CHAPTER 402
S.P. 365 - L.D. 1203
An Act to Amend Certain Laws Pertaining to the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §682, sub-§15, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 386, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
15. Campsite. "Campsite" means a camping location containing tents, registered tent trailers, registered pickup campers, registered recreational vehicles, registered trailers or similar devices used for camping. "Campsite" does not include a camping location that has access to a pressurized water system or permanent structures other than outhouses, fireplaces, picnic tables, picnic tables with shelters or lean-tos. A campsite may be designed to contain a maximum of 4 camping sites for transient occupancy by 12 or fewer people per site, or numbers of sites and occupancy rates consistent with a landowner's recreational policy filed with the commission. The commission may require a campsite permit if it determines that the recreational policy is inconsistent with the commission's comprehensive land use plan.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §682, sub-§18, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 386, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
18. Transient occupancy. "Transient occupancy" means occupancy that does not exceed 90 consecutive days.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §685-A, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1999, c. 530, §8, is further amended to read:
5. Considerations, application and exemptions. A land use standard may not deprive an owner or lessee or subsequent owner or lessee of any interest in real estate of the use to which it is lawfully devoted at the time of adoption of that standard. Year-round and seasonal single residences and operating farms in existence and use as of September 23, 1971, while so used, and new accessory buildings or structures or renovations of the buildings or structures that are or may be necessary to the satisfactory and comfortable continuation of these residential and farm uses are exempt from the requirements of section 685-B, subsection 1.
Land use standards adopted pursuant to this chapter for management districts may not limit the right, method or manner of cutting or removing timber or crops, the construction and maintenance of hauling roads, the operation of machinery or the erection of buildings, including buildings to store equipment and materials for maintaining roads, and other structures used primarily for agricultural or commercial forest product purposes, including tree farms. The commission may not require a permit for such activities in a management district. Notwithstanding this subsection, a permit from the commission is required for roads covering a ground area of 3 acres or more constructed in management districts, unless those roads are constructed and maintained in accordance with the guidelines of the commission's Land Use Handbook, Section 6, "Erosion Control on Logging Jobs," or as revised. The commission may require a person constructing a road to notify the commission of the location of the road within 21 days.
Land use standards adopted pursuant to this chapter must establish a minimum setback of 100 feet for all structures within a commercial sporting camp complex that are constructed solely for the housing of guests, including structures within a main sporting camp complex and an outpost camp. The standards must establish a minimum setback of 150 feet for all other structures within a sporting camp complex, including, but not limited to, a main lodge, a dining area, a workshop and a parking area.
In adopting district boundaries and land use standards, the commission shall give consideration to public and private planning reports and other data available to it, and shall give weight to existing uses of land and to any reasonable plan of its owner as to its future use.
A permit from the commission is not required for the repair or maintenance of county-owned roads, bridges or culverts as long as the repair or maintenance is conducted in accordance with commission standards that pertain to these activities.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §685-B, sub-§1-A, ¶¶A and B, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 333, §13, are amended to read:
A. A permit is not required for the repair and maintenance of an existing road culvert or for the replacement of an existing road culvert, as long as the replacement culvert is:
(1) No more than one standard culvert size wider in diameter than the culvert being replaced;
(2) No more than 25% longer than the culvert being replaced; and
(3) No longer than 75 feet.
Ancillary culverting activities, including excavation and filling, are included in this exemption. A person repairing, replacing or maintaining an existing culvert under this paragraph shall ensure that erosion control measures are taken to prevent sedimentation of the water and that the crossing does not block fish passage in the water course; or
B. A permit is not required for those aspects of a project approved by the Department of Environmental Protection under Title 38 if the commission determines that the project is an allowed use within the subdistrict or subdistricts for which it is proposed. Notice of the intent to develop and a map indicating the location of the proposed development must be filed with the commission prior to or concurrently with submission of a development application to the Department of Environmental Protection.; and
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §685-B, sub-§1-A, ¶C is enacted to read:
C. A permit is not required for a campsite in a management district.
Effective September 21, 2001, unless otherwise indicated.
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