CHAPTER 244

S.P. 331 - L.D. 991

An Act To Restore Municipal Authority To Review Development

Using Flexible Standards

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

Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:

1-A.__Cluster development.__"Cluster development" means a form of development that allows a subdivision design in which individual lot sizes and setbacks are reduced in exchange for the creation of common open space and recreation areas, the preservation of environmentally sensitive areas, agriculture and silviculture and the reduction in the size of road and utility systems.

Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §4353, sub-§4-C, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 148, §2, is amended to read:

4-C. Variance from dimensional standards. A municipality may adopt an ordinance that permits the board to grant a variance from the dimensional standards of a zoning ordinance when strict application of the ordinance to the petitioner and the petitioner's property would cause a practical difficulty and when the following conditions exist:

A. The need for a variance is due to the unique circumstances of the property and not to the general condition of the neighborhood;

B. The granting of a variance will not produce an undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood and will not unreasonably detrimentally affect the use or market value of abutting properties;