Land Use Planning
Service Centers
Methodology for Identification of Regional Service Centers,
Ch. 220 Rule Making (LD 2250)
The State Planning Office has amended Chapter 220. The rule is used to identify municipalities serving as regional service centers in accordance with 30-A MRSA §4301, sub §14-A. The amendment has extend the timeframe for updating the list of service centers using this methodology from five (5) to ten (10) years to coincide with the release of new census data. The update also references data sets required in the methodology for determining service center communities to reflect recent job classification coding changes by the Department of Labor.
Of primary concern was the quality of estimated data available and the impact of updating the list using indices developed from unreliable estimates. The Office determined that the best result would be attained if the list were updated every ten years, beginning in 2012, using data from the 2010 Census.
Amended Chapter 220 (Methodology for Identifying Regional Service Centers)
Service Centers
Regional Service Centers are another term for "service
center community." A Service Center is a municipality
or group of municipalities identified by the State Planning
Office according to a methodology established by rule that
includes 4 basic criteria, including level of retail sales,
jobs-to-workers ratio, the amount of federally assisted housing
and the volume of service sector jobs. By rule, regional service
centers include communities that meet basic criteria, as well
as portions of adjacent municipalities that meet certain criteria.
(List in PDF, 41 KB; Microsoft Excel, 18 KB)
Regional Service Centers
(Alphabetical Order)
ASHLAND
AUBURN
AUGUSTA
BANGOR
BAR HARBOR
BATH
BELFAST
BETHEL
BIDDEFORD
BLUE HILL
BOOTHBAY HARBOR
BREWER
BRIDGTON
BRUNSWICK
BUCKSPORT
CALAIS
CAMDEN
CARIBOU
DAMARISCOTTA
DEXTER
DOVER-FOXCROFT
EASTPORT
ELLSWORTH
FAIRFIELD
FARMINGDALE
FARMINGTON
FORT KENT
FREEPORT
GREENVILLE
GUILFORD
HOULTON
JACKMAN
KITTERY
LEWISTON
LIMESTONE
LINCOLN
LUBEC
MACHIAS
MADAWASKA
MILBRIDGE
MILLINOCKET
NEWPORT
NORWAY
ORONO
OXFORD
PARIS
PITTSFIELD
PORTLAND
PRESQUE ISLE
RANGELEY
ROCKLAND
ROCKPORT
RUMFORD
SACO
SANFORD
SCARBOROUGH
SKOWHEGAN
SOUTH PORTLAND
SOUTHWEST HARBOR
THOMASTON
VAN BUREN
WATERVILLE
WESTBROOK |
Contiguous Census Designated
Places and Compact Urban Areas Designated as Regional
Service Centers
(Alphabetical Order)
ELIOT
GARDINER
HALLOWELL
HAMPDEN
MEXICO
MILFORD
NEWCASTLE
NORRIDGEWOCK
OAKLAND
OLD ORCHARD BEACH
OLD TOWN
RANDOLPH
TOPSHAM
WINSLOW |
