[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
The purposes of this article are to further the maintenance
of safe and healthful conditions; to prevent and control water pollution;
to protect fish spawning grounds, aquatic life, bird and other wildlife
habitat; to protect buildings and lands from flooding and accelerated
erosion; to protect archaeological and historic resources; to protect
commercial fishing and maritime industries; to protect freshwater
wetlands; to control building sites, placement of structures and land
uses; to conserve shore cover, and visual as well as actual points
of access to inland and coastal waters; to conserve natural beauty
and open space; and to anticipate and respond to the impacts of development
in shoreland areas.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE OR USE
A use or structure which is incidental and subordinate to
the principal use or structure. Accessory uses, when aggregated, shall
not subordinate the principal use of the lot. A deck or similar extension
of the principal structure or a garage attached to the principal structure
by a roof or a common wall is considered part of the principal structure.
AGGRIEVED PARTY
An owner of land whose property is directly or indirectly
affected by the granting or denial of a permit or variance under this
article; a person whose land abuts land for which a permit or variance
has been granted; or any other person or group of persons who have
suffered particularized injury as a result of the granting or denial
of such permit or variance.
AGRICULTURE
The production, keeping or maintenance for sale or lease
of plants or animals, including, but not limited to, forages and sod
crops, grains and seed crops, dairy animals and dairy products, poultry
and poultry products, livestock, fruits and vegetables and ornamental
green-house products. Agriculture does not include forest management
and timber harvesting activities.
AQUACULTURE
The growing or propagation of harvestable freshwater, estuarine,
or marine plant or animal species.
BASAL AREA
The area of cross-section of a tree stem at 4 1/2 feet
above ground level and inclusive of bark.
BASEMENT
Any portion of a structure with a floor-to-ceiling height
of six feet or more and having more than 50% of its volume below the
existing ground level.
BOAT LAUNCHING FACILITY
A facility designed primarily for the launching and landing
of watercraft, and which may include an access ramp, docking area,
and parking spaces for vehicles and trailers.
BUREAU OF FORESTRY
State of Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and
Forestry, Bureau of Forestry.
CAMPGROUND
Any area or tract of land to accommodate two or more parties
in temporary living quarters, including, but not limited to tents,
recreational vehicles or other shelters.
CANOPY
The more or less continuous cover formed by tree crowns in
a wooded area.
COASTAL WETLAND
All tidal and subtidal lands; all lands with vegetation present
that is tolerant of salt water and occurs primarily in a salt water
or estuarine habitat; and any swamp, marsh, bog, beach, flat or other
contiguous low land that is subject to tidal action during the highest
tide level for the year in which an activity is proposed as identified
in tide tables published by the National Ocean Service. Coastal wetlands
may include portions of coastal sand dunes.
NOTE: All areas below the highest annual tide level are coastal
wetlands. These areas may consist of rocky ledges, sand and cobble
beaches, mud flats, etc., in addition to salt marshes and salt meadows.
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COMMERCIAL USE
The use of lands, buildings, or structures, other than a
"home occupation," defined below, the intent and result of which activity
is the production of income from the buying and selling of goods and/or
services, exclusive of rental of residential buildings and/or dwelling
units.
DEVELOPMENT
A change in land use involving alteration of the land, water
or vegetation, or the addition or alteration of structures or other
construction not naturally occurring.
DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Numerical standards relating to spatial relationships including
but not limited to setback, lot area, shore frontage and height.
DISABILITY
Any disability, infirmity, malformation, disfigurement, congenital
defect or mental condition caused by bodily injury, accident, disease,
birth defect, environmental conditions or illness; and also includes
the physical or mental condition of a person which constitutes a substantial
handicap as determined by a physician or in the case of mental handicap,
by a psychiatrist or psychologist, as well as any other health or
sensory impairment which requires special education, vocational rehabilitation
or related services.
DRIVEWAY
A vehicular access-way less than 500 feet in length serving
two single-family dwellings or one two-family dwelling, or less.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
Operations conducted for the public health, safety or general
welfare, such as protection of resources from immediate destruction
or loss, law enforcement, and operations to rescue human beings, property
and livestock from the threat of destruction or injury.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Gas, electrical or communication facilities; steam, fuel,
electric power or water transmission or distribution lines, towers
and related equipment; telephone cables or lines, poles and related
equipment; gas, oil, water, slurry or other similar pipelines; municipal
sewage lines, collection or supply systems; and associated storage
tanks. Such systems may include towers, poles, wires, mains, drains,
pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarms and police call boxes, traffic
signals, hydrants and similar accessories, but shall not include service
drops or buildings which are necessary for the furnishing of such
services.
