Category: Municipal Law
Can You Sue a Municipality for Damages Caused by a Pothole?
It is a sure sign of Spring when people begin asking about whether they can sue their town over potholes. Sometimes the question comes from clients and other times from friends and family in a half-joking (and half-very-serious) manner. In Maine, potholes are inevitable, and people are understandably frustrated by the damage they can cause. …
Municipal Regulation of Solar Power in Maine
As my colleague wrote in a recent blog article called Maine Landowner’s Guide to Solar Leases, recent legislative developments incentivize solar power in Maine. This led to a “land rush” of out-of-state solar developers seeking to obtain interests in land from Maine landowners for potential solar development. With any rush for development, comes concerns from …
Is Chalking Tires an Unconstitutional Search?
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Panel Declares the Common Parking Enforcement Practice of Chalking Tires an Unconstitutional Search… Seriously?! The transcript below is a slightly edited version of a chat amongst Rudman Winchell colleagues regarding this case and the implications it may have for Maine municipalities and parking ticket enthusiasts. But first, a summary of …
Is That Pot Shop Legal: Maine Municipalities Wrestle with Whether to “Opt in” to Marijuana
As a municipal attorney in Maine, I can never predict what new legal challenge one of our many municipal clients will call about next. This is one of my favorite parts about my job. I say hardly because there is one topic that has come up very frequently over the past several months—marijuana. Given the …
Can Municipalities Make a Profit From Tax Lien Sales?
Can a Municipality Make a Profit by Selling my Property After a Tax Lien Foreclosure? Prior to 2015, the answer was always yes. Regardless of the amount received at the sale, any proceeds on properties sold in a tax lien foreclosure belonged to the municipality. If your outstanding taxes and fees were $5,000 and the …
LUPC VARIANCE
The State legislature created the Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) formerly known as the Land Use Regulatory Commission (LURC) by statute entitled 12 MRSA Chapter 206-A Land Use Regulation. The LUPC is charged with interpreting, applying and enforcing Maine’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Maine’s unorganized and deorganized territories including plantations and townships. …
Jurisdictional Limits of Municipal Police Officers
The jurisdictional limits of municipal police officers is a topic that is often speculated about, with little clarity as to whether or not the police officer from the next Town over may pull you over and cite you for a traffic violation. As with many legal questions, the answer is not a simple yes or …
Court’s decision in Beal v. Town of Stockton Springs, 2017 ME
The Town of Stockton Springs, a Rudman Winchell client, was successful in a recent Law Court case challenging the result of a municipal dangerous building proceeding. Appellant Holly Beal owns a home in Stockton Springs. Following neighbor complaints, a code enforcement officer inspection and unsuccessful discussions with Ms. Beal, the Town initiated a dangerous building …
The 2015 Amendments to Mandatory Shoreland Zoning and How They Impact the Expansion of a Non-Conforming Use
The Legislature adopted the Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act in 1971. The current law requires municipalities to establish land use controls for all “shoreland areas” defined as: “areas within 250 feet of the normal high-water line of any great pond, river or saltwater body, within 250 feet of the upland edge of a coastal wetland, within …
(Not) Keeping it Confidential: Disclosing Settlement Terms under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act
Maine’s Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) is a state statute that is intended to open the government of Maine by guaranteeing access to the “public records” and “public proceedings” of state and local government bodies and agencies (a similar federal statute called the Freedom of Information Act applies to the federal government). These local government …