APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 20, 2025 393
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 1169 - L.D. 1751
An Act to Improve the Growth Management Program Laws
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§1, as corrected by RR 2017, c. 1, §22, is repealed
and the following enacted in its place:
1. Affordable housing. "Affordable housing" means a decent, safe and sanitary
dwelling as follows:
A. Rental housing that a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the median
income for the area as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development under the United States Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 75-412, 50
Stat. 888, Section 8, as amended, can afford without spending more than 30% of the
household's monthly income on housing costs; and
B. With respect to housing that is owned, housing that a household whose income does
not exceed 120% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development under the United States Housing Act
of 1937, Public Law 75-412, 50 Stat. 888, Section 8, as amended, can afford without
spending more than 30% of the household's monthly income on housing costs.
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 244, §1, is
amended 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. 3. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. A, §45 and
Pt. C, §10 and amended by c. 562, §1, is further amended to read:
3. Comprehensive plan. "Comprehensive plan" means a document or interrelated
documents containing the elements established under section 4326, subsections 1 to 4,
including the strategies for an implementation program which that are consistent with the
procedures, goals and guidelines established under subchapter II 2.
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 Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§4-B, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 578, §2, is
repealed.
Sec. 5. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§5-B, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 776, §7, is
amended to read:
C. Construction or, extension or upgrade of sewer, water and other utility lines
infrastructure;
Sec. 6. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§5-B, ¶D, as amended by PL 2001, c. 613, §1, is
further amended to read:
D. Grants and loans for public or quasi-public service infrastructure, public or quasi-
public facilities and community buildings; and
Sec. 7. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§5-B, ¶E, as amended by PL 2001, c. 613, §1, is
further amended to read:
E. Construction or expansion of state office buildings, state courts, hospitals and other
quasi-public facilities and other civic buildings that serve public clients and customers.;
Sec. 8. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§5-B, ¶F is enacted to read:
F. Development of mixed-use housing projects; and
Sec. 9. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§5-B, ¶G is enacted to read:
G. Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Sec. 10. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2001, c. 578, §4, is further
amended to read:
9. Growth management program. "Growth management program" means a
document containing the components described in section 4326, including the
implementation program, that is consistent with the procedures, goals and guidelines
established by subchapter II 2 and that regulates land use beyond that required by Title 38,
chapter 3, subchapter I 1, article 2‑B.
Sec. 11. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§10, as amended by PL 2001, c. 578, §5, is
further amended to read:
10. Planning committee. "Planning committee" means the committee established by
the municipal officers of a municipality or combination of municipalities multimunicipal
region that has the general responsibility established under sections 4324 and 4326.
Sec. 12. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§12-A is enacted to read:
12-A. Place type. "Place type" means a definable geographic settlement pattern
identifiable by the type of activities that occur there and by a set of characteristics related
to its location, including the proximity and relationship to natural resources and rural areas,
the size of the developed area, the arrangement of buildings and their uses, the pattern and
arrangement of streets, the type of infrastructure available and the presence of civic spaces
and civic buildings.
Sec. 13. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§14-B, as amended by PL 2021, c. 590, Pt. A,
§5, is further amended to read:
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 14-B. Rural area. "Rural area" means a geographic area that is identified and
designated in a municipality's or multimunicipal region's comprehensive plan as an area
that is deserving of some level of regulatory protection from unrestricted development for
purposes that may include, but are not limited to, supporting farmland and agriculture,
forest land and forestry, mineral resources and mining, open space, erosion mitigation,
water retention, wildlife habitat, fisheries habitat, natural resources, open land and scenic
lands, and away from which most development projected over 10 years is diverted.
Sec. 14. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§2, ¶I, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 578, §8, is
repealed.
Sec. 15. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§2, ¶J is enacted to read:
J. Encourage cooperation and efficiency among municipalities in the development of
multimunicipal growth management programs, multimunicipal comprehensive plans,
regional inventory and analyses and local and regional policy development.