EXPANSION OF A STRUCTURE
An increase in the footprint of a structure, including all
extensions such as, but not limited to: attached decks, garages, porches
and greenhouses.
EXPANSION OF USE
The addition of one or more months to a use's operating season;
or the use of more footprint of a structure or ground area devoted
to a particular use.
FAMILY
One or more persons occupying a premises and living as a
single housekeeping unit.
FLOODWAY
The channel of a river or other watercourse and adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the one-hundred-year
flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation
by more than one foot in height.
FLOOR AREA
The sum of the horizontal areas of the floor(s) of a structure
enclosed by exterior walls.
FOOTPRINT
The entire area of ground covered by the structure(s) on
a lot, including but not limited to cantilevered or similar overhanging
extensions, as well as unenclosed structures, such as patios and decks.
FORESTED WETLAND
A freshwater wetland dominated by woody vegetation that is
six meters tall (approximately 20 feet) or taller.
FOUNDATION
The supporting substructure of a building or other structure,
excluding wooden sills and post supports, but including basements,
slabs, frost walls, or other base consisting of concrete, block, brick
or similar material.
FRESHWATER WETLAND
A.
Freshwater swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas, other than
forested wetlands, which are:
(1)
Of 10 or more contiguous acres; or of less than 10 contiguous
acres and adjacent to a surface water body, excluding any river, stream
or brook, such that in a natural state, the combined surface area
is in excess of 10 acres; and
(2)
Inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency
and for a duration sufficient to support, and which under normal circumstances
do support, a prevalence of wetland vegetation typically adapted for
life in saturated soils.
B.
Freshwater wetlands may contain small stream channels or inclusions
of land that do not conform to the criteria of this definition.
FUNCTIONALLY WATER-DEPENDENT USES
Those uses that require, for their primary purpose, location
on submerged lands or that require direct access to, or location in,
coastal or inland waters and that cannot be located away from these
waters. The uses include, but are not limited to, commercial and recreational
fishing and boating facilities, finfish and shellfish processing,
fish-related storage and retail and wholesale fish marketing facilities,
waterfront dock and port facilities, shipyards and boat building facilities,
marinas, navigation aids, basins and channels, shoreline structures
necessary for erosion control purposes, industrial uses dependent
upon water-borne transportation or requiring large volumes of cooling
or processing water that cannot reasonably be located or operated
at an inland site, and uses that primarily provide general public
access to coastal or inland waters. Recreational boat storage buildings
are not considered to be a functionally water-dependent use.
GREAT POND
Any inland body of water which in a natural state has a surface
area in excess of 10 acres, and any inland body of water artificially
formed or increased which has a surface area in excess of 30 acres
except for the purposes of this article, where the artificially formed
or increased inland body of water is completely surrounded by land
held by a single owner.
GREAT POND CLASSIFIED GPA
Any great pond classified GPA, pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. Article
IV-A § 465-A. This classification includes some, but not
all impoundments of rivers that are defined as great ponds.
GROUND COVER
Small plants, fallen leaves, needles and twigs, and the partially
decayed organic matter of the forest floor.
HAZARD TREE
A tree with a structural defect, combination of defects,
or disease resulting in a structural defect that under the normal
range of environmental conditions at the site exhibits a high probability
of failure and loss of a major structural component of the tree in
a manner that will strike a target. A normal range of environmental
conditions does not include meteorological anomalies, such as, but
not limited to: hurricanes; hurricane-force winds; tornados; microbursts;
or significant ice storm events. Hazard trees also include those trees
that pose a serious and imminent risk to bank stability. A target
is the area where personal injury or property damage could occur if
the tree or a portion of the tree fails. Targets include roads, driveways,
parking areas, structures, campsites, and any other developed area
where people frequently gather and linger.
HEIGHT OF A STRUCTURE
The vertical distance between the mean original (prior to
construction) grade at the downhill side of the structure and the
highest point of the structure, excluding chimneys, steeples, antennas,
and similar appurtenances that have no floor area.
HOLDING TANK
A closed, watertight approved structure designed and used
to receive and store waste water or septic tank effluent. A holding
tank does not discharge wastewater or septic tank effluent to surface
or ground water or onto the surface of the ground. Holding Tanks are
designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of wastewater
at another location.
