All land use activities, as indicated in
Table 1, Land Uses in the Shoreland Zone, shall conform to all of the applicable land use standards in this article. The district designation for a particular site shall be determined from the Official Shoreland Zoning Map.
All land use activities within the shoreland zone shall conform
to the following provisions, if applicable.
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NOTE: Municipalities should review the land use standards contained
herein to determine whether they will result in a scale of development
that is compatible with existing development or with the future desired
scale of development. If not, more restrictive land use standards
may be adopted by the municipality.
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Campgrounds shall conform to the minimum requirements imposed
under state licensing procedures and the following:
A. Campgrounds shall contain a minimum of 5,000 square feet of land,
not including roads and driveways, for each site. Land supporting
wetland vegetation and land below the normal high-water line of a
water body shall not be included in calculating land area per site.
B. The areas intended for placement of a recreational vehicle, tent
or shelter and utility and service buildings shall be set back a minimum
of 100 feet, horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line
of a great pond classified GPA or a river flowing to a great pond
classified GPA and 75 feet, horizontal distance, from the normal high-water
line of other water bodies, tributary streams, or the upland edge
of a wetland.
Individual private campsites not associated with campgrounds
are allowed provided that the following conditions are met:
A. One campsite per lot existing on the effective date of this chapter
or 30,000 square feet of area within the shoreland zone, whichever
is less, may be permitted.
B. When an
individual private campsite is proposed on a lot that contains another
principal use and/or structure, the lot must contain the minimum lot
dimensional requirements for the principal structure and/or use, and
the individual private campsite separately.
C. Campsite placement on any lot, including the area intended for a
recreational vehicle or tent platform, shall be set back 100 feet,
horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line of a great pond
classified GPA or river flowing to a great pond classified GPA and
75 feet, horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line of other
water bodies, tributary streams, or the upland edge of a wetland.
D. Only one recreational vehicle shall be allowed on a campsite. The
recreational vehicle shall not be located on any type of permanent
foundation except for a gravel pad, and no structure except a canopy
shall be attached to the recreational vehicle.
E. The clearing of vegetation for the siting of the recreational vehicle,
tent, or similar shelter in a Resource Protection District shall be
limited to 1,000 square feet.
F. A written sewage disposal plan describing the proposed method and
location of sewage disposal shall be required for each campsite and
shall be approved by the local Plumbing Inspector. Where disposal
is off site, written authorization from the receiving facility or
landowner is required.
G. When a recreational vehicle, tent or similar shelter is placed on
site for more than 120 days per year, all requirements for residential
structures shall be met, including the installation of a subsurface
sewage disposal system in compliance with the State of Maine Subsurface
Wastewater Disposal Rules, unless served by public sewage facilities.
The following new commercial and industrial uses are prohibited
within the shoreland zone adjacent to great ponds classified GPA and
rivers and streams which flow to great ponds classified GPA:
B. Auto or other vehicle service and/or repair operations, including
body shops.
C. Chemical and bacteriological laboratories.
D. Storage of chemicals, including herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers,
other than amounts normally associated with individual households
or farms.
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NOTE: 22 M.R.S.A. § 1471-U requires municipal ordinances
that apply to pesticide storage, distribution or use be filed with
the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, 28 State House Station, Augusta,
ME 04333. If a municipality's ordinance is more inclusive or restrictive
than these guidelines, as it pertains to pesticides, a copy of the
ordinance must be filed with the Board of Pesticides Control.
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E. Commercial painting, wood preserving, and furniture stripping.
F. Dry-cleaning establishments.
G. Electronic circuit assembly.
H. Laundromats, unless connected to a sanitary sewer.
I. Metal plating, finishing, or polishing.
J. Petroleum or petroleum product storage and/or sale, except storage
on the same property as use occurs and except for storage and sales
associated with marinas.
The following standards shall apply to the construction of roads
and/or driveways and drainage systems, culverts and other related
features:
A. Roads and driveways shall be set back at least 100 feet, horizontal
distance, from the normal high-water line of a great pond classified
GPA or a river that flows to a great pond classified GPA and 75 feet,
horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line of other water
bodies, tributary streams, or the upland edge of a wetland, unless
no reasonable alternative exists as determined by the Planning Board.
If no other reasonable alternative exists, the road and/or driveway
setback requirement shall be no less than 50 feet, horizontal distance,
upon clear showing by the applicant that appropriate techniques will
be used to prevent sedimentation of the water body, tributary stream,
or wetland. Such techniques may include, but are not limited to, the
installation of settling basins and/or the effective use of additional
ditch relief culverts and turnouts placed so as to avoid sedimentation
of the water body, tributary stream, or wetland. On slopes of greater
than 20% the road and/or driveway setback shall be increased by 10
feet, horizontal distance, for each five-percent increase in slope
above 20%. This subsection does not apply to approaches to water crossings
or to roads or driveways that provide access to permitted structures
and facilities located nearer to the shoreline or tributary stream
due to an operational necessity, excluding temporary docks for recreational
uses. Roads and driveways providing access to permitted structures
within the setback area shall comply fully with the requirements of
this subsection except for that portion of the road or driveway necessary
for direct access to the structure.
