McGowan says Baldacci administration neutral on Plum Creek’s development proposal

PORTLAND – The Baldacci administration says it still has no official stance on Plum Creek’s controversial development proposal in Maine’s Moosehead Lake region despite the governor’s comment that the plan is “too sprawling.”

Gov. John Baldacci told Bowdoin College’s weekly newspaper that Plum Creek’s proposal, which includes 975 housing lots, needs to be “refined and amended.”

Despite the remarks, Conservation Commissioner Patrick McGowan says Baldacci doesn’t have an official position on Plum Creek’s proposal.

The Land Use Regulation Commission is currently holding public hearings on Plum Creek’s request for a zoning change on 420,000 acres. All told, about 20,000 acres would be developed over a 30-year period.