[Amended 11-4-2008, effective
4-1-2009]
The purposes of this chapter are:
A. To promote the general welfare of the Town and to protect the health
of its inhabitants;
B. To encourage the most appropriate use of land within the Town, and
to conserve the value of said land;
C. To fulfill all the purposes of zoning embraced in Maine Revised Statutes
and the Town of Ogunquit Charter and Comprehensive Plan;
D. To prevent and control water pollution;
E. To protect fish spawning grounds, aquatic life, and bird and other
wildlife habitat;
F. To protect buildings and lands from flooding and accelerated erosion;
G. To protect archaeological and historic resources;
H. To protect commercial fishing and maritime industries;
I. To protect freshwater and coastal wetlands;
J. To control building sites, placement of structures and land uses;
K. To conserve shore cover and visual as well as actual points of access
to inland and coastal waters;
L. To conserve natural beauty and open space; and
M. To anticipate and respond to the impacts of development in shoreland
areas.
[Amended 11-4-2008, effective 4-1-2009]
A. To implement the provisions of this chapter, the Town of Ogunquit
is hereby divided into the following zoning districts:
One-Family Residential District – OFR
|
Residential District – R
|
Rural Residential District 1 – RR1
|
Rural Residential District 2 – RR2
|
Downtown Business District – DB
|
General Business District 1 – GB1
|
General Business District 2 – GB2
|
Limited Business District – LB
|
Farm District – F
|
B. The following seven districts are considered to be the Shoreland
Zones, established pursuant to the Maine Department of Environmental
Protection Shoreland Zoning Guidelines:
[Amended 6-11-2019 ATM
by Art. 5]
Shoreland Limited Residential District – SLR
|
Shoreland Limited Commercial District – SLC
|
Shoreland General Development 1 – Ogunquit Beach –
SG1
|
Shoreland General Development 2 – Perkins Cove –
SG2
|
Shoreland General Development 3 – Ogunquit Playhouse –
SG3
|
Stream Protection District – SP
|
Resource Protection District – RP
|
C. The performance standards of §
225-9.15 shall apply to any activities in these six Shoreland Zones.
[Amended 6-9-2015]
[Amended 11-4-2008, effective
4-1-2009; 6-10-2014; 6-9-2015; 6-8-2021 ATM
by Art. 9]
The location and boundaries of the above districts are hereby
established as shown on the map titled "Town of Ogunquit Official
Zoning Map," dated June 11, 2019, prepared under the direction of
the Ogunquit Planning Board and filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
The Official Zoning Map shall be drawn at a scale of not less than
one inch equals 2,000 feet and shall be certified by the attested
signature of the Municipal Clerk. Said map, with all explanatory matter
thereon, shall be deemed to be and is hereby made part of this chapter.
When uncertainty exists with respect to district boundaries as shown
upon such map, the following rules shall apply:
A. Unless otherwise indicated, district boundary lines are the center
lines, plotted at the time of adoption of this chapter, of streets,
alleys, parkways, waterways, or separate rights-of-way of public utilities
and railroads or such lines extended. Where the boundary is indicated
by a paved street or highway, the center line of the paved or traveled
portion of the actual street or highway shall be used as the boundary
rather than the center line of the right-of-way of the street or highway
as shown in the deed(s), survey(s) or other relevant legal description(s).
B. Other district boundary lines, which are not listed in the preceding
subsection, shall be considered as lines paralleling a street as indicated
by the Official Zoning Map on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
In the absence of a written dimension, the graphic scale on the Official
Zoning Map shall be used.
C. Where a question arises in regard to the limits of any of the Shoreland
Zoning Districts as they affect an existing or proposed land use,
the applicant shall obtain a topographic land survey from a professional
land surveyor based on the nearest USGS bench marks.
D. The "Shoreland Zones" shall be defined as being the land areas located
within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line
of any great pond or river, upland edge of a coastal wetland, including
all areas affected by tidal action, or upland edge of a freshwater
wetland, and all land areas within 75 feet, horizontal distance, of
the normal high-water line of a stream. The jurisdiction of these
zones shall also apply to any structure built on, over or abutting
a dock, wharf or pier, or other structure extending or located below
the normal high-water line of a water body or within a freshwater
or coastal wetland. The Shoreland Zones shall be further divided into
the following seven distinct zones, as follows:
[Amended 6-11-2019 ATM
by Art. 5]
(1)
Shoreland Limited Residential District. The Shoreland Limited
Residential District includes those areas suitable for residential
and recreational development. It includes areas other than those in
the Resource Protection District, or Stream Protection District, and
areas which are used less intensively than those in the Shoreland
Limited Commercial District or the Shoreland General Development Districts.