HOME OCCUPATION
An occupation or profession which is customarily conducted on or in a residential structure or property and which is 1) clearly incidental to and compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses; and 2) which employs no more than two persons other than family members residing in the home. Home occupation is further defined in Article
X.
INCREASE IN NONCONFORMITY OF A STRUCTURE
Any change in a structure or property which causes further
deviation from the dimensional standard(s) creating the nonconformity
such as, but not limited to, reduction in water body, tributary stream
or wetland setback distance, increase in lot coverage, or increase
in height of a structure. Property changes or structure expansions
which either meet the dimensional standard or which cause no further
increase in the linear extent of nonconformance of the existing structure
shall not be considered to increase nonconformity. For example, there
is no increase in nonconformity with the setback requirement for water
bodies, wetlands, or tributary streams if the expansion extends no
further into the required setback area than does any portion of the
existing nonconforming structure. Hence, a structure may be expanded
laterally provided that the expansion extends no closer to the water
body, tributary stream, or wetland than the closest portion of the
existing structure from that water body, tributary stream, or wetland.
Included in this allowance are expansions which in-fill irregularly
shaped structures.
INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE CAMPSITE
An area of land which is not associated with a campground,
but which is developed for repeated camping by only one group not
to exceed 10 individuals and which involves site improvements which
may include but not be limited to a gravel pad, parking area, fire
place, or tent platform.
INDUSTRIAL
The assembling, fabrication, finishing, manufacturing, packaging
or processing of goods, or the extraction of minerals.
INSTITUTIONAL
A nonprofit or quasi-public use, or institution such as a
church, library, public or private school, hospital, or municipally
owned or operated building, structure or land used for public purposes.
LOT AREA
The area of land enclosed within the boundary lines of a
lot, minus land below the normal high-water line of a water body or
upland edge of a wetland and areas beneath roads serving more than
two lots.
MARINA
A business establishment having frontage on navigable water
and, as its principal use, providing for hire offshore moorings or
docking facilities for boats, and which may also provide accessory
services such as boat and related sales, boat repair and construction,
indoor and outdoor storage of boats and marine equipment, bait and
tackle shops and marine fuel service facilities.
MARKET VALUE
The Town of Winslow uses the Town's assessed value calculated
to/at 100% as this value Any reference in this article to Market Value
shall mean Assessed Value.
MINERAL EXPLORATION
Hand sampling, test boring, or other methods of determining
the nature or extent of mineral resources which create minimal disturbance
to the land and which include reasonable measures to restore the land
to its original condition.
MINERAL EXTRACTION
Any operation within any twelve-month period which removes
more than one-hundred cubic yards of soil, topsoil, loam, sand, gravel,
clay, rock, peat, or other like material from its natural location
and to transport the product removed, away from the extraction site.
MINIMUM LOT WIDTH
The closest distance between the side lot lines of a lot.
When only two lot lines extend into the shoreland zone, both lot lines
shall be considered to be side lot lines.
NATIVE
Indigenous to the local forests.
NONCONFORMING CONDITION
Nonconforming lot, structure or use which is allowed solely
because it was in lawful existence at the time this article or subsequent
amendment took effect.
NONCONFORMING LOT
A single lot of record which, at the effective date of adoption
or amendment of this article, does not meet the area, frontage, or
width requirements of the district in which it is located.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE
A structure which does not meet any one or more of the following
dimensional requirements; setback, height, lot coverage or footprint,
but which is allowed solely because it was in lawful existence at
the time this article or subsequent amendments took effect.
NONCONFORMING USE
Use of buildings, structures, premises, land or parts thereof
which is not allowed in the district in which it is situated, but
which is allowed to remain solely because it was in lawful existence
at the time this article or subsequent amendments took effect.
NONNATIVE INVASIVE SPECIES OF VEGETATION
Species of vegetation listed by the Maine Department of Agriculture,
Conservation and Forestry as being invasive in Maine ecosystems and
not native to Maine ecosystems.
NORMAL HIGH-WATER LINE (NONTIDAL WATERS)
That line which is apparent from visible markings, changes
in the character of soils due to prolonged action of the water or
changes in vegetation, and which distinguishes between predominantly
aquatic and predominantly terrestrial land. Areas contiguous with
rivers and great ponds that support nonforested wetland vegetation
and hydric soils and that are at the same or lower elevation as the
water level of the river or great pond during the period of normal
high-water are considered part of the river or great pond.
