AUGUSTA — A Legislative panel voted 9-3 Wednesday to support a bill that would eliminate the Informed Growth Act as a statewide law but allow it to apply in those communities that choose to adopt it.

The four-year-old law allows all cities and towns to consider the economic impact of large-scale retail development — stores of more than 75,000 square feet — in deciding whether to approve such projects.

Supporters of the Informed Growth Act say it reveals the hidden costs that come with big-box stores, such as local shops being driven out of business.

Those who favor repeal say the law discourages development and competition. The law’s opponents also argue that the state should not be telling municipalities how to run their affairs.

The Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee had been considering a bill that would repeal the law. Instead, the committee amended the bill so it would apply only to those municipalities that choose to accept it by a majority vote of their local governing body.

Rep. David Cotta, R-China, the committee’s co-chair, said he worries that residents and officials of small towns might get “hoodwinked” by major corporations that want to develop in their communities. At the same time, he said, the law is “heavy-handed” because it now applies to all municipalities, regardless of whether residents want it or not.

He said the amended bill is a compromise that offers towns protection if they choose to accept it.

“It leaves the power with the municipalities,” he said.

Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford, said the amended bill would effectively repeal the law and leave communities across the state vulnerable to unwanted development.

Rather than have statewide minimum standards, she said, Maine would be left with a hodgepodge of rules. Developers would play one community against another, creating divisive political battles in each.

“This amended bill doesn’t give the people of Maine anything,” she said. “All it does is it take away.”

Rep. Anne Graham, D-North Yarmouth, who voted to support the amended bill, said Republicans appear united in their opposition to the existing law.

“If we don’t amend it, it will be repealed,” she said. “It will be gone. Gone.”

Without the assurance of a uniform statewide process, few of Maine’s towns are likely to believe they can avail themselves of the economic review process offered by the law, said Stacy Mitchell of the Institute of Self-Reliance.

She said there is no evidence that the law has impeded development or has slowed down the development process.

MaineToday Media State House Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 699-6261 or at:
tbell@mainetoday.com

 

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