Bills challenge LURC reach, existence Sportsmen’s group wants more user-friendly panel

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The Maine Land Use Regulation Commission will mark its 30th anniversary this year by defending its need to exist. Lawmakers have introduced a slew of bills aimed at the agency that regulates development in the state’s Unorganized Territories. They range from taking away from LURC responsibilities, such as permitting boat launches, to abolishing the agency altogether. Public hearings on two of the bills will be held Tuesday.

It’s not the first time the agency has been in the public cross hairs. Several times since the commission was established in 1971, lawmakers have proposed abolishing LURC. The fight against the agency last came to a head in 1986 when a group called the Maine Land Use Alliance charged that LURC was harassing landowners and had hamstrung the economy of northern Maine by restricting development and forestry operations.

Today, the commission is still seen as the cause of much that ails the sparsely populated, 10 million-acre Unorganized Territories. However, the anger against LURC this time is focused heavily on the issue of water access.

In recent years, sportsmen have become angry with LURC over two decisions concerning boat launches. One was the ruling in 1998 to stop construction of a public boat launch on Spencer Lake near Jackman. All of the land surrounding the lake subsequently was bought by cable television billionaire John Malone, who has said his land will remain open to members of the public as long as they don’t abuse it.

The endless wrangling over whether people should be able to launch canoes near John’s Bridge on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway also has been a flash point.

LURC, which consists of seven members, originally voted last summer not to allow the construction of a road, parking lot and trail to the water near the bridge. Two months later, the board reversed itself and voted to allow the Bureau of Parks and Lands to construct the canoe launch facilities.

The new launch site will be open only to people willing to carry their canoes the 150 feet to the water. This restriction upset some sportsmen who said it is difficult for some people to carry a large, heavy canoe that distance.

As a result of these decisions, the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine drafted two bills that would take LURC out of the picture when it comes to permitting boat launches in the Allagash and throughout the Unorganized Territories. Both bills are sponsored by Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake.

While saying that LURC has improved a lot under the administration of Gov. Angus King, SAM’s Director George Smith still would like to see the agency’s reach limited. Decisions on where boat launches should be built should be left to the Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Smith said.

“We don’t need another agency fouling up the works,” he said of LURC’s role.

Others have more sweeping proposals.

The most provocative-sounding bill, “an act to eliminate the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission,” would do away with the agency and pass its responsibilities on to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. LD 515 is endorsed by eight lawmakers from northern and eastern Maine, as well as by SAM.

However, the bill is not as sweeping as its title suggests. Rep. Joe Clark, D-Millinocket, the bill’s main sponsor, said he introduced the bill because a lot of people in his area had complained about the agency. One person who violated LURC rules, but hadn’t paid the accompanying fine for 15 years, was upset because he “can’t sell his property.” The financial penalties have accumulated to a substantial sum, said Clark.

However, Clark said, his aim is not to abolish LURC; rather, to put pressure on the agency to change the way it deals with residents of the Unorganized Territories, many of which lie in northern Maine.

“I put the bill in to send a message to LURC to be more user-friendly,” Clark said Thursday.

It’s hard to get rid of a state agency, he said. And LURC is there to serve a purpose, he added.

When asked what LURC should do to be more “user-friendly,” Clark said it should handle matters like the John’s Bridge decision in a more timely manner, and should change its rules so permits aren’t necessary for temporary structures such as Quonset huts.

In addition, the commission should hold meetings about issues that affect a particular area close to that area. LURC’s monthly meetings are held throughout the state, frequently in or near the Unorganized Territories, which range from midcoast islands to far northern Maine.

Clark also has signed onto two other bills that would change LURC’s composition and reduce its regulatory authority.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, would require that LURC’s seven board members be elected from the counties they represent. They now are appointed by the governor, with the stipulation that two must reside in the Unorganized Territories.

Clark said this change would be good because commission members appointed by the governor often aren’t well known to the people who live in LURC jurisdiction and sometimes don’t have a good understanding of the issues facing that area.

Hearings on these two bills will be held before the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in Room 206 of the Cross State Office Building.

A third bill, sponsored by Rep. Albion Goodwin, D-Pembroke, would take the authority to regulate personal watercraft in the Unorganized Territories and give it to the county commissioners.

He sponsored the bill, Goodwin said this week, because the “county commissioners have shirked their responsibility” when it comes to regulating watercraft. He said it is ridiculous that the Washington County commissioners didn’t stand up and fight when LURC banned personal watercraft on Grand Lake, which he termed “an 18-mile long lake with two Jet Skis on it.”

To add insult to injury, Goodwin said the decision on Grand Lake, on the state’s eastern border, was made in Rangeley, in western Maine.

He said efforts to ban snowmobiles and water-skiing on the lake were sure to follow.

“They want to stop water-skiing,” Goodwin said, “because you might run over a frog.”

The response from the director of LURC is that these efforts are misplaced.

“We have a system that is not broken,” said John Williams.

He said the agency has the tricky job of balancing development pressure in the remote areas of the state with the right to use the land for recreational purposes. He said the seven LURC commissioners grapple with these tough issues and put up with a lot of public complaints for very little compensation.

The commission and its staff make 1,200 decisions a year, ranging from whether someone can add a porch to a seasonal camp to whether a logging road can be built. Williams said it was unfortunate that two decisions – those regarding John’s Bridge and Spencer Lake – were driving the movement against LURC at this time.

He said it was telling that a day at the Legislature last year, billed as “Beat up LURC day,” brought out only a handful of people, only one of whom discussed an issue other than boat launches. In addition, surveys sent out to everyone who deals with the commission have found that 95 percent of those who respond say they are treated fairly, Williams said.

LURC serves a vital role by guiding development in the Unorganized Territories, much as a planning board would do in organized areas. No other state agency is set up to handle this task, Williams said.

The latest round of anger directed at LURC includes targeted attacks on a single member of the commission, chairman Stephen Wight, who has spoken out for the need to set aside wilderness-type areas that are not easily accessible.

SAM has vowed to wage a war against Wight, who has been nominated by the governor to serve another term on the commission. Wight, who operates a cross-country ski facility in Newry, has served 13 years on the board.

SAM director Smith said he has a problem with Wight’s “attitude about limiting use.”

“Access to the water we own is a major controversy,” said Smith. He said his group has been “working hard” on its opposition to Wight’s nomination, talking up its stance with lawmakers and the governor.

“He’s the last man in Maine who thinks the decision on Spencer Lake was a good one,” Smith said of Wight, who also opposed the new boat launch facility on the Allagash.

Asked if he agreed with any of the hundreds of other decisions Wight voted on, Smith replied: “Not that I’m willing to discuss.”

LURC Director Williams defended Wight’s positions. He said Wight has voted in favor of allowing more recreational access in some areas, but has come to the conclusion that some lakes are appropriate only for small boats or ones without motors while other water bodies don’t warrant restrictions.

“By and large, he is not out of step with the majority of Mainers,” Williams said.

A hearing on Wight’s confirmation is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 13 in Room 206 of the Cross State Office Building.