OUTLET STREAM
Any perennial or intermittent stream, as shown on the most
recent highest resolution version of the national hydrography dataset
available from the United States Geological Survey on the website
of the United States Geological Survey or the national map that flows
from a freshwater wetland.
PERSON
An individual, corporation, governmental agency, municipality,
trust, estate, partnership, association, two or more individuals having
a joint or common interest, or other legal entity.
PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE
A structure other than one which is used for purposes wholly
incidental or accessory to the use of another structure or use on
the same lot.
PRINCIPAL USE
A use other than one which is wholly incidental or accessory
to another use on the same lot.
PUBLIC FACILITY
Any facility, including, but not limited to, buildings, property,
recreation areas, and roads, which are owned, leased, or otherwise
operated, or funded by a governmental body or public entity.
RECENT FLOODPLAIN SOILS
The following soil series as described and identified by
the National Cooperative Soil Survey:
Alluvial
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Charles
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Cornish
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Fryburg
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Hadley
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Limerick
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Loverwell
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Medomak
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Ondawa
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Podunk
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Rumney
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Saco
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Suncook
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Sunday
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Winooski
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RECREATIONAL FACILITY
A place designed and equipped for the conduct of sports,
leisure time activities, and other customary and usual recreational
activities, excluding boat launching facilities.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle or an attachment to a vehicle designed to be towed,
and designed for temporary sleeping or living quarters for one or
more persons, and which may include a pick-up camper, travel trailer,
tent trailer, camp trailer, and motor home. In order to be considered
as a vehicle and not as a structure, the unit must remain with its
tires on the ground, and must be registered with the State Division
of Motor Vehicles.
REPLACEMENT SYSTEM
A system intended to replace:
A.
An existing system which is either malfunctioning or being upgraded
with no significant change of design flow or use of the structure;
or
B.
Any existing overboard wastewater discharge.
RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNIT
A room or group of rooms designed and equipped exclusively
for use as permanent, seasonal, or temporary living quarters for only
one family at a time, and containing cooking, sleeping and toilet
facilities. The term shall include mobile homes and rental units that
contain cooking, sleeping, and toilet facilities regardless of the
time-period rented. Recreational vehicles are not residential dwelling
units.
RIPRAP
Rocks, irregularly shaped, and at least six inches in diameter,
used for erosion control and soil stabilization, typically used on
ground slopes of two units horizontal to one unit vertical or less.
RIVER
A free-flowing body of water including its associated floodplain
wetlands from that point at which it provides drainage for a watershed
of 25 square miles to its mouth.
NOTE: The portion of a river that is subject to tidal action
is a coastal wetland.
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ROAD
A route or track consisting of a bed of exposed mineral soil,
gravel, asphalt, or other surfacing material constructed for or created
by the repeated passage of motorized vehicles, excluding a driveway
as defined.
SAPLING
A tree species that is less than two inches in diameter at
4.5 feet above ground level.
SEASONAL CONVERSION PERMIT
Written authorization issued by the Licensed Plumbing Inspector
and Planning Board to allow the conversion of a seasonal dwelling
unit located in a Shoreland Zone to a year-round use.
SEEDLING
A young tree species that is less than 4.5 feet in height
above ground level.
SERVICE DROP
Any utility line extension which does not cross or run beneath
any portion of a water body, provided that:
A.
In the case of electric service:
(1)
The placement of wires and/or the installation of utility poles
is located entirely upon the premises of the customer requesting service
or upon a roadway right-of-way; and
(2)
The total length of the extension is less than 1,000 feet.
B.
In the case of telephone service:
(1)
The extension, regardless of length, will be made by the installation
of telephone wires to existing utility poles; or
(2)
The extension requiring the installation of new utility poles
or placement underground is less than 1,000 feet in length.
SETBACK
The nearest horizontal distance from the normal high-water line of a water body or tributary stream, or upland edge of a wetland, to the nearest part of a structure, road, parking space or other regulated object or area. Cross reference Article
X, Definitions.
SHORE FRONTAGE
The length of a lot bordering on a water body or wetland
measured in a straight line between the intersections of the lot lines
with the shoreline at normal high water elevation.
SHORELAND ZONE
The land area located within 250 feet, horizontal distance,
of the normal high-water line of any great pond or river; within 250
feet, horizontal distance, of the upland edge of a coastal wetland,
including all areas affected by tidal action; within 250 feet of the
upland edge of a freshwater wetland; or within 75 feet, horizontal
distance, of the normal high-water line of a stream.
