Bill > H2326

This bill addresses potential misuse of the Dover Amendment, a legal provision that currently prevents municipalities from imposing certain zoning restrictions on religious and educational nonprofit institutions. The bill specifically seeks to clarify that while these institutions are generally exempt from local zoning regulations, they cannot avoid wetlands and natural resource protection requirements. The legislative finding explicitly states that nonprofit institutions using the Dover Amendment to bypass environmental protections may be harmful to public health and the environment. By modifying the existing law, the bill would allow municipalities to apply wetlands and natural resource area protections to nonprofit institutions, even if those protections might otherwise be considered zoning restrictions. This change aims to ensure that religious and educational nonprofit organizations cannot circumvent important environmental safeguards simply by claiming exemption under the Dover Amendment, thereby preserving local governments' ability to protect sensitive ecological areas regardless of an institution's nonprofit status.

Government Affairs

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2326