AUGUSTA – A state agency is expected to decide Wednesday, Jan. 12, on whether to OK a planned development project on Richardson Lake in Township C above Andover.

Maine Land Use Regulation Commission members will conduct the meeting starting at 9:30 a.m. at Bolton Hill, Department of Conservation, at 2870 N. Belfast Ave., in Augusta.

Union Water Power Co. wants to rezone and subdivide 12 acres fronting Lower Richardson Lake’s upper western end at Middle Dam.

Middle Dam is on the lake’s outlet, Rapid River, a remote, pristine stream nationally renowned for its brook trout and landlocked salmon fishing. Lower Richardson Lake, at 22,000 acres and with 21 miles of shoreline, is in the scenic Rangeley Lakes Region.

The proposal is to create three shorefront camp lots on the 12-acre parcel south of the dam off Black Cat Dike Road.

At a public hearing on the matter on Oct. 13 in Rangeley, Norm Rodrigue of Union Water Power Co. said that 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.

The development would be limited to seasonal residences. No commercial development is allowed.

At the Oct. 13 hearing, Betsy Ham, spokeswoman for Friends of Richardson, an organization formed in October 2000, expressed concerns about the development’s scope on the proposed lots and continued lack of protection on Union Water’s remaining undeveloped property.

Union Water Power has owned lands in the upper Androscoggin River watershed region since 1878.

Among the other Jan. 12 agenda items is information to be presented on changes occurring in the Maine woods and the Maine Woods National Park and Preserve proposal.

Commissioners are also scheduled to hear an update on major initiatives by the Department of Conservation.