APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 12, 2025 274
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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H.P. 164 - L.D. 261
An Act Regarding the Authority of Municipalities to Regulate Timber
Harvesting
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §8869, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2003, c. 335, §3, is further
amended to read:
8. Relationship to municipal rules and regulations. Nothing in this subchapter may
be construed to preempt or otherwise limit the existing authority of municipalities to
regulate timber harvesting activities, except that municipalities regulating timber
harvesting activities shall adopt definitions for forestry terms used in their ordinances that
are consistent with definitions in section 8868 and with forestry terms adopted by the
commissioner pursuant to this subchapter. Municipal timber harvesting ordinances
adopted before September 1, 1990 must meet this standard of compliance with definitions
no later than January 1, 2001 2028.
A municipality may not adopt an ordinance that is less stringent than the minimum
standards established in this section and in rules adopted by the commissioner to implement
this section and section 8867-B. A municipality may not adopt or amend an ordinance that
regulates timber harvesting activities unless the process set out in this subsection is
followed in the development and review of the ordinance. Municipal ordinances subject
to review by the bureau are limited to ordinances that regulate timber harvesting activities.
A municipal timber harvesting ordinance adopted on or after January 1, 2026 must meet
the process requirements of this subsection.
A. A licensed professional forester must participate in the development or amendment
of the ordinance.
B. A meeting must take place in the municipality during the development or
amendment of the ordinance between representatives of the department and municipal
officers and officials involved in developing the ordinance. Discussion at the meeting
must include, but is not limited to, the forest practices goals of the municipality. At
this meeting and subsequently, the department shall provide guidance to the
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municipality on how the municipality may use sound forestry practices to achieve the
municipality's forest practices goals.
C. The municipality shall hold a public hearing to review a proposed ordinance or
ordinance amendment at least 45 days before a vote is held on the ordinance. The
municipality shall post and publish public notice of the public hearing according to the
same general requirements of posted and published notice for zoning ordinance public
hearings as provided by Title 30‑A, section 4352, subsection 9.
In addition, when a municipality proposes to adopt or amend a timber harvesting
ordinance pursuant to its home rule authority as provided by Title 30‑A, section 3001,
the municipality shall mail notice of the hearing by first-class mail at least 14 days
before the hearing to all landowners in the municipality at the last known address of
the person on whom a property tax on each parcel is assessed. In the case of a timber
harvesting ordinance or amendment that applies only to certain zones or land use
districts in the municipality, the municipality may meet the requirements of this
paragraph by mailing notice only to those landowners whose land is in a zone or land
use district or immediately abutting the affected zone or land use district.
Mailed notice to individual landowners is not required under this subsection for any
type of amendment to an existing local land use ordinance merely to conform that
ordinance to the minimum timber harvesting guidelines required by Title 38, section
439‑A, as those guidelines may be subsequently amended, or to conform any timber
harvesting ordinance to the requirements of this section for conformity of definitions
when the proposed amendments do not substantially change any previously established
timber harvesting standards adopted pursuant to home rule authority.
The municipal officers shall prepare and file with the municipal clerk a written
certificate indicating those landowners to whom the notice was mailed and at what
addresses, when it was mailed, by whom it was mailed and from what location it was
mailed. The certificate constitutes prima facie evidence that notice was sent to those
landowners named in the certificate.
Any action challenging the validity of the adoption or amendment of a municipal
timber harvesting ordinance based on the municipality's alleged failure to comply with
the landowner notice requirement must be brought in Superior Court within 90 days
after the adoption of the ordinance or amendment. The Superior Court may invalidate
an ordinance or amendment only if the landowner demonstrates that the landowner was
entitled to receive a notice under this section, that the municipality failed to send the
notice as required, that the landowner had no knowledge of the proposed ordinance or
amendment and that the landowner was materially harmed by that lack of knowledge.
D. The municipal clerk shall notify the department of the time, place and date of the
public hearing and provide the department with a copy of the proposed ordinance that
will be reviewed at the hearing at least 30 days before the date of the hearing.
E. At the public hearing, representatives of the department must be provided an
opportunity to present and discuss for the municipality's information any reports,
articles, treatises or similar materials published by acknowledged experts in the field
of sound forestry or silvicultural management to the extent such information is relevant
to the proposed ordinance or ordinance amendment.
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 The proposed ordinance or ordinance amendment may be revised after the public
hearing. The ordinance or amendment must be submitted to the legislative body of the
municipality in accordance with the procedures the municipality uses for adopting
ordinances.
E-1. A municipal timber harvesting ordinance adopted after January 1, 2026 takes
effect only after certification by the bureau that the municipality adopted the timber
harvesting ordinance in accordance with the process requirements of this subsection.
F. Municipal timber harvesting ordinances may not be unreasonable, arbitrary or
capricious and must employ means appropriate to the protection of public health, safety
and welfare.
G. All direct costs incurred by a municipality associated with landowner notification
requirements and other required public notice must be paid to the municipality in
accordance with a distribution schedule established under Title 30‑A, section 5685,
subsection 5. All direct costs incurred by a municipality in order to comply with this
subsection for the amendment of ordinances adopted before September 1, 1990 must
be paid to the municipality in accordance with a distribution schedule established under
Title 30‑A, section 5685, subsection 5.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §8869, sub-§9, as repealed and replaced by PL 1999, c. 263, §2
and amended by PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §7 and PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §23, is further
amended to read:
9. Centralized listing of municipal ordinances. The bureau shall maintain for
informational purposes a statewide centralized listing of municipal ordinances that
specifically apply to forest practices timber harvesting activities.
A. Within 30 days after the legislative body of the municipality votes on a timber
harvesting ordinance developed according to the procedures of subsection 8, the clerk
shall notify the bureau of the outcome and shall file a copy of the ordinance with the
bureau.
C. The clerk of a municipality that has a timber harvesting ordinance on January 1,
2026 shall provide the bureau with notice and a copy of the ordinance by April 30,
2026.
D. The clerk of a municipality that is developing a timber harvesting ordinance on or
after January 1, 2026 shall provide the bureau with notice and a copy of the ordinance
at least 7 days prior to the meeting of the legislative body of the municipality or the
public hearing at which adoption of the ordinance will be considered. The clerk shall
notify the bureau within 30 days after adoption of the ordinance.
E. A provision of an ordinance that specifically applies to timber harvesting activities
does not take effect unless properly adopted in accordance with subsection 8 and filed
with the bureau in accordance with this subsection.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 274: 12.8869