Brunswick Council Adopts Resolution Criticizing LD 1829, Urges Legislature Action

The Brunswick Town Council adopted a resolution at its Feb. 17–18, 2026 meeting criticizing LD 1829, the Maine Legislature’s omnibus housing law enacted in June 2025, and asking the Legislature for corrective action and additional state support. The resolution directs the Town Manager to forward copies to Gov. Janet Mills, Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau and Brunswick’s legislative delegation.

The council action followed a Feb. 6 memorandum from the Town of Brunswick Department of Planning and Development signed by Director Julie Erdman and Principal Planner Jimmy Dealaman. The memo recommended council consideration of a draft titled “TOWN COUNCIL RESOLUTION REGARDING LD 1829: AN ACT TO BUILD HOUSING FOR MAINE FAMILIES AND ATTRACT WORKERS TO MAINE BUSINESSES BY AMENDING THE LAWS GOVERNING HOUSING DENSITY” and stated explicitly, "It is requested that the Town Council vote to adopt the attached resolution regarding LD1829."

Staff framed the resolution as part of a regional response. The Feb. 6 memo notes that the Town of Westbrook is "working to build a coalition of southern Maine communities seeking greater state support to address the financial burdens these laws will place on municipalities," and that Brunswick staff presented the draft so it could be shared "with the Legislature alongside similar concerns and request corrective legislative action and additional state support to ensure that housing policy advances its goals while remaining aligned with local planning and infrastructure capacity."

The draft resolution and a legislative excerpt highlight a specific funding concern: communities "experienced marked increases in housing production, yet the recently required density increases are not supported by any corresponding, dedicated state infrastructure funding program. This disconnect may create significant challenges on the horizon for municipalities attempting to plan responsibly for growth while maintaining infrastructure capacity and fiscal stability." Brunswick planning staff told councilors that LD 1829 reduces municipal authority to manage growth without matching infrastructure dollars.

The draft directs the Town Manager to forward the adopted resolution to named officials and organizations: Speaker Ryan Fecteau; Brunswick State Senator Matthea Daughtry; State Representatives Poppy Arford, Daniel Ankeles and Cheryl Golek; Governor Janet Mills; the Maine Municipal Association; and the Midcoast Council of Governments. The draft lists Nathan MacDonald as Chair, Brunswick Town Council, and Fran Smith as Brunswick Town Clerk for signoff, and also shows Julie Erdman as a planning department contact. The draft retains the placeholder line "ADOPTED this [___] day of February, 2026."

Brunswick staff also flagged other state bills in the legislative materials. Planning excerpts warn that "the introduction of LD 2143 continues to move the regulatory target and may delay our ability, as professional planners, to bring forward thoughtful and effective legislation," and reference LD 2173 in a fragment describing "new subdivisions in the rural area, intended, among other things, to allow time to develop a rate-of-growth ordinance."

The Original Report accompanying the documents states the resolution was circulated to regional media after the Feb. 17–18 council meeting. The draft’s bracketed adoption date indicates the town’s record copy and council minutes will be the definitive proof of the signed, dated resolution and of any transmittal of the document by Town Manager Julia Henze to the officials and organizations named in the draft.