The Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) was established by the Maine Legislature in 1971 to provide planning, zoning and development review for the 10.5 million acres without organized local government.

These remote regions are comprised mainly by unorganized territories and townships, such as those that surround Moosehead Lake. LURC provides these unorganized communities with a vehicle for the same type of regulatory planning and zoning authority that is typically found within a town or city's planning or zoning board.

LURC's jurisdiction covers approximately 10.4 million acres, which stretches over roughly half of Maine, from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Maine.

By creating LURC, the Legislature acknowledged the state's most rural land and waterways serve a diverse range of interests and represent incredibly valuable ecological and human resources — from critical wildlife habitat and remote forestlands to coastal shore-land and farmlands.

Thus, it remains important to protect these multi-faceted resources by ensuring that growth and development takes place in appropriate areas, toward the fringe of LURC's jurisdiction.

The commission is made up of seven members, each of whom is appointed to staggered, four-year terms by the governor and confirmed by the legislature.

For more information about LURC, you may visit their website