Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, has submitted a bill to the Legislature that would allow Harpswell’s working waterfront to bypass certain zoning rules to rebuild structures damaged during back-to-back coastal storms in January 2024.

The bill, L.D. 1864, would allow an exception for Harpswell property owners whose working docks, piers or wharves were damaged or destroyed in the twin storms. If passed, it would let the town grant variances to its shoreland zoning and floodplain management ordinances to repair or rebuild structures that don’t meet the typical threshold for approval.

“This bill is a critical step in helping the Harpswell community recover from the storms and flooding,” Mary Catus, a spokesperson for the Senate President’s Office, said in an email. “It’s a timely opportunity for business property owners to rebuild and ensure their businesses and properties are functional again without the usual regulatory hurdles.”

According to Maine’s interpretation of Federal Emergency Management Agency rules, if a business in a high-flood-risk area applies for a building permit to repair or replace a damaged structure, it must demonstrate that denial of its application would result in a property that can’t generate a “reasonable return” on investment.

The “reasonable return” test essentially requires property owners to prove that they can’t make any financially viable use of their land or structure unless a variance is granted. While meant to reserve variances for cases of true economic hardship, local leaders have said the standard is impossible for many working waterfront businesses to meet.

In October, the Harpswell Select Board directed town staff to lobby Maine elected officials to ease restrictions on rebuilding damaged fish houses and other coastal structures in the January 2024 storms’ aftermath.

The town’s floodplain management ordinance, adopted by voters last June, made it virtually impossible for fishermen to receive a variance to rebuild larger structures located seaward of the mean high tide, Planning Board Chair Amy Haible told the Select Board at the time.

“The federal floodplain management ordinance has no provision that allows for replacement of these structures due to age-related damage or storm damage,” Haible said at the time. “And there also isn’t really any language that allows for variances — it’s very difficult.”

The bill is specific to Harpswell and the storms that struck on Jan. 9 and 13, 2024. Select Board member Matt Gilley, a lobsterman, said town officials decided a narrowly targeted bill would be more likely to be approved quickly.

Still, Gilley said he would like to see the concept expanded to allow such variances for all working waterfront properties statewide after any destructive weather event.

“This is a baby step,” Gilley said in an interview. “It solves the problem we have right now, but it definitely needs to be expanded. I think we can all agree that’s not the last storm we’re going to get.”

In a public hearing on Monday, May 12, eight people and organizations gave testimony to the Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee, all in favor of the bill. They included Harpswell’s state lawmakers, town officials and working waterfront advocates.

One state official who submitted testimony agreed with Gilley that the bill’s scope should be expanded to include all communities and future disasters.

“We recommend that it apply to any coastal community and not be limited to a single town,” said Judy East, director of the Bureau of Resource Information and Land Use Planning within the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. “Meteorological science and observable trends suggest that storms of the severity and destructive power of early January 2024 are not one-off phenomena. We recommend that this change be permanent and apply to emergency declarations that cause comparable damage.”

Working waterfront businesses in other Maine communities — and other states — haven’t reported the same hurdles to rebuilding as those in Harpswell. Gilley said it could be because they have more available land to relocate damaged structures away from the water, or perhaps their local officials aren’t applying the rules as strictly.

Whatever the reasons, he said, Harpswell’s working waterfront needs the bill to pass. Gilley said he is aware of five commercial wharf owners whose rebuilding efforts have been stymied by their inability to obtain a variance.

The bill faces further action in committee before heading to the full Legislature for consideration, Catus said.

Harpswell Anchor reporter J. Craig Anderson is a veteran journalist whose work has earned state, regional and national awards. Please send comments or news tips to craig@harpswellanchor.org.