Maine Superior Court Justice Thomas Humphrey ruled that the Land Use Regulation Commission failed to follow a legal process when it approved the massive Moosehead Lake development in 2009.
A Superior Court judge has struck down Maine land regulators approval of Plum Creek’s massive development proposal for the Moosehead Lake region.
Chief Justice Thomas Humphrey ruled that the Land Use Regulation Commission failed to follow a legal process when it approved the company’s plan for 2,000 resort and vacation home units around lake.
Maine environmentalists are cheering the decision. “We wholeheartedly agree with the Court’s decision to ‘vacate’s LURC’s decision, sending it back to the Commission with direction that they abide by the firmly established rules that protect the opportunity of the public to–as established in Maine law–‘present testimony and evidence as to whether the applicant?s proposal meets the statutory criteria for approval,'” the Natural Resources Council of Maine says in a statement.
In his ruling, Humphrey said the court was “troubled by the fact that LURC pursued a procedure that was not provided for in its regulations or otherwise justified by any explicit statutory authority at a critical stage in the proceedings.”
LURC approved Plum Creek’s development plans in September of 2009. Opponents have maintained that the process was flawed because the public didn’t have an opportunity to weigh in on the company’s final plan.