B. Existing public roads may be expanded within the legal road right-of-way
regardless of their setback from a water body, tributary stream or
wetland.
C. New permanent roads are not allowed within the shoreland zone along
significant river segments except to provide access to structures
or facilities within the zone or when the applicant demonstrates that
no reasonable alternative route exists outside the shoreland zone.
When roads must be located within the shoreland zone they shall be
set back as far as practicable from the normal high-water line and
screened from the river by existing vegetation.
D. New roads and driveways are prohibited in a Resource Protection District,
except that the Planning Board may grant a permit to construct a road
or driveway to provide access to permitted uses within the district.
A road or driveway may also be approved by the Planning Board in a
Resource Protection District upon a finding that no reasonable alternative
route or location is available outside the district. When a road or
driveway is permitted in a Resource Protection District, the road
and/or driveway shall be set back as far as practicable from the normal
high-water line of a water body, tributary stream, or upland edge
of a wetland.
E. Road and driveway banks shall be no steeper than a slope of two horizontal to one vertical and shall be graded and stabilized in accordance with the provisions for erosion and sedimentation control contained in §
226-43.
F. Road and driveway grades shall be no greater than 10% except for
segments of less than 200 feet.
G. In order to prevent road and driveway surface drainage from directly
entering water bodies, tributary streams or wetlands, roads and driveways
shall be designed, constructed, and maintained to empty onto an unscarified
buffer strip at least 50 feet plus two times the average slope in
width between the outflow point of the ditch or culvert and the normal
high-water line of a water body, tributary stream, or upland edge
of a wetland. Surface drainage which is directed to an unscarified
buffer strip shall be diffused or spread out to promote infiltration
of the runoff and to minimize channelized flow of the drainage through
the buffer strip.
H. Ditch relief (cross drainage) culverts, drainage dips and water turnouts
shall be installed in a manner effective in directing drainage onto
unscarified buffer strips before the flow gains sufficient volume
or head to erode the road, driveway, or ditch. To accomplish this,
the following shall apply:
(1) Ditch relief culverts, drainage dips and associated water turnouts
shall be spaced along the road or driveway at intervals no greater
than indicated in the following table:
Grade
|
Spacing
(feet)
|
---|
0% to 2%
|
250
|
3% to 5%
|
200 to 135
|
6% to 10%
|
100 to 80
|
11% to 15%
|
80 to 60
|
16% to 20%
|
60 to 45
|
21% +
|
40
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(2) Drainage dips may be used in place of ditch relief culverts only
where the grade is 10% or less.
(3) On sections having slopes greater than 10%, ditch relief culverts
shall be placed at approximately a thirty-degree angle downslope from
a line perpendicular to the center line of the road or driveway.
(4) Ditch relief culverts shall be sufficiently sized and properly installed
in order to allow for effective functioning, and their inlet and outlet
ends shall be stabilized with appropriate materials.
I. Ditches, culverts, bridges, dips, water turnouts, and other stormwater
runoff control installations associated with roads and driveways shall
be maintained on a regular basis to assure effective functioning.
The following provisions shall govern the use of signs in the
Resource Protection, Stream Protection, and Limited Residential Districts:
A. Signs relating to goods and services sold on the premises shall be
allowed, provided that such signs shall not exceed six square feet
in area and shall not exceed two signs per premises. Signs relating
to goods or services not sold or rendered on the premises shall be
prohibited.
B. Name signs are allowed, provided that such signs shall not exceed
two signs per premises and shall not exceed 12 square feet in the
aggregate.
C. Residential users may display a single sign not over three square
feet in area relating to the sale, rental, or lease of the premises.
D. Signs relating to trespassing and hunting shall be allowed without
restriction as to number, provided that no such sign shall exceed
two square feet in area.
E. Signs relating to public safety shall be allowed without restriction.
F. No sign shall extend higher than 20 feet above the ground.
G. Signs may be illuminated only by shielded, nonflashing lights.
All subsurface sewage disposal systems shall be installed in
conformance with the State of Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal
Rules and the following:
A. Clearing or removal of woody vegetation necessary to site a new system
and any associated fill extensions shall not extend closer than 75
feet, horizontal distance, to the normal high-water line of a water
body or the upland edge of a wetland; and
B. A holding tank is not allowed for a first-time residential use in
the shoreland zone.
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NOTE: The Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules require
new systems, excluding fill extensions, to be constructed no less
than 100 horizontal feet from the normal high-water line of a perennial
water body. The minimum setback distance for a new subsurface disposal
system may not be reduced by variance.