Sec. 16. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 578, §9, is
further amended to read:
A. To encourage orderly growth and development in appropriate areas of each
community and region while protecting the State's rural character, making efficient use
of public services working lands, natural resources and natural resource-based
industries and preventing development sprawl and sprawl-associated impacts on public
health, safety and welfare;
Sec. 17. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. A,
§45 and Pt. C, §10, is amended to read:
B. To plan for, finance and develop an efficient system of public facilities,
transportation infrastructure and public services to accommodate anticipated growth
and economic development;
Sec. 18. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶D, as amended by PL 2021, c. 657, §1, is
further amended to read:
D. To promote and work to ensure choice, economic diversity and affordability in
housing for low-income and moderate-income households and use housing policy to
remove barriers to housing production and to help address disparities in access to
educational, occupational and other opportunities;
Sec. 19. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶D-1 is enacted to read:
D-1. To promote land use policies and land use ordinances that encourage housing in
proximity to jobs and services;
Sec. 20. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶E, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. A,
§45 and Pt. C, §10, is amended to read:
E. To protect and improve the quality and to manage the quantity of the State's water
resources, including lakes, aquifers, great ponds, estuaries, rivers and coastal areas;
Sec. 21. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶G, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. A,
§45 and Pt. C, §10, is amended to read:
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 G. To protect the State's marine resources industry, ports and harbors from
incompatible development and to promote access to the shore for commercial
fishermen persons who fish commercially and the public;
Sec. 22. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶L, as amended by PL 2021, c. 657, §3, is
further amended to read:
L. To encourage municipalities to develop policies that accommodate older adults with
aging in place and that encourage, including the creation of age-friendly communities;
and
Sec. 23. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§3, ¶N, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 153, §3 and
reallocated by RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §39, is amended to read:
N. To plan for the effects of the rise in natural hazards, including but not limited to
rising sea level, coastal and riverine flooding and extreme weather, on buildings,
transportation infrastructure, sewage treatment facilities and other relevant state,
regional, municipal or privately held infrastructure, property or resources.
Sec. 24. 30-A MRSA §4314, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2003, c. 641, §2, is
repealed.
Sec. 25. 30-A MRSA §4314, sub-§3, ¶D, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. JJ,
§16 and affected by §41, is repealed.
Sec. 26. 30-A MRSA §4314, sub-§3, ¶E, as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c.
397, Pt. A, §31, is amended to read:
E. The ordinance or portion of the ordinance conflicts with a newly adopted
comprehensive plan or plan amendment adopted in accordance with the procedures,
goals and guidelines established in this subchapter, in which case the ordinance or
portion of the ordinance remains in effect for a period of up to 24 months immediately
following adoption of the comprehensive plan or plan amendment; or
Sec. 27. 30-A MRSA §4314, sub-§3, ¶F, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. JJ,
§16 and affected by §41, is repealed.
Sec. 28. 30-A MRSA §4317 is enacted to read:
§4317. Adopted comprehensive plan in effect
A comprehensive plan adopted or amended by a municipality or multimunicipal region
under this subchapter remains in effect until amended or repealed in accordance with the
procedures, goals and guidelines established in this subchapter.
Sec. 29. 30-A MRSA §4324, sub-§8, ¶B, as amended by PL 2003, c. 641, §8, is
further amended to read:
B. A copy of the proposed comprehensive plan must be made available for public
inspection at each municipal office or other convenient location with regular public
hours at least 30 days before the hearing and by whatever means the municipality
regularly publishes its public information. If modification of the plan is proposed
pursuant to comments made at a public hearing, and if a follow-up public hearing is to
be held, the proposed changes must be made available for public inspection at each
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 municipal office or other convenient location with regular public hours before any
follow-up hearing.
Sec. 30. 30-A MRSA §4325, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1991, c. 622, Pt. F, §28,
is further amended to read:
1. Within municipality. A municipality participating in cooperative growth
management activities may exercise its land use planning and management authority over
the total land area within its jurisdiction.
Sec. 31. 30-A MRSA §4325, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 578, §14, is
further amended to read:
A. On procedures for joint action in the preparation and adoption of comprehensive
plans, and on whether land use regulations and other implementation measures to be
conducted on a multimunicipal basis will be administered within a municipality or by
2 or more of the municipalities;
Sec. 32. 30-A MRSA §4325, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 2001, c. 578, §14, is
further amended to read:
C. On the amount and source of contribution from each municipality for any costs
incurred in the development, implementation and enforcement of the comprehensive
plan and its implementation program and on the method of distributing the benefits or
impacts of regional land use, economic development, housing, transportation,
infrastructure and other shared plans and programs.
