A bill initiated and co-written by Harpswell officials to support coastal rebuilding after two destructive storms in January 2024 has been signed into law.
Gov. Janet Mills signed the bill on June 12 after it passed unanimously in the Maine Legislature. It was enacted as an emergency measure, allowing it to take effect right away.
“Our (town) planner immediately notified some of the fishermen who have been waiting for this law to go into place,” Harpswell Town Administrator Kristi Eiane told the Select Board on Wednesday, June 25. “We’re hopeful that some of those storm-damaged fishing structures can now be replaced.”
The bill, L.D. 1864, was sponsored by Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, and Rep. Cheryl Golek, D-Harpswell. It allows working waterfront property owners across Maine to bypass certain zoning rules so they can rebuild structures damaged during the back-to-back storms.
If a Maine business in a high-flood-risk area applies for a zoning variance to repair or replace a damaged structure, it must demonstrate that denial of its application would result in a property that can’t generate a “reasonable return” on investment.
While meant to reserve variances for cases of economic hardship, local leaders have said the standard is impossible for many working waterfront businesses to meet.
Under the new law, municipalities can waive the requirement when granting variances for projects to rebuild from the storms on Jan. 9 and 13, 2024. The bill was drafted to apply to Harpswell, but it was amended in committee to cover all coastal communities in Maine.
“They still have to go through a (process) at the town level,” Eiane said. “They would need a variance, but Maine law is now making it easier for that to happen.”
Harpswell leaders would like to see the exception expanded to apply to damage from future weather events, not just the January 2024 storms.
Still, Eiane said she is pleased that the town was able to play a role in helping businesses recover from the twin storms, which damaged or destroyed an estimated 60% of Maine’s working waterfront, according to the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.
“It took us a while to get here,” Eiane said. “I know it has been frustrating for some of the fishermen that they couldn’t replace buildings that they’ve had for many years in the time frame they wanted to do so.”
