Plum Creek looks for “an escape hatch”
Plum Creek Timber Co., a developer looking to build the state's largest development in the Moosehead Lake region, is trying to ensure that the conservation agreement would be scrapped if the development falls through.
On Monday, Plum Creek submitted documents to the Land Use Regulation Commission seeking to cancel its agreement to preserve 366,000 acres if its development plan is rejected, terminated or if the company backs out of the development, according to the Bangor Daily News. At a meeting with LURC yesterday, company officials argued it would gain no benefit from shouldering the cost and limitations of the conservation deal if the development falls through. But the commission argued for leaving the conservation easements in place for at least five years, which would give LURC time to decide how to zone the land or make other conservation arrangements, according to the paper. One of the opponents to Plum Creek's plan called the company's request "an escape hatch." Though LURC gave preliminary approval to Plum Creek's plan to build 975 houses and two resorts on 16,000 acres in the Moosehead region, the company cannot begin work on the project until the appeals process ends, which could take up to several years.
A final LURC vote on Plum Creek's plan could come as early as next month, according to the paper.
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