Sec. 33. 30-A MRSA §4325, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 578, §14, is
further amended to read:
3. Requirements. The comprehensive planning and enforcement agreement must be
in writing, approved by the municipal legislative bodies body of each municipality and
forwarded to the office department.
Sec. 34. 30-A MRSA §4326, as amended by PL 2023, c. 646, Pt. A, §§35 to 38, is
further amended to read:
§4326. Growth management program elements
A growth management program must include at least a comprehensive plan, as
described in subsections 1 to 4‑A 4, and an implementation program as described in
subsection 5.
1. Inventory and, analysis and needs assessment. A comprehensive plan must
include an inventory and analysis section addressing state goals under this subchapter and
issues of regional or local significance that the municipality or multimunicipal region
considers important. The inventory must be based on environmental systems mapping and
other information provided by the State, regional councils and other relevant local sources.
The analysis must include 10-year projections of local and regional growth in population
and residential, commercial and industrial trends; the best available projection of trends in
economic activity; the projected need for public facilities and services; and the
vulnerability of and potential impacts on natural resources. The department shall adopt
rules to establish a tiered framework for inventory requirements based on municipal and
regional conditions. The rules must allow flexibility in the timing and quantity of data
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collected so that communities may pursue a strategy of iterative rounds of public
participation, data collection and data generation and require that the comprehensive plan
include a map of existing conditions that identifies areas in the municipality where
development would be inconsistent with the plan and areas that may be considered suitable
for development. The map of existing conditions must, at a minimum, include data related
to the environment, the natural resource-based economy, local or regional water supplies
and natural hazards. The map is required only if the department provides data and tools
that allow municipalities to produce the map at a minor cost or less.
The inventory and analysis section A comprehensive plan must include, but is not limited
to: a needs assessment that identifies conditions within the municipality or multimunicipal
region that are necessary to support housing, economic growth and development; protect
public health, safety and welfare of the community; and protect the environment and critical
resources. The plan must describe the public input received to determine those needs.
A. Economic and demographic data describing the municipality or multimunicipal
region and the region in which it is located;
B. Significant water resources such as lakes, aquifers, estuaries, rivers and coastal
areas and, when applicable, their vulnerability to degradation;
C. Significant or critical natural resources, such as wetlands, wildlife and fisheries
habitats, significant plant habitats, coastal islands, sand dunes, scenic areas, shorelands,
heritage coastal areas as defined under Title 5, section 3316, and unique natural areas;
D. Marine-related resources and facilities such as ports, harbors, commercial
moorings, commercial docking facilities and related parking, and shell fishing and
worming areas;
E. Commercial forestry and agricultural land;
F. Existing recreation, park and open space areas and significant points of public
access to shorelands within a municipality or multimunicipal region;
G. Existing transportation systems, including the capacity of existing and proposed
major thoroughfares, secondary routes, pedestrian ways and parking facilities;
H. Residential housing stock, including housing for low-income and moderate-income
households, an assessment of community needs and environmental effects of municipal
regulations, an examination of the effect of excessive parking requirements that limit
the reuse of upper floors of buildings in downtowns and on main streets and an
identification of opportunities for accessory dwelling units;
H-1. Housing that meets the needs of older residents, including housing that is
rehabilitated, adapted or newly constructed to help older adults age in place;
I. Historical and archeological resources including, at the discretion of the municipality
or multimunicipal region, stone walls, stone impoundments and timber bridges of
historical significance;
J. Land use information describing current and projected development patterns;
K. An assessment of capital facilities and public services necessary to support growth
and development and to protect the environment and health, safety and welfare of the
public and the costs of those facilities and services; and
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 L. For a municipality or multimunicipal region that has adopted a local climate action
plan, a climate vulnerability assessment specific to the municipality or multimunicipal
region prepared by the municipality or multimunicipal region.
2. Policy development. A comprehensive plan must include a local goals and policy
development section that relates the findings contained in the inventory and analysis
section to the state goals and to the local goals. The policies must:
A. Promote the state goals under this subchapter;
B. Address any conflicts between state goals under this subchapter;
C. Address any conflicts between regional and local issues; and
D. Address the State's coastal management policies under Title 38, section 1801 if any
part of the municipality or multimunicipal region is a coastal area.; and