A.Â
Enforcement. It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer
to enforce the provisions of this chapter pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A.
§ 4452.
B.Â
As enumerated in § 490-3, it shall be a violation of this chapter to engage in any development activity, including, but not limited to, sale or leasing of lots, earth-moving, road-building, or construction or occupancy of buildings, without first obtaining approval under this chapter. In addition to any other actions, the Code Enforcement Officer, upon determination that a violation exists, shall submit a declaration to the owner. The declaration shall consist of:
(1)Â
The name of the property owner and address or legal description of
the property sufficient to confirm its identity or location;
(2)Â
A clear and unequivocal declaration that the activity is in violation
of a cited state or local law, regulation or ordinance;
(3)Â
A clear statement that the Town has authority to find a violation
and a citation to that authority;
(4)Â
Evidence that the property owner has been provided notice of the
violation; and
(5)Â
A clear statement that the declaration is being submitted pursuant
to this chapter.
C.Â
If a violation has not been corrected to the satisfaction of the
Code Enforcement Officer within a reasonable period of time, the CEO
will submit the declaration and his or her proposed enforcement action
to the Board of Selectmen for action as provided by Maine law.
D.Â
Penalties. The penalties contained in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4452,
shall apply to any violation of this chapter.
If any section or provision of this chapter is declared by the
courts to be invalid, such decision shall not invalidate any other
section or provision of this chapter.
This chapter shall not in any way impair or remove the necessity
of compliance with any other applicable rule, regulation, ordinance,
permit or provision of law. Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction
upon the use of land, buildings, or structures, the provisions of
this chapter shall control.
Effective the date of enactment by the Town Meeting, this chapter repeals and replaces the previously enacted Chapter 490, Subdivision of Land.
In general, words and terms used in this chapter shall have
their customary dictionary meanings. More specifically, certain words
and terms used herein are defined as follows:
All parcels of land which share a common boundary or adjoin
at any line or point, or which are separated only by a street, right-of-way,
or stream. An abutter is a person who is the listed owner of abutting
property as recorded in the Town of Madison tax records or those of
an adjoining town.
Any portion of the subdivision which is intended for the
general benefit of subdivision occupants or the public in general
and which has not been developed or substantially improved. Common
open space includes landscaped areas, parks, nature trails, and playground
areas.
An application shall be considered complete upon submission
of the required fee and all information required by this chapter,
as determined by a vote by the Board.
The comprehensive plan of the Town of Madison, including
any other locally adopted policy documents, including, but not limited
to, plans for open space, downtown redevelopment, or historic preservation.
The anticipated cost of developing all public improvements
within a subdivision.
With specific reference to a great pond, that portion of
a watershed which drains directly into the pond without passing through
an upstream pond.
Thresholds for contaminants set in the Maine Rules Relating
to Drinking Water (10-144A CMR Ch. 231). Standards have been established
for contaminants which pose a health threat ("primary") and those
which pose an aesthetic concern ("secondary").
A vehicular accessway serving one or two dwelling units or
commercial traffic of fewer than 50 vehicle trips per day.
A room or suite of rooms used as a habitation which is separate
from other such rooms or suites of rooms, and which contains independent
living, cooking, sleeping, bathing and sanitary facilities; includes
single-family houses, manufactured housing, and the units in a duplex,
apartment house, multifamily dwellings, and residential condominiums.
Any area of five or more acres of land that is classified
as prime farmland, unique farmland, or farmland of statewide importance
by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation
Service, or is used for the production of agricultural products as
defined in 7 M.R.S.A. § 152(2).
Those land areas which are susceptible to inundation during
a one-hundred-year flood (a flood with a one-percent probability of
occurring in any given year). Flood-prone areas shall include mapped
areas of floodplain and floodway (zones A or AE). Where maps are unavailable
or of insufficient accuracy, a determination may be made by a licensed
professional surveyor.
A freshwater wetland means freshwater swamps, marshes, bogs
and similar areas, which are:
Inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a
frequency and for a duration sufficient to support, and which under
normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of wetland vegetation
typically adopted for life in saturated soils; and
Not considered part of a great pond, river, stream or brook.
These areas may contain small stream channels or inclusions
of land that do not conform to the criteria.
That portion of a lot boundary which abuts a street or shoreline.
A frontage measurement consists of the horizontal distance between
the points where side lot lines intersect the street or shoreline
as measured along the lot boundary. On lots with more than one frontage,
such as corner lots, a requirement for street frontage shall apply
to only one frontage.
An assessment of groundwater quantity, quality, availability,
and movement, for the purpose of determining whether adequate water
supply exists for development needs without significant negative impact
to neighboring properties.
A soil survey designating areas of similar characteristics
with accuracy as small as three acres. For Madison, the Soil Survey
of Somerset County, Maine; Southern Part, published by the United
States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, is recognized
as a medium-intensity soil survey.
A parcel of land under single ownership, improved for the
placement of three or more mobile homes which are owned or leased
by individuals other than the landowner.
Any surety or commitment that may be accepted by the Town
of Madison to assure that public improvements required as part of
the subdivision approval will be satisfactorily completed.
Includes a firm, association, organization, partnership,
trust, company, or corporation, as well as an individual.
The Planning Board of the Town of Madison. Where the term
"Board" is used in this chapter, it shall refer to the Planning Board
unless a different board is specifically mentioned.
Any building or structure in which the primary use of the
premise takes place. There may be more than one principal structure
on a lot if both or all are dedicated to the primary use, e.g., multiple
single-family homes or multiple retail buildings.
Structures placed within the subdivision or intended to serve
the subdivision residents, occupants, or lot owners or the public
in general, including but not limited to streets and sidewalks, parking
lots, drainage structures, fire protection facilities, and public
water or sewer lines.
A water supply system that provides drinking water to at
least 15 service connections or services water to at least 25 individuals
daily.
A strip of land intended for vehicular, pedestrian, or utility
passage within a larger tract of land, and not calculated for the
purposes of lot size.
Public and private ways such as alleys, avenues, boulevards,
highways, roads and other rights-of-way, as well as areas on subdivision
plans designated as rights-of-way.
A subdivision shall be as defined in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4401,
with the following modifications:
A lot of 40 or more acres shall not be counted as a subdivision
lot for purpose of review; and
A new commercial building shall be reviewed under Chapter 484, Site Review, regardless of the number of occupancies. An existing lot or building which is to be divided into multiple lots or occupancies shall be reviewed as a subdivision if it is not otherwise required to be reviewed under Chapter 484.
All contiguous land in same ownership, whether or not the
tract is separated at any point by an intermittent or nonnavigable
stream, or a private road established by the abutting land owners.
That part of a street provided for the movement of vehicles,
exclusive of shoulders.
Modification or relief of a provision of this chapter, as
granted by the Madison Board of Appeals.
A single, one-way motor vehicle movement past a point or
into or out of a subject property.
A modification of one or more submission requirements for
subdivision review, granted by the Planning Board upon a finding that
the submission requirement is not necessary to proper review of the
application.
A plan document prepared for the purpose of protecting the
source water supply from contamination, using as a preferred model
the publication Do It Yourself Wellhead Protection Plan, published
by the Maine Drinking Water Program, Department of Health and Human
Services.
