“Today’s vote by the Land Use Regulation Commission approving Plum Creek’s massive development plan for Moosehead Lake is deeply unsettling.”
“It is unsettling because it may result in a level of future development, traffic, and increased congestion in the Moosehead Lake region that will forever damage one of Maine’s most remarkable areas.”
“I know that I speak for thousands of people throughout Maine and across the nation in saying that this process should have resulted in a better plan than the one that was voted on today.”
“Plum Creek should have been required to locate more of its development near the existing communities of Greenville and Rockwood, the total number of house lots and resort units should have been reduced, and LURC never should have approved a resort at Lily Bay.”
“If there is one message from the citizens of Maine that came across loud and clear during this proceeding, it was an insistent call for LURC to protect Lily Bay from development. But that is not what LURC has done.”
“Compared with Plum Creek’s original April 2006 proposal, the current plan does include important changes: there is more conservation land, development has been removed from many remote ponds, and the number of shorefront lots was scaled back.”
“These and other improvements likely would not have happened if not for the unprecedented involvement of people who love the Moosehead Lake region and who attended hearings, testified, wrote letters, and spoke out in defense of areas that would have been destroyed by Plum Creek’s original plan.”
“But the correct standard for judging today’s vote is not how much Plum Creek’s original, patently unacceptable plan was improved. But rather, this vote should be judged on whether it was the right outcome for preserving and enhancing the long-term interests of the Moosehead Lake region and the people of Maine. By that measure, NRCM believes that LURC fell short, Plum Creek will be allowed to develop too much at the expense of Maine people, and an opportunity to create a truly sustainable development plan for the Moosehead Lake region appears to have been squandered.”
“At some point in the future Plum Creek will leave Maine, but the implications of this development plan will remain forever. NRCM and our colleagues and supporters played a critical role in helping reshape Plum Creek’s plan, but we remain disappointed with the final result. In the wake of today’s vote, our work is not done – we will be evaluating all of our options for ensuring the long-term protection of special features of the Moosehead Lake region, and also of Maine’s North Woods as a whole.”
