An Act To Modify the Informed Growth Act
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §4371, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 347, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 4371. Exemption
1. Ordinance. The provisions of this subchapter do not apply to a municipality that has adopted an ordinance that contains requirements for determining the impacts of a proposed large-scale retail development as defined in section 4366, subsection 6 and requires an independent study of the community economic impacts for each individual large-scale retail development. The ordinance must include a requirement to consider the findings of the study, among other evidence, when reviewing a land use application and must contain standards for determining when an impact of a large-scale retail development is detrimental to the municipality.
2. Community economic impact study. The study pursuant to subsection 1 may include an examination of job creation; retail wages; sales revenue retained and reinvested in the community; municipal revenues generated; municipal services and maintenance costs caused by the development’s construction and operation; public subsidies including tax increment financing; impacts on utilities; and any other factors the municipality identifies.
3. Qualified preparer. The study pursuant to subsection 1 must be prepared by a preparer qualified by education, training and experience pursuant to section 4367 who is chosen by the municipality.
4. Public presentation. The study pursuant to subsection 1 must be presented to the public consistent with section 4368.
Effective September 12, 2009