to an abutting owner or to a spouse, child, parent, grandparent or sibling of the developer if those lots are not further divided or transferred to a person not so related to the developer within a 5-year period, except as provided in this subsection;
(2) Personal, nonprofit transactions, such as the transfer of lots by gift, if those lots are not further divided or transferred within a 5-year period or the transfer of lots by devise or inheritance; or
(3) Grant of a bona fide security interest in the whole lot or subsequent transfer of the whole lot by the original holder of the bona fide security interest or that person's successor in interest;
(1) Sale or lease of common lots created with a conservation easement as defined in Title 33, section 476, provided that as long as the department is made a party; and
The exception described in paragraph F does not apply, and the subdivision requires site location approval, whenever the use of a lot described in paragraph F changes or the lot is offered for sale or lease to the general public without the limitations set forth in paragraph F. For the purposes of this subsection only, a parcel of land is defined as all contiguous land in the same ownership provided that lands located on opposite sides of a public or private road are considered each a separate parcel of land unless that road was established by the owner of land on both sides of the road subsequent to January 1, 1970. A lot to be offered for sale or lease to the general public is counted, for purposes of determining jurisdiction, from the time a municipal subdivision plan showing that lot is recorded or the lot is sold or leased, whichever occurs first, until 5 years after that recording, sale or lease.
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §482, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1993, c. 383, §18 and affected by §42, is further amended to read:
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §484, sub-§3, ¶H is enacted to read:
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §489-E, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 602, §3, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 489-E. Rulemaking
Rules adopted by the department pursuant to this article are routine technical rules except that rules adopted by the department after January 1, 2010 pursuant to section 484, subsections 1, 3, 4, 4-A, 5, 6 and 7 are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
summary
This bill revises the thresholds for review by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to the laws governing site location of development by changing the definitions of "subdivision" and "structure." It ensures consistency between the laws governing site location of development and the Natural Resources Protection Act in standards pertaining to a development's effects on existing uses, scenic character and protected natural resources. The bill also provides that rules adopted by the department after January 1, 2010 pursuant to the laws governing site location of development and storm water management are major substantive rules as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A, with certain limited exceptions in the rules governing storm water management for minor clerical corrections and technical clarifications.