Despite a latch-ditch effort to kill it, a bill that would require citizens to hold a referendum within 75 days of a permit being issued if they want to overturn a land use decision in their town passed in the Legislature this week and is on its way to becoming law.
The proposal, co-sponsored by Sen. Lynn Bromley, D-Cumberland County, and Rep. Ted Koffman, D-Bar Harbor, was promoted as a way to allow more affordable housing to be built in the state, but opponents called it a gift to all developers.
Proponents argued that developers had a right to know when their building permits were valid and couldn’t be overturned.
The biggest fight over the bill was in the House, which ended up passing it 75 to 66 with 10 absent on Monday. The Senate approved it by a wider margin of 21 to 12.
Rep. Jon McKane, R-Newcastle, was an outspoken opponent of the bill. He said his area understood the importance of allowing citizens to petition their government, referring to a recent referendum in Damariscotta that kept out a Wal-Mart super store.
Rep. David Trahan, R-Waldoboro, said the bill was “much more sinister” than people realized, because selectmen could essentially allow a project to move forward by simply refusing to call a referendum within the 75-day time limit.
Rep. Robert Crosthwaite, R-Ellsworth, a member of the State and Local Government Committee that recommended passage of the bill, said if local officials don’t do their job, they will “face the wrath of the voters.”
“This is not about home rule,” Crosthwaite said. “It’s about fairness…and it’s also about economic development.”
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