Bill > LD1632

This bill establishes a new transportation planning incentive funding program within the Department of Transportation designed to encourage strategic development along state highways. Municipalities can apply for funding by creating a community transportation plan that outlines how development will occur along state transportation corridors, with the goal of reducing future costly infrastructure improvements. To be eligible, towns must adopt land use strategies that align with the Sensible Transportation Policy Act and incorporate these strategies into local ordinances. The department will provide technical assistance in developing these plans and will award funding competitively based on a rating system. Municipalities can use the incentive funding to purchase rural lands adjacent to highways to secure access rights or plan the development of public or town ways. The bill also modifies existing access management rules, expanding them to apply to all state highways instead of just controlled access highways, and allows the Department of Transportation to waive access management rules only for properties within locally designated growth areas identified in state-approved comprehensive plans. Additionally, the bill specifies that funding for this program will begin in fiscal year 2026-27, with funding sources to be identified in fiscal year 2027-28, derived from the Department of Transportation's quality communities initiative programs.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1632&snum=132