SANDY RIVER PLANTATION – An April 11 date has been set for a public hearing on the petition of Saddleback Inc. and Saddleback Land & Timber Corp. to rezone 1,898 acres of their 8,087 acre tract and request to amend a preliminary development plan.

The Maine Land Use Regulation Commission approved its staff’s request to hold a public hearing on the matter on Wednesday.

The hearing will be held in Rangeley and probably start in the afternoon with public comment in the evening, Commission Director Catherine Carroll said Wednesday.

A time and place will be announced soon, she said.

The rezoning would expand the existing 1,960-acre Saddleback Ski Area planned development subdistrict to a total of 3,858 acres. The affected area spans Sandy River Plantation and Dallas Plantation.

The amended preliminary development plan would add ski trails and lifts, expanded snowmaking, condominium and apartment complexes, hotels, and other facilities related to the resort.

The 1,898 acres are in general management, Great Pond protection, mountain area protection, and recreation protection subdistricts now, and would be rezoned to a planned development subdistrict.

According to the LURC staff, the rezoning is intended to increase housing and lodging availability for the ski resort, expand skiing opportunities, and promote Saddleback as a four-season resort over the next 10 years.

The 1,898-acre parcel to be rezoned surrounds the existing planned development subdistrict and would expand the subdistrict along Saddleback Mountain Road to No Name Nubble and the West Bowl.