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Mineral exploration to determine the nature or extent of mineral
resources shall be accomplished by hand sampling, test boring, or
other methods which create minimal disturbance of less than 100 square
feet of ground surface. A permit from the Code Enforcement Officer
shall be required for mineral exploration which exceeds the above
limitation. All excavations, including test pits and holes, shall
be immediately capped, filled or secured by other equally effective
measures to restore disturbed areas and to protect the public health
and safety. Mineral extraction may be permitted under the following
conditions:
A. A reclamation plan shall be filed with and approved by the Planning Board before a permit is granted. Such plan shall describe in detail procedures to be undertaken to fulfill the requirements of Subsection
D below.
B. No part of any extraction operation, including drainage and runoff
control features, shall be permitted within 100 feet, horizontal distance,
of the normal high-water line of a great pond classified GPA or a
river flowing to a great pond classified GPA and within 75 feet, horizontal
distance, of the normal high-water line of any other water body, tributary
stream, or the upland edge of a wetland. Extraction operations shall
not be permitted within 50 feet, horizontal distance, of any property
line without written permission of the owner of such adjacent property.
C. Developers of new gravel pits along significant river segments shall
demonstrate that no reasonable mining site outside the shoreland zone
exists. When gravel pits must be located within the zone, they shall
be set back as far as practicable from the normal high-water line
and no less than 75 feet and screened from the river by existing vegetation.
D. Within 12 months following the completion of extraction operations
at any extraction site, which operations shall be deemed complete
when less than 100 cubic yards of materials are removed in any consecutive
twelve-month period, ground levels and grades shall be established
in accordance with the following:
(1) All debris, stumps, and similar material shall be removed for disposal
in an approved location or shall be buried on site. Only materials
generated on site may be buried or covered on site.
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NOTE: The State of Maine solid waste laws, 38 M.R.S.A. § 1301,
and the solid waste management rules, Chapters 400 to 419 of the Department
of Environmental Protection's regulations, may contain other applicable
provisions regarding disposal of such materials.
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(2) The final graded slope shall be a slope of 2 1/2 to one or flatter.
(3) Topsoil or loam shall be retained to cover all disturbed land areas,
which shall be reseeded and stabilized with vegetation native to the
area. Additional topsoil or loam shall be obtained from off-site sources
if necessary to complete the stabilization project.
E. In keeping with the purposes of this chapter, the Planning Board
may impose such conditions as are necessary to minimize the adverse
impacts associated with mineral extraction operations on surrounding
uses and resources.
The following activities are exempt from the clearing and vegetation removal standards set forth in §
226-39 provided that all other applicable requirements of this chapter are complied with, and the removal of vegetation is limited to that which is necessary:
A. The removal of vegetation that occurs at least once every two years for the maintenance of legally existing areas that do not comply with the vegetation standards in this chapter, such as but not limited to cleared openings in the canopy or fields. Such areas shall not be enlarged, except as allowed by this section. If any of these areas, due to lack of removal of vegetation every two years, reverts back to primarily woody vegetation, the requirements of §
226-39 apply;
B. The removal of vegetation from the location of allowed structures or allowed uses, when the shoreline setback requirements of §
226-24 are not applicable;
C. The removal of vegetation from the location of public swimming areas
associated with an allowed public recreational facility;
D. The removal of vegetation associated with allowed agricultural uses, provided best management practices are utilized, and provided all requirements of section
226-36 are complied with;
E. The removal of vegetation associated with brownfields or voluntary
response action program (VRAP) projects provided that the removal
of vegetation is necessary for remediation activities to clean-up
contamination on a site in a General Development District, Commercial
Fisheries and Maritime Activities District or other equivalent zoning
district approved by the Commissioner that is part of a state or federal
brownfields program or a voluntary response action program pursuant
to 38 M.R.S.A. § 343-E, and that is located along:
(2) A river that does not flow to a great pond classified as GPA pursuant
to 38 M.R.S.A. § 465-A.
F. The removal of nonnative invasive vegetation species, provided the
following minimum requirements are met:
(1) If removal of vegetation occurs via wheeled or tracked motorized
equipment, the wheeled or tracked motorized equipment is operated
and stored at least 25 feet, horizontal distance, from the shoreline,
except that wheeled or tracked equipment may be operated or stored
on existing structural surfaces, such as pavement or gravel;
(2) Removal of vegetation within 25 feet, horizontal distance, from the
shoreline occurs via hand tools; and
(3) If applicable clearing and vegetation removal standards are exceeded
due to the removal of nonnative invasive species vegetation, the area
shall be revegetated with native species to achieve compliance.
G. The removal of vegetation associated with emergency response activities
conducted by the Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the U.S. Coast Guard, and their agents.
