Laserfiche WebLink
February 10, 2019 I Volume 13 I Issue 3 <br />Proponents of the proposal say that the "current <br />1-mile rule encourages sprawl instead of strategic <br />development," and contend that the proposed rule <br />change would help to prevent sprawl and scattered <br />development. Opponents, however, argue the change <br />would "encourage development in Maine forests." <br />Reportedly, the Commission is expected to make a <br />decision on the proposed rule change by March or <br />April. <br />Source: Public News Service; www publicnewsser <br />vice.org <br />MASSACHUSETTS <br />In late December 2018, Governor Charlie Baker <br />signed into law legislation that applies the Com- <br />monwealth's 5.7% hotel and motel room tax to <br />short-term accommodations rented out for 14 days a <br />year or more. The legislation also provides munici- <br />palities with the authority to level additional local <br />taxes. <br />Source: Greenfield Recorder; www recorder. com <br />NEW YORK <br />The Town of Bedford is being sued over a zoning <br />ordinance that limits the location of sales of <br />e-cigarettes, other electronic nicotine delivery <br />Zoning Bulletin <br />systems, and vape. The plaintiffs, which include sev- <br />eral businesses, allege that the ordinance is invalid <br />because it's "directed at the perceived social evil of <br />electronic nicotine delivery devices rather than the <br />regulations of land use." The Town maintains the <br />ordinance is a valid zoning law intended to address <br />" `negative secondary effects' on the surrounding <br />community." <br />S ource: Rockland -Westchester Journal News; <br />www.lohud.com <br />RHODE ISLAND <br />Effective March 1, 2019, a new state law allows <br />building height in special flood hazard areas (SFHA) <br />to begin to be measured from the base flood eleva- <br />tion (BFE) of the area. The law also allows a struc- <br />ture in an SFHA to adhere to a BEE as determined <br />by the state's Coastal Resource Management Coun- <br />cil (if more stringent than the Federal Emergency <br />Management Agency's calculations). The legisla- <br />tion is intended to "improve a municipality's infra - <br />structural resiliency to coastal flooding following a <br />large storm event." <br />Source: The Narragansett Times; www.ricentra <br />1. com <br />8 © 2019 Thomson Reuters <br />