Technical Assistance

Active Transportation (Walking, Bicycling, Complete Streets, etc.)

• Smart Growth America's webpage

Affordable Housing

• MaineHousing (Maine State Housing Authority)
• Affordable Housing Barriers and Solutions for Maine

Agriculture

• Maine Farmland Preservation Ordinances
• PowerPoint presentation on farmland protection tools, KVCOG
• Why Municipalities Should Support Local Farms, October 2009 Maine Townsman

Brownfields

• Maine DEP Brownfields Resources, including the Voluntary Remediation Action Program
• EPA Region 1 (New England) Brownfields Program
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Program and Funding Opportunities

Capital Improvement Program

• Developing a Capital Improvement Program GPCOG

Climate Variability

• Planning for Climate Variability

Form Based Codes

• Form Based Codes. Form-based codes are a new regulatory tool for shaping a community's character that can supplement or replace traditional zoning.

GIS Applications in Maine

• Washington County COG Coastal Shoreland Zoning Model Update

Local Planning Resources

• Regional Councils
• Planning Webinars for Maine Communities

Municipal Ordinances: Models and Information

• Solar and Energy Storage Handbook for Maine Communities
• Adult Entertainment Establishments
• Fireworks Restrictions and Limitations A community which has adopted a fireworks ordinance must submit a copy of the ordinance to the Office of the Fire Marshal within 60 days. (8 M.R.S.A. 223-A (2))
• Introduction to Transfer of Development Rights Programs
• Model Low Impact Development Ordinance (DOC) or Model Low Impact Development Ordinance (PDF); Low impact development presentation, KVCOG
• Model Site Plan Regulations and Conditional Use Permits to Support Solar Energy Systems in Maine Municipalities, 2020, Maine Audubon
• Maine Model Wind Energy Facility Ordinance (DOC) offering a comprehensive wind energy facility review process and standards for voluntary adoption by Maine municipalities
• Model Subdivision Ordinance, SMRPC (SMPDC)
• State Subdivision Law: An Introductory Presentation (PowerPoint) or State Subdivision Law: An Introductory Presentation (PDF)
• Subdivision & Petroleum Don't Mix, article by George Seel, Bureau of Remediation & Waste Management, DEP. Discusses the location of subdivisions
• Open Space Subdivision Presentation, KVCOG
• Open Space Subdivision Ordinance, with Commentary (DOC) or Open Space Subdivision Ordinance, with Commentary (PDF); Without Commentary (DOC) or Without Commentary (PDF)
• Site Plan Review Handbook: A Guide to Developing A Site Plan Review System
• Personal Wireless Facilities Siting Ordinances
  • 2009 Kennebec Valley Council of Governments Model Ordinance with Commentary; Without Commentary
  • SPO Model Ordinance (1998)
  • Model Ordinance Cover Letter/Introduction
  • Final Model Ordinance with Commentary / Discussion
  • Final Model Ordinance without Commentary
  • Zoning Ordinance Review Submission Form (DOC) or Zoning Ordinance Review Submission Form (PDF)
• Historic municipal documents, ordinances, comprehensive plans, etc.

Natural Resources and Conservation

• Beginning with Habitat Program: Creates comprehensive packages for Maine communities which include multi-layer maps, information about native habitats, and localized conservation strategies. They also provide technical assistance to help planners, land trusts, and private developers put the data to use.
• Regional Landscape Conservation in Maine: Best Practices for Enhancing Quality of Place
• Conservation Blueprint (PDF): A Guidebook for protecting place and prosperity in Arrowsic, Bath, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Brunswick, Georgetown, Harpswell, Phippsburg, Richmond, Topsham, West Bath and Woolwich

New Ruralism

• Lessons in New Ruralism, 2020, APA & NEECAPA

Scenic Resources

• Scenic Assessment Handbook
• Scenic Assessments, What...Why...How: Maine Land Conservation Conference, April 2015. Part 1 (PDF); Part 2 (PDF)

Service Centers

• DACF Service Centers - While Maine is a rural state, it depends on its urban service centers for its well-being. These communities vary tremendously in size and appearance, but share three attributes: a) they are job centers, b) they are retail centers, and/or c) they offer an array of social, cultural, health and financial services to the surrounding region.

Smart Growth & Sprawl

• Maine Sensible Transportation Handbook
• Creating Traditional, Walkable Neighborhoods: A Handbook for Maine Communities
• Chronology and Summary of Maine Legislative Activity Related to Smart Growth, Sprawl, and Growth Management Initiatives (1999 - 2002)
• The Competitive Advantage: Three Year Smart Growth Action Plan
• Markets for Traditional Neighborhoods
• Why Households Move: Two Maine Surveys
• The Cost of Sprawl
• Speech to the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association,
• "Maine Smart Growth Activities" Speech Presented at the National Governors Conference, Center for Best Practices

Wind Energy

• Professional Land Use Planning Assistance
  Upon request from the municipality, your regional planning organization will provide basic technical assistance with the Maine Model Wind Energy Facility Ordinance. Regional planners are available to answer questions about the Model Ordinance and to help local officials understand how it can be adapted for use with current local ordinances. Please note that the Model Ordinance provisions for the control of noise from large wind energy facilities (Type 2 and Type 3) is directly based on Department of Environmental Protection standards and that some technical questions regarding those standards may need to be referred to that department.
• Maine Model Wind Energy Facility Ordinance (DOC)
  The Model Ordinance offers an example approach to local regulation of wind energy development and is provided for review, reference and consideration by Maine municipalities. There is no state mandate to adopt the Model Ordinance.
• Guidebook (PDF)
  This companion Guidebook elaborates on certain aspects of the Model Ordinance and is designed to help municipal officials, citizens and prospective wind energy permit applicants better understand and interpret it. The final draft of the Guidebook is now available. The draft Guidebook we are now providing is very nearly our final product. The primary change we still expect to make will be to add a sound measurement methodology for Type 1 (i.e. 'small') facilities. Our goal is to provide practical sound measurement instructions that can be carried out locally using simple and relatively inexpensive equipment.