75 concerned citizens from bankers to business owners, Realtors to contractors crowded the Bethel Inn Conference Center on Wednesday morning to hear Main-Land’s presentation on the potential impacts of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s proposed changes to the Site Location of Development Law.
Main-Land President/Owner Darryl Brown told attendees that “In the 37 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never heard of any changes that are more sweeping than these. If enacted as proposed, this could dramatically slow down or altogether stop development in Maine.”
Especially given the trying times the state and the country is facing economically, “This is absolutely the wrong time for a proposal like this to see the light of day,” he stressed.
Of particular concern is that if enacted, the changes to the Site Location of Development Law would limit large scale non-residential development to designated growth zones, urban compact zones, census designated areas or those areas served by public sewer systems. It would also require the preservation of at least 55 percent of the land area within residential subdivisions larger than 30 acres and prohibit the disturbances of slopes 20 percent or greater.
Attendees of the Bethel forum, which is the first of seven in the series Main-Land is sponsoring, were also particularly concerned with a provision in the proposed act to update the law that would allow MDEP to approve or reject site contractors selected by an applicant for project construction.
In a question-and-answer session following Main-Land’s presentation, several attendees commended the company for being proactive in educating those who would most be impacted by the law about its affects.
Main-Land’s next forum on this issue will be held from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3 in Farmington at the Fairbanks Meeting House. You can read our press release announcing that event here in the Morning Sentinel and here on the Daily Bulldog (an online news source for Franklin County). There will also be a forum next Friday in Norway/South Paris at the Norway Legion Hall, also beginning at 8 a.m. All are welcome to attend.
And, you can click here to read coverage of our Bethel forum in the Lewiston Sun Journal.
