Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Surplus Land Redevelopment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Maine bill would let redevelopment land bank handle surplus public land
Summary
Rep. Cassie Julia introduced LD 1170 to make the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority (MRLBA) responsible for the transfer and redevelopment of surplus public land; amendments would broaden eligibility to federal and municipal surplus and create an annual reporting cadence to the land bank and the Legislature.
Representative Cassie Julia introduced LD 1170 on behalf of House District 65 to transfer responsibility for the disposition and redevelopment of surplus public land to the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority.
The bill, as amended during the public hearing, would broaden the land bank’s authority beyond state surplus to include federal, municipal and other government-owned properties declared surplus, and would simplify statutory language so the land bank could act without duplicative steps. Julia said the change would “streamline the process for redeveloping surplus properties” and help local towns that lack capacity to manage redevelopment projects.
Supporters told the committee the amendment addresses real-world problems. Melanie Sachs, sponsor of a companion resolve, urged adding an annual reporting requirement so the Bureau of General Services’s inventory of state surplus would be sent each year to the land bank and the committee. Sachs said the Bureau of General Services already “periodically inventory[s] all land owned by any state agency” under Title 5, section 23, and that an annual report could be produced by “the click of a mouse.”
Tuck O’Brien, executive director of the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority, told the committee the authority was designed to repurpose “blighted, abandoned, environmentally hazardous property and property that is both functionally obsolete and unfit to be repurposed for another productive use.” He described ways the land bank could take title, clean up, rezone or issue a targeted request for proposals to align redevelopment with state policy goals.
Maine State Housing Authority representatives and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce told the committee they support reassigning disposition duties to a land-management entity rather than an agency that is primarily a housing financier. Maine Housing’s executive testified that the land bank’s governance includes a Maine Housing director as a statutory board member, which he said helps preserve an affordable-housing voice in decisions about surplus property.
Committee members pressed on affordability protections. Representative Cheryl Golick said she supported transferring parcels to an entity that can redevelop them but pushed for language to preserve any existing housing and to secure affordability when housing is the intended reuse. Julia and Sachs acknowledged there is no automatic affordability requirement in the bill; they said the land bank would be a facilitator and that local conversations and subsequent agreements would determine affordability covenants.
Committee members also asked whether participation would be mandatory for municipalities; Julia said involvement would be voluntary. O’Brien said municipalities or the state would put surplus parcels on a list and the land bank could be asked to evaluate or take title, depending on local needs and market conditions.
The committee closed the public hearing on LD 1170 after receiving testimony and questions; no vote was taken at the hearing.
What happens next: sponsors and the committee may refine statutory language — the hearing record shows interest in adding an annual reporting requirement and clarifying how affordability considerations would be handled before any transfer or redevelopment.