When revegetation is required in response to violations of the vegetation standards set forth in §
226-39, to address the removal of nonnative invasive species of vegetation, or as a mechanism to allow for development that may otherwise not be permissible due to the vegetation standards, including removal of vegetation in conjunction with a shoreline stabilization project, the revegetation must comply with the following requirements.
A. The property owner must submit a revegetation plan, prepared with
and signed by a qualified professional, that describes revegetation
activities and maintenance. The plan must include a 06-96 Department
of Environmental Protection 06-096 Department of Environmental Protection
Chapter 1000: Guidelines for Municipal Shoreland Zoning Ordinances
- 51 - scaled site plan, depicting where vegetation was, or is to
be removed, where existing vegetation is to remain, and where vegetation
is to be planted, including a list of all vegetation to be planted.
B. Revegetation must occur along the same segment of shoreline and in
the same area where vegetation was removed and at a density comparable
to the preexisting vegetation, except where a shoreline stabilization
activity does not allow revegetation to occur in the same area and
at a density comparable to the preexisting vegetation, in which case
revegetation must occur along the same segment of shoreline and as
close as possible to the area where vegetation was removed.
C. If part of a permitted activity, revegetation shall occur before
the expiration of the permit. If the activity or revegetation is not
completed before the expiration of the permit, a new revegetation
plan shall be submitted with any renewal or new permit application.
D. Revegetation activities must meet the following requirements for
trees and saplings:
(1) All trees and saplings removed must be replaced with native noninvasive
species;
(2) Replacement vegetation must at a minimum consist of saplings;
(3) If more than three trees or saplings are planted, then at least three
different species shall be used;
(4) No one species shall make up 50% or more of the number of trees and
saplings planted;
(5) If revegetation is required for a shoreline stabilization project,
and it is not possible to plant trees and saplings in the same area
where trees or saplings were removed, then trees or sapling must be
planted in a location that effectively reestablishes the screening
between the shoreline and structures; and
(6) A survival rate of at least 80% of planted trees or saplings is required
for a minimum five-year period.
E. Revegetation activities must meet the following requirements for
woody vegetation and other vegetation under three feet in height:
(1) All woody vegetation and vegetation under three feet in height must
be replaced with native noninvasive species of woody vegetation and
vegetation under three feet in height as applicable;
(2) Woody vegetation and vegetation under three feet in height shall
be planted in quantities and variety sufficient to prevent erosion
and provide for effective infiltration of stormwater;
(3) If more than three woody vegetation plants are to be planted, then
at least three different species shall be planted;
(4) No one species shall make up 50% or more of the number of planted
woody vegetation plants; and
(5) Survival of planted woody vegetation and vegetation under three feet
in height must be sufficient to remain in compliance with the standards
contained within this chapter for minimum of five years.
F. Revegetation activities must meet the following requirements for
ground vegetation and ground cover:
(1) All ground vegetation and ground cover removed must be replaced with
native herbaceous vegetation, in quantities and variety sufficient
to prevent erosion and provide for effective infiltration of stormwater;
(2) Where necessary due to a lack of sufficient ground cover, an area
must be supplemented with a minimum four-inch depth of leaf mulch
and/or bark mulch to prevent erosion and provide for effective infiltration
of stormwater; and
(3) Survival and functionality of ground vegetation and ground cover
must be sufficient to remain in compliance with the standards contained
within this chapter for minimum of five years.
All land uses shall be located on soils in or upon which the
proposed uses or structures can be established or maintained without
causing adverse environmental impacts, including severe erosion, mass
soil movement, improper drainage, and water pollution, whether during
or after construction. Proposed uses requiring subsurface waste disposal,
and commercial or industrial development and other similar intensive
land uses, shall require a soils report based on an on-site investigation
and prepared by state-certified professionals. Certified persons may
include Maine certified soil scientists, Maine registered professional
engineers, Maine state-certified geologists and other persons who
have training and experience in the recognition and evaluation of
soil properties. The report shall be based upon the analysis of the
characteristics of the soil and surrounding land and water areas,
maximum groundwater elevation, presence of ledge, drainage conditions,
and other pertinent data which the evaluator deems appropriate. The
soils report shall include recommendations for a proposed use to counteract
soil limitations where they exist.
No activity shall deposit on or into the ground or discharge
to the waters of the state any pollutant that, by itself or in combination
with other activities or substances, will impair designated uses or
the water classification of the water body, tributary stream or wetland.
Any proposed land use activity involving structural development
or soil disturbance on or adjacent to sites listed on or eligible
to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as determined
by the permitting authority, shall be submitted by the applicant to
the Maine Historic Preservation Commission for review and comment
at least 20 days prior to action being taken by the permitting authority.
The permitting authority shall consider comments received from the
Commission prior to rendering a decision on the application.
NOTE: Municipal officials should contact the Maine Historic
Preservation Commission for the listing and location of historic places
in their community.
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