Resolve, To Establish a Response Team To Facilitate the Redevelopment of Unoccupied Mills and Other Unoccupied Buildings

Sec. 1. Coordinate and establish a response team to facilitate redevelopment of unoccupied mills. Resolved: That, beginning August 1, 2012, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall establish and coordinate a response team to facilitate the redevelopment of unoccupied mills and other large unoccupied buildings. The Department of Environmental Protection, the Finance Authority of Maine and the Maine State Housing Authority shall participate in the response team, and the Department of Economic and Community Development shall invite the participation in the response team of a representative of a commercial real estate developer, a representative from an economic development district, a local economic development representative and a private sector representative knowledgeable in the mill redevelopment process. The response team shall facilitate the Department of Economic and Community Development’s efforts to redevelop unoccupied mills, other large unoccupied buildings and former schools that are now unoccupied. The response team shall provide assistance upon request to a municipality that is actively working to implement a redevelopment business plan for an unoccupied building and that has identified within the business plan possible financing resources and marketing plans for the redevelopment of the unoccupied site. The response team may assist by visiting the unoccupied site and engaging in discussions with local officials regarding the availability of federal, state and local financing resources for municipalities seeking to redevelop such sites as well as identifying and removing whenever possible any regulatory obstacles to the redevelopment of the site; and be it further

Sec. 2. Report. Resolved: That, no later than February 1, 2013, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall provide a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor, commerce, research and economic development matters, the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs and the Governor on the coordinated response efforts under section 1. The Department of Economic and Community Development shall submit with the report any recommendations for changes that may be required in statute or local ordinances to remove obstacles to the redevelopment of the sites under section 1. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor, commerce, research and economic development matters is authorized to report out a bill implementing the recommendations to the First Regular Session of the 126th Legislature.