(2)
Shoreland Limited Commercial District. The Limited Commercial
District includes areas of mixed, light commercial and residential
uses, exclusive of the Stream Protection District, which should not
be developed as intensively as the Shoreland Districts. This district
includes areas of two or more contiguous acres in size devoted to
a mix of residential and low-intensity business and commercial uses.
Industrial uses are prohibited.
(3)
Shoreland General Development Districts: Ogunquit Beach, Perkins
Cove, and Ogunquit Playhouse. The General Development Districts include
the following types of existing, intensively developed areas:
(a)
Areas of two or more contiguous acres devoted to commercial
or intensive recreational activities, or a mix of such activities,
including but not limited to the following:
[1]
Areas devoted to lodging, restaurant, retail trade, nonprofit
performing arts theaters, and service activities, or other commercial
activities; and
[2]
Areas devoted to intensive recreational development and activities,
such as, but not limited to, trails and public beaches.
(b)
Areas otherwise discernible as having patterns of intensive
commercial or recreational uses.
(4)
Stream Protection District. The Stream Protection District includes
all land areas within 75 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal
high-water line of a stream, exclusive of those areas within 250 feet,
horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of a great pond,
or river, or within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the upland edge
of a freshwater or coastal wetland. Where a stream and its associated
shoreland area are located within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of
the above water bodies or wetlands, that land area shall be regulated
under the terms of the shoreland district associated with that water
body or wetland.
(5)
Resource Protection District. The Resource Protection District
shall include the following areas when they occur within the limits
of any Shoreland Zone, exclusive of the Stream Protection District,
except that areas which are currently developed and areas which meet
the criteria for Shoreland Limited Commercial or Shoreland General
Development need not be included within the Resource Protection District:
(a)
In nontidal shoreland areas, the land area below the upland
edge or high-water line of any freshwater wetland, river, or stream.
In tidal shoreland areas, the "Resource Protection District" shall
be defined as being the area below the highest annual tide (HAT) as
identified in the tide tables published by the National Ocean Service
(highest annual tide or HAT) as determined by a land surveyor based
on the nearest USGS bench mark.
[Amended 6-12-2018]
(b)
Areas within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the upland edge
of freshwater wetlands, salt marshes and salt meadows, and wetlands
associated with great ponds and rivers, which are rated "moderate"
or "high" value waterfowl and wading bird habitat, including nesting
and feeding areas, by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and
Wildlife (MDIF&W) that are depicted on a Geographic Information
System (GIS) data layer maintained by either MDIF&W or the Maine
Department of Environmental Protection as of May 1, 2006. For the
purposes of this subsection, "wetlands associated with great ponds
and rivers" shall mean areas characterized by nonforested wetland
vegetation and hydric soils that are contiguous with a great pond
or river and have a surface elevation at or below the water level
of the great pond or river during the period of normal high water.
Wetlands associated with great ponds or rivers are considered to be
part of that great pond or river.
(c)
Floodplains along rivers and floodplains along artificially
formed great ponds along rivers, defined by the 100-year floodplain
as designated on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA)
Flood Insurance Rate Maps or Flood Hazard Boundary Maps, or the flood
of record, or in the absence of these, by soil types identified as
recent floodplain soils. This district shall also include 100-year
floodplains adjacent to tidal waters as shown on FEMA's Flood Insurance
Rate Maps or Flood Hazard Boundary Maps.
(d)
Within the Shoreland Zones, areas of two or more contiguous
acres with sustained slopes of 20% or greater.
(e)
Within the Shoreland Zones, areas of two or more contiguous
acres supporting wetland vegetation and hydric soils, which are not
part of a freshwater or coastal wetland as defined, and which are
not surficially connected to a water body during the period of normal
high water. Note: These areas usually consist of forested wetlands
abutting water bodies and nonforested wetlands.
(f)
Land areas along rivers subject to severe bank erosion, undercutting,
or riverbed movement, and lands adjacent to tidal waters which are
subject to severe erosion or mass movement, such as steep coastal
bluffs.
