Brunswick limits rural housing developments
Brunswick Town Hall. (Katie Langley/Staff Writer)
The Brunswick Town Council Monday night voted to limit housing developments in the town’s designated rural zone to 20 units per year.
The so-called rate of growth ordinance requires developers who wish to build in such areas to obtain a rural growth permit.
The ordinance comes on the heels of the 2025 comprehensive plan, adopted last winter, which included a new zoning map that designated areas for rural protection. Residents have raised concerns about developments in these areas in recent years, town staff told the council Monday.
Affordable housing developments, accessory dwelling units and family gift lots are exempt from the requirement.
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Rural Brunswick has been growing, said Julie Erdman, Brunswick’s planning and development director. Thirty-one new dwelling units were built in the rural zone in 2025, according to the town. In recent years, that number has gone as high as 49.
The measure is intended to protect environmental resources, prevent overdevelopment and focus growth in the town’s designated growth zones, town planning staff wrote in a council memo.
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“Importantly, a rate of growth ordinance does not prohibit development, it does not remove development rights, reduce zoning density, or change what uses are allowed on a property,” Erdman said. “Instead, it regulates the timing of development by establishing an annual allocation of permits.”
An updated land use map in Brunswick’s 2025 comprehensive plan reduces the designated growth area, encouraging development in areas where critical infrastructure is already present. (Courtesy of the town of Brunswick)
In November, the council approved a moratorium pausing new developments in the rural area for 180 days in anticipation of the new comprehensive plan.
Under the new ordinance, the town will award 20 rural growth permits annually. Of these, five would be reserved for single- or two-family homes and 15 permits would be reserved for developments that follow a similar scheme, such as subdivisions.
The council Monday night lowered this number from 24 permits originally proposed.
The ordinance will take effect starting in 2027.
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Katie covers Brunswick, Bath and Freeport for the Times Record. She was previously the weekend reporter at the Portland Press Herald and is originally from the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York. More by Katie Langley
