The Maine Zoning Atlas: A Land Use Policy Tool

A collective of policy and planning practitioners are working to establish the Maine Zoning Atlas, an initiative affiliated with the Cornell University-based National Zoning Atlas aimed at creating a web-based tool that visualizes zoning across Maine via an easy-to-use online viewer. This project joins state Atlas efforts underway in New Hampshire, Vermont, and the other New England states.

The goal of this initiative is to develop and maintain a resource that assists researchers, policymakers, housing developers, advocacy groups, realtors, municipal and regional planners, and others in understanding how municipal zoning codes impact housing, environmental resource conservation, economic development, and transportation policy at scale. It will allow broad comparisons of residential zoning allowances between individual communities and regions, helping to tell a story about where various development typologies and intensities are permitted and where opportunities exist to align zoning with local, regional, and statewide goals around housing production.

Here’s where the effort is currently: a generous grant from the Maine Community Foundation has allowed the Maine Zoning Atlas to hire an intern to assist in collecting zoning ordinances, with preliminary analyses underway for jurisdictions in Washington County. Analysts at the National Zoning Atlas have also begun reviewing existing zoning conditions across Maine, identifying 75 jurisdictions that currently lack zoning regulations and leaving 422 for potential inclusion in the state Atlas. A recent infusion of funding from the Department of Economic and Community Development’s Housing Opportunity Program (HOP) will enable a focused five-month analysis and publication of a first draft of normalized zoning data for jurisdictions within Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and York counties on the public map later this year.

At this time, the Maine Zoning Atlas is seeking additional funding opportunities to keep this good work going! If you are interested in getting involved or know of potential funding sources for this work, please email mainezoningatlas@gmail.com.