(g)
Any significant wildlife habitat, including significant vernal
pools, as defined in the Department of Environmental Protection, Chapter
335, Rules on Significant Wildlife Habitats, whether or not they are
included on the Official Zoning Map. The location of significant wildlife
habitats shall be determined by field measurements, made at the expense
of the landowner or applicant, pursuant to Article 12 of this chapter.
E. The depiction of the Shoreland Zoning Districts on the Official Zoning
Map of the Town of Ogunquit is merely illustrative of their general
location. The boundaries of these districts shall be determined by
measurement of the distance indicated on the maps from the normal
high-water line of the water body or the upland edge of wetland vegetation,
regardless of the location of the boundary shown on the maps.
F. The area below the normal high-water line of any significant vernal
pools shall be considered to be part of the Resource Protection District,
regardless of whether or not the presence of the significant vernal
pool is indicated on the Official Zoning Map. Vernal pools which are
not significant shall not be considered to be part of the Resource
Protection District. The normal high-water line of any vernal pool
shall be determined by field measurements, made at the expense of
the landowner or applicant, pursuant to Article 12 of this chapter.
In no event shall any vegetation clearing or land disturbance occur,
or structure be placed or erected in a significant or nonsignificant
vernal pool, or within 75 feet of its upland edge. Activities in or
near vernal pools classified as significant vernal pools shall be
governed by the rules of the Department of Environmental Protection,
Chapter 335, and may be subject to additional setbacks and other required
mitigation measures, beyond those required by the Town of Ogunquit.
G. The Code Enforcement Officer shall be the municipal official responsible for making determinations regarding the location of district boundaries and interpreting the Official Zoning Map. Decisions of the Code Enforcement Officer regarding the location of district boundaries may be appealed to the Board of Appeals, pursuant to §
225-5.2A, Administrative appeals. Where uncertainty exists as to the exact location of district boundary lines, the Board of Appeals shall be the final authority as to location.
[Amended 11-4-2008, effective
4-1-2009]
A. No building or structure shall be erected, altered, enlarged, rebuilt,
moved or used, and no land shall be used, and no new lot shall be
created, unless in conformity with the provisions of this chapter,
except:
(1)
Those existing at the time of adoption of this chapter, which
by the provisions of this chapter become legally nonconforming; or
(2)
Where a variance is granted by the Board of Appeals.
B. The regulations specified by this chapter for each type of district
shall be minimum requirements and shall apply uniformly within each
type of district and to each kind of structure and/or land.
C. Land within the right-of-way lines of a street on which a lot abuts
shall not be considered as part of such lot for the purposes of meeting
the area requirements of this chapter, notwithstanding the fact that
the fee to such land may be in the owner of such lot.
D. Where a zoning district boundary line divides a lot or parcel of
land in the same ownership of record at the time such line is established
by adoption or amendment of this chapter, the use regulations applicable
to the less restricted portion of such lot may extend not more than
50 feet into the more restricted portion. This provision shall not,
however, be applied when the more restrictive district is a Resource
Protection District or the Shoreland Zones, nor when the less restricted
portion lies within the Downtown Business District. The space and
bulk regulations of the district shall apply to the land within those
districts and are not subject to the fifty-foot provision.
[Amended 6-8-2021 ATM by Art.
9]
[Amended 11-4-2008, effective
4-1-2009]
Whenever a provision of this chapter is in conflict with or
is inconsistent with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted
rules, regulations, statutes or ordinances, or with any other provision
within this chapter, the most restrictive or that imposing the highest
standards shall govern.
[Amended 11-4-2008, effective
4-1-2009]
In the event that any section, subsection or any portion of
this chapter shall be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid for any reason, such decision shall not be deemed to
affect the validity of any other section, subsection or other portion
of this chapter; to this end, the provisions of this chapter are hereby
declared to be severable.
[Amended 11-4-2008, effective
4-1-2009]
A certified copy of this chapter shall be filed with the Municipal
Clerk and shall be accessible to any member of the public. Copies
shall be made available to the public at reasonable cost at the expense
of the person making the request. Notice of availability of this chapter
shall be posted.
[Amended 11-4-2008, effective
4-1-2009]
A. This chapter becomes effective upon adoption by the legislative body
of the Town of Ogunquit.
B. The Ogunquit Zoning Ordinance adopted August 20, 1991, and subsequently
amended, is hereby repealed.