A Response to Professor Delogu: Is Impermissible Exclusion a Reality in Maine?

A basic premise of Professor Orlando Delogu's article, The Misuse of Land Use Control Powers Must End: Suggestions for Legislative and Judicial Responses, is that many Maine municipalities are using their land use regulatory powers in impermissibly exclusionary ways. Professor Delogu proposes that the legislature and courts of Maine should respond to correct the situation. This Commentary will attempt to illustrate that Professor Delogu has failed to document his premise or to define accurately the difference between permissible and impermissible exclusion. He is unable, therefore, to substantiate the need for state intervention in an area of law traditionally delegated to municipalities. Indeed, legislation that prohibits all impermissible exclusionary actions seems unnecessary and difficult to implement without disrupting the flexibility and stability of municipal government functions.