After the effective date of this chapter, no person shall, without
first obtaining a permit, engage in any activity or use of land or
structure requiring a permit in the district in which such activity
or use would occur, or expand, change, or replace an existing use
or structure, or renew a discontinued nonconforming use. A person
who is issued a permit pursuant to this chapter shall have a copy
of the permit on site while the work authorized by the permit is performed.
A. A permit is not required for the replacement of an existing road
culvert as long as:
(1) The replacement culvert is not more than 25% longer than the culvert
being replaced;
(2) The replacement culvert is not longer than 75 feet; and
(3) Adequate erosion control measures are taken to prevent sedimentation
of the water, and the crossing does not block fish passage in the
watercourse.
B. A permit is not required for an archaeological excavation as long
as the excavation is conducted by an archaeologist listed on the State
Historic Preservation Officer's Level 1 or Level 2 approved list and
unreasonable erosion and sedimentation are prevented by means of adequate
and timely temporary and permanent stabilization measures.
C. Any permit required by this chapter shall be in addition to any other
permit required by other law or ordinance.
Within 35 days of the date of receiving a written application,
the Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer, as indicated in Table
1, shall notify the applicant in writing either that the application
is a complete application or, if the application is incomplete, that
specified additional material is needed to make the application complete.
The Planning Board or the Code Enforcement Officer, as appropriate,
shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny all permit applications
in writing within 35 days of receiving a completed application. However,
if the Planning Board has a waiting list of applications, a decision
on the application shall occur within 35 days after the first available
date on the Planning Board's agenda following receipt of the completed
application, or within 35 days of the public hearing, if the proposed
use or structure is found to be in conformance with the purposes and
provisions of this chapter.
A. The applicant shall have the burden of proving that the proposed
land use activity is in conformity with the purposes and provisions
of this chapter.
B. After the submission of a complete application to the Planning Board,
the Board shall approve an application or approve it with conditions
if it makes a positive finding based on the information presented
that the proposed use:
(1) Will maintain safe and healthful conditions;
(2) Will not result in water pollution, erosion, or sedimentation to
surface waters;
(3) Will adequately provide for the disposal of all wastewater;
(4) Will not have an adverse impact on spawning grounds, fish, aquatic
life, bird or other wildlife habitat;
(5) Will conserve shore cover and visual, as well as actual, points of
access to inland and coastal waters;
(6) Will protect archaeological and historic resources as designated
in the Comprehensive Plan;
(7) Will avoid problems associated with floodplain development and use;
and
(8) Is in conformance with the provisions of Article
IV, Land Use Standards, of this chapter.
C. If a permit is either denied or approved with conditions, the reasons
as well as conditions shall be stated in writing. No approval shall
be granted for an application involving a structure if the structure
would be located in an unapproved subdivision or would violate any
other local ordinance or regulation or statute administered by the
municipality.
In addition to the criteria specified in §
226-50 above, excepting structure setback requirements, the Planning Board may approve a permit for a single-family residential structure in a Resource Protection District provided that the applicant demonstrates that all of the following conditions are met:
A. There is no location on the property, other than a location within
the Resource Protection District, where the structure can be built.
B. The lot on which the structure is proposed is undeveloped and was
established and recorded in the Registry of Deeds of the county in
which the lot is located before the adoption of the Resource Protection
District.
C. All proposed buildings, sewage disposal systems and other improvements
are:
(1) Located on natural ground slopes of less than 20%; and
(2) Located outside the floodway of the one-hundred-year floodplain along
rivers and artificially formed great ponds along rivers and outside
the velocity zone in areas subject to tides, based on detailed flood
insurance studies and as delineated on the Federal Emergency Management
Agency's Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps and Flood Insurance Rate
Maps; all buildings, including basements, are elevated at least one
foot above the one-hundred-year floodplain elevation; and the development
is otherwise in compliance with any applicable municipal floodplain
ordinance. If the floodway is not shown on the Federal Emergency Management
Agency Maps, it is deemed to be 1/2 the width of the one-hundred-year
floodplain.
D. The total footprint, including cantilevered or similar overhanging
extensions, of all principal and accessory structures is limited to
a maximum of 1,500 square feet. This limitation shall not be altered
by variance.
E. All structures, except functionally water-dependent structures, are
set back from the normal high-water line of a water body, tributary
stream or upland edge of a wetland to the greatest practical extent
but not less than 75 feet, horizontal distance. In determining the
greatest practical extent, the Planning Board shall consider the depth
of the lot, the slope of the land, the potential for soil erosion,
the type and amount of vegetation to be removed, the proposed building
site's elevation in regard to the floodplain, and its proximity to
moderate-value and high-value wetlands.
Permits shall expire one year from the date of issuance if a
substantial start is not made in construction or in the use of the
property during that period. If a substantial start is made within
one year of the issuance of the permit, the applicant shall have one
additional year to complete the project, at which time the permit
shall expire.
A public utility, water district, sanitary district or any utility
company of any kind may not install services to any new structure
located in the shoreland zone unless written authorization attesting
to the validity and currency of all local permits required under this
chapter or any previous ordinance has been issued by the appropriate
municipal officials or other written arrangements have been made between
the municipal officials and the utility.