SHORELINE
The normal high-water line, or upland edge of a freshwater
or coastal wetland.
STORM-DAMAGED TREE
A tree that has been uprooted, blown down, is lying on the
ground, or that remains standing and is damaged beyond the point of
recovery as the result of a storm event.
STREAM
A free-flowing body of water from the outlet of a great pond
or the confluence of two perennial streams as depicted on the most
recent, highest resolution version of the national hydrography dataset
available from the United States Geological Survey on the website
of the United States Geological Survey or the national map to the
point where the stream becomes a river or where the stream meets the
shoreland zone of another water body or wetland. When a stream meets
the shoreland zone of a water body or wetland and a channel forms
downstream of the water body or wetland as an outlet, that channel
is also a stream.
STRUCTURE
Anything temporarily or permanently located, built, constructed or erected for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, goods or property of any kind or anything constructed or erected on or in the ground. The term includes structures temporarily or permanently located, such as decks, patios, and satellite dishes. Structure does not include fences six-foot or less; poles and wiring and other aerial equipment normally associated with service drops, including guy wires and guy anchors; subsurface waste water disposal systems as defined in Title 30-A, § 4201, Subsection
5; geothermal heat exchange wells as defined in Title 32, § 4700-E, Subsection 3-C; or wells or water wells as defined in Title 32, § 4700-E, Subsection
8.
SUBSTANTIAL START
Completion of 30% of a permitted structure or use measured
as a percentage of estimated total cost.
SUBSURFACE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
Any system designed to dispose of waste or waste water on
or beneath the surface of the earth; includes, but is not limited
to: septic tanks; disposal fields; grandfathered cesspools; holding
tanks; pretreatment filter, piping, or any other fixture, mechanism,
or apparatus used for those purposes; does not include any discharge
system licensed under 38 M.R.S.A. § 414, any surface waste
water disposal system, or any municipal or quasi-municipal sewer or
waste water treatment system.
SUSTAINED SLOPE
A change in elevation where the referenced percent grade
is substantially maintained or exceeded throughout the measured area.
TIDAL WATERS
All waters affected by tidal action during the highest annual
tide.
TREE
A woody perennial plant with a well-defined trunk(s) at least
two inches in diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground, with a more or
less definite crown, and reaching a height of at least 10 feet at
maturity.
TRIBUTARY STREAM
A.
A channel between defined banks created by the action of surface
water, which is characterized by the lack of terrestrial vegetation
or by the presence of a bed, devoid of topsoil, containing waterborne
deposits or exposed soil, parent material or bedrock; and which is
connected hydrologically with other water bodies. "Tributary stream"
does not include rills or gullies forming because of accelerated erosion
in disturbed soils where the natural vegetation cover has been removed
by human activity.
B.
This definition does not include the term "stream" as defined
elsewhere in this article, and only applies to that portion of the
tributary stream located within the shoreland zone of the receiving
water body or wetland.
NOTE: Water setback requirements apply to tributary streams
within the shoreland zone.
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UPLAND EDGE OF A WETLAND
The boundary between upland and wetland. For purposes of
a coastal wetland, this boundary is the line formed by the landward
limits of the salt tolerant vegetation and/or the highest annual tide
level, including all areas affected by tidal action. For purposes
of a freshwater wetland, the upland edge is formed where the soils
are not saturated for a duration sufficient to support wetland vegetation;
or where the soils support the growth of wetland vegetation, but such
vegetation is dominated by woody stems that are six meters (approximately
20 feet) tall or taller.
VEGETATION
All live trees, shrubs, and other plants including without
limitation, trees both over and under four inches in diameter, measured
at 4 1/2 feet above ground level.
VELOCITY ZONE
An area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to
the inland limit of the primary frontal dune along an open coast and
any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or
seismic sources.
VOLUME OF A STRUCTURE
The volume of all portions of a structure enclosed by roof
and fixed exterior walls as measured from the exterior faces of these
walls and roof.
WATER CROSSING
Any project extending from one bank to the opposite bank
of a river, stream, tributary stream, or wetland whether under, through,
or over the water or wetland. Such projects include but may not be
limited to roads, fords, bridges, culverts, water lines, sewer lines,
and cables as well as maintenance work on these crossings. This definition
includes crossings for timber harvesting equipment and related activities.
WETLAND
A freshwater or coastal wetland.