LURC eyes Plum Creek hearing dates

State regulators will discuss a new public hearing schedule for Plum Creek Timber Co.’s development plan for the Moosehead Lake region this Wednesday during a meeting in Rockwood.

Public hearings on Plum Creek’s development plan were supposed to begin last weekend. Officials with the Land Use Regulation Commission, however, voted last month to postpone the hearings after company officials submitted additional changes to their application, which is the largest development plan ever proposed in Maine.

LURC staff members now are recommending that the first public hearing be held in Greenville on Dec. 1 followed by a second hearing in Augusta on Dec. 2. A third hearing would be held in Portland on Dec. 15 before the commission returns to Greenville the next day for a fourth hearing.

The commission also would hold work sessions in the Augusta area with officially recognized intervenors and interested parties during the weeks of Dec. 3, Dec. 10 and Jan. 14. The exact dates, times and location of the work sessions have not been set.

Seattle-based Plum Creek is seeking LURC authorization to rezone land for 975 house lots and two large resorts in the Moosehead Lake region. The company also has offered to permanently protect from development more than 400,000 acres of forestland in the region through a combination of land donations, land sales and conservation easements sold to third parties.

The proposal has generated intense, statewide debate about how to balance development and encourage economic growth in Maine’s North Woods without spoiling the natural and scenic qualities that make the region unique.

More than 30 organizations have been granted intervenor status, meaning they will have a seat at the table during the three weeks of work sessions with LURC. Members of the public can attend the work sessions, but residents’ comments will be taken only during the four public hearings.

Plum Creek owns more than 900,000 acres in Maine and is the nation’s largest private landowner.

Other items on LURC’s agenda this Wednesday include:

. A commission vote on Evergreen Wind Power’s application to rezone land for a 38-turbine wind farm on Stetson Mountain in northern Washington County. The LURC staff has recommended approval of the plan.

. A commission vote on Burnt Jacket LLC’s proposal to rezone 271 acres near Beaver Cove on Moosehead Lake for 31 house lots. The LURC staff has recommended approval of the application.

. Discussion of updates to the commission’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

The commission will meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Rockwood Community Center, located at 3638 Rockwood Road. The meeting is open to the public.