RANGELEY – About 30 people attended Wednesday night’s Maine Land Use Regulation Commission public hearing in Rangeley on a planned development project.

But only a few testified about Union Water-Power Co.’s proposed rezoning and subdivision permit for 12 acres fronting Lower Richardson Lake’s upper western end at Middle Dam.

Middle Dam is located on the lake’s outlet Rapid River, a remote, pristine stream nationally renowned for brook trout and landlocked salmon.

Lower Richardson Lake, a 22,000-acre water body with 21 miles of shoreline, is in the scenic Rangeley Lakes Region of Western Maine.

Union Water-Power Co. is proposing to create three shorefront camp lots on a 12-acre parcel south of the dam off Black Cat Dike Road.

“The demand for this type of property is significant, and is not likely to decrease in the near future given the extensive conservation of lands on the region,” said Norm Rodrigue of Union Water-Power Co.

Lot sizes would include 3.35 acres, 2.96 acres, and 5.76 acres, with the latter two lots sharing a 12-foot-wide driveway off Black Cat Dike Road.

After the nearly three-hour Board of Commissioners’ hearing Wednesday night, LURC Director Catherine M. Carroll said it would take the board roughly three months to decide the matter.

Commissioners are accepting further public comment until Monday, Oct. 25. A period for rebuttals follows, then the record closes on Monday, Nov. 1, said Board Chairman Bart Harvey.

Rodrigue opened the hearing with a 60-minute presentation on the project.

Union Water, Rodrigue said, has been a good steward of its lands in the Upper Androscoggin River Watershed region since 1878. The company, he said, is also an integral part of the history and character of the Rangeley Lakes region.

“We worked hard to bring all of the parties together to achieve what I believe is a landmark agreement for balancing hydro development and preserving and protecting this special place,” Rodrigue said.

According to the Upper Androscoggin River Storage Project Settlement Agreement of Aug. 28, 1998, which Union Water signed, the development is to be limited to seasonal residences.

No commercial development is allowed.

The agreement was designed to protect the natural and scenic beauty of the Middle Dam area, while allowing limited development of up to 12 new seasonal camps on 18 acres of Union Water’s 129-acre parcel at the dam.

In 2003, Union Water proposed to rezone the 18 acres in two parcels abutting the dam, one along Lower Richardson Lake, the other along Rapid River.

At that time, in addition to the current three-lot proposal, the company sought a subdivision permit for nine clustered lots to be located 400 feet from Rapid River and 630 feet from Richardson Lake, and north of the dam off Carry Road.

But Rodrigue said, due to “strong concerns” raised by several organizations and individuals, including Lakewood Camps, Friends of Richardson, and Maine Preservation, “we have abandoned the nine-lot clustered development.”

After clarification of questions asked by commissioners and Carroll, Betsy Ham, spokeswoman for Friends of Richardson, testified.

Friends of Richardson, a 501(c) organization formed in October 2000, is a group of 125 people dedicated to the conservation, preservation and protection of Richardson Lake and Rapid River.

Ham said the organization is concerned about the development’s scope on the proposed new lots, and the continued lack of protection on Union Water’s remaining undeveloped property.

Ham also asked LURC to eliminate the need for driveways to the lots by allowing for water access only, to consider requiring a permanent conservation easement on Union Water’s “unprotected and vulnerable” 48 acres on the dam’s north side, and to allow only one seasonal dock for the camps.

Rodrigue said only one dock is planned, and that Union Water has no intention of seeking further development on the dam’s north side.