Controversial shoreland rules head to hearing
By Victoria Wallack
REGIONAL (Oct 4, 2006): While the state attempts to do political damage
control in Down East communities most affected by new regulations
protecting the habitat of shorebirds, it continues to work on aspects
of those rules that will affect more developed parts of the coast.
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A
public hearing is being held by the Board of Environmental Protection
on Thursday in Augusta to consider permits regulating already developed
land abutting low-tide flats used by shorebirds for feeding and resting. Since
the birds' environment presumably has been disturbed on those developed
parcels, the proposed rules allow new construction, but would require
special approval if it is to be done from July 15-Sept 15 – the time
when migratory birds use Maine’s shore to fatten up for their
trans-Atlantic flights. The hearing is scheduled
for Thursday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m., at the Holiday Inn/Ground Round on
Community Drive in Augusta. Written comments are being accepted up to 5
p.m. on Oct. 16. On undeveloped parcels abutting
shorebird habitat, which is mainly tidal mudflats, the new regulations
call for building 250 feet back from the shore. If the lot is too small
to allow that setback, a landowner has to get a permit from the
Department of Environmental Protection. The
permits can take up to two to three months to obtain, and the DEP can
require a landowner to minimize impact on the habitat by putting
structures as far back as possible and keeping cultivated lawns and
paved areas to a minimum. A total of 1,122 miles,
or 10.7 percent, of both developed and undeveloped Maine shoreline,
including inlets and islands, is now protected under the shorebird
regulations passed without debate by the Legislature earlier this year.
Some of those areas already were protected under shoreland zoning, but
the minimum setback was just 75 feet. The impact
of the new regulations started to hit home last week in Washington
County, when maps showing the affected areas were distributed to local
planning boards. Washington County has 395 miles of affected shoreline,
or 17.5 percent of its coast – the greatest percentage and number of
miles in the state. Some landowners and real estate agents there claim
the state has singled it out because of its remote location and greater
percentage of undeveloped parcels, but the commissioner of the
Department of Environmental Protection, David Littell, says that’s not
the case. “For better or worse, some of the best
staging areas and feeding areas for the entire coast of North America
are right in Washington County,” said Littell. Its
large swing between high and low tides and mudflat coastline, versus
the rocky shoreline on the mid-coast region, make it a prime area for
shorebirds. Waldo County, for example, has only 4 miles, or 1.4 percent
of its coastline designated as shorebird habitat. The
Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation in Pleasant Point followed by Addison,
both in Washington County, are first and second in the state in terms
of communities with the greatest amount of acreage under shorebird
habitat protection. Scarborough, because of the vast Scarborough Marsh,
is No. 3. Portland is No. 9. In areas of the state
where development already has occurred next to the habitat, a process
known as “permit by rule” is what the Board of Environmental Protection
is considering on Thursday. Under the proposal, a landowner wishing to
add a garage or enlarge his home, for example, would have to notify the
DEP. If the work is to occur between July 15 and Sept 15, the landowner
also would have to get approval of the timing of the activity from the
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. While
the DEP is not backing off on the science used to determine habitat –
first identified through geological maps and then verified by bird
sightings done by Inland Fisheries and Wildlife – it does admit to a
problem with communication. “The controversy got
out in front of us,” said Andy Fisk, director of the Bureau of Land and
Water Quality for the DEP, who said people feel they haven’t been given
“clear and concise information” about the new rule. Both Fisk and Littell said they expect legislators to propose changes to the new rules when they return in January. People
with questions can contact their local code enforcement office, their
regional DEP office or the DEP headquarters in Augusta at
1-800-452-1942.
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