On Monday, L.D. 389 will come up for a vote in the Maine Senate. This bill would put land use decisions in the hands of town planners, zoning officials and town councils. Private citizens would not be able to oppose such decisions.

The loss of the ability to impact land use decisions in our towns can be very detrimental. How many more large empty shells of buildings do we want in Lewiston and Auburn?

As citizens in a democracy, we need to retain the ability to oppose zoning decisions with which we disagree.

This bill could allow zoning decisions to be made without our knowledge and without citizen input.

The Maine House has already passed this bill. It needs to be stopped in the Senate to preserve our rights in relation to land use.

Diane Rancourt, Lewiston