Land Use Planning Commission accepts Wolfden zoning petition as complete for processing

July 27, 2020

For more information contact: Jim Britt at: (207) 480-0558

AUGUSTA - The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) has accepted the Wolfden Mt. Chase LLC (Wolfden) zoning petition as complete for processing. Wolfden has requested to rezone approximately 528 acres of land from General Management and Shoreland Protection 2 Subdistricts, to a Planned Development Subdistrict (D-PD) in T6 R6 WELS, near Mt. Chase, in Northern Penobscot County. The proposed purpose of the D-PD subdistrict is a metallic mineral mine, and associated buildings, and infrastructure. The zoning petition is subject to and will be reviewed under LUPC Chapter 12 rules. Chapter 12 requires a public hearing to be held by LUPC before a final decision on the petition.

The LUPC received the zoning petition on January 27, 2020. Accepting the petition as complete for processing is the next step in this multi-agency process, to review the proposal's merits. A copy of the petition and amendments, public comments to date, and information about the process, are available for download from the LUPC project-specific webpage. Watch for updates as the review process continues.

About LUPC

The Maine Legislature created the LUPC to extend principles of sound planning, zoning, and permitting to the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State, including townships and most plantations. These areas either have no local government or have chosen not to administer land use controls at the local level. A petitioner wishing to seek a metallic mineral mining permit from the Department of Environmental Protection under the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act (Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 9) for a project located wholly or in part within the unorganized areas of the State must first petition and receive approval from the Commission for a change in subdistrict boundary to a custom, Planned Development (D-PD) Subdistrict. The D-PD subdistrict is the only Commission zoning subdistrict that would allow for metallic mineral mining. The purpose of the D-PD subdistrict is to allow for large scale, well-planned development that depends on a particular natural feature or location that is available at the proposed site. Learn more about the LUPC online.

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