This section contains definitions of terms used in this Part 3. For those terms which are defined in both this Part 3 and in Part 1, Zoning, § 10-1.3, the definition listed below shall apply within the Shoreland Zone, as delineated in § 10-3.3. Definitions of terms which are not listed or defined in this section, but which are listed and defined in § 10-1.3, shall continue to apply in the underlying zoning districts of the Shoreland Development Overlay District.
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.
An owner of land whose property is directly or indirectly affected by the granting or denial of a permit or variance under this Part 3; 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.
The production, keeping, or maintenance for sale or lease of plants and/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 and greenhouse products.
The growing or propagation of harvestable freshwater, estuarine, or marine plant or animal species.
The area of cross-section of a tree stem at 4 1/2 feet above ground level and inclusive of bark.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
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.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
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.
Any area or tract of land to accommodate two or more parties in temporary living quarters, including but not limited to tents and recreation vehicles.
The more or less continuous cover formed by tree crowns in a wooded area.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The use of lands, buildings, or structures, other than a home occupation (defined below in this section), 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.
A single-family dwelling or accessory structure in which a home occupation or enterprise is carried on by a person residing in the dwelling unit, shall not be deemed to be a "commercial structure," as used in this Part 3, provided that:
The diameter of a standing tree measured 4.5 feet from ground level.
[Added 10-9- 2010 TM by Art. 11]
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.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
Numerical standards relating to spatial relationships, including but not limited to setback, lot area, shore frontage, and height.
Any disability, infirmity, malformation, disfigurement, congenital defect, or mental condition caused by a bodily injury, accident, disease, birth defect, environmental condition, or illness. This definition 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.
A vehicular accessway less than 500 feet in length serving two lots or less.
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.
The construction, alteration, or maintenance of 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.
An increase in the floor area or volume of a structure, including all extensions such as, but not limited to, attached decks, garages, porches, and greenhouses.
The addition of weeks or months to a use's operating season; additional hours of operation; or the use of more floor area or ground area devoted to a particular use.
One or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single housekeeping unit.
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.
The sum of all horizontal areas of the floor(s) of a structure enclosed by outside walls, plus the horizontal area of any unenclosed portions of a structure such as porches and decks.
Timber cruising and other forest resource evaluation activities, pesticide or fertilizer application, management planning activities, timber stand improvement, pruning, regeneration of forest stands, and other similar or associated activities, exclusive of timber harvesting and the construction, creation or maintenance of roads.
A freshwater wetland dominated by woody vegetation that is six meters tall or taller.
The supporting substructure of a building or other structure, including but not limited to basements, slabs, sills, posts, or frost walls.
Freshwater swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas which satisfy the following conditions:
Have an area of 10 or more contiguous acres; or of less than 10 contiguous acres if adjacent to Sebago Lake.
Are 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.
Freshwater wetlands may contain small stream channels or inclusions of land that do not conform to the criteria of this definition.
Those uses that require, for their primary purpose, location of submerged lands or that require direct access to, or location in, waters and which cannot be located away from these waters; those uses that require, for their primary purpose, location on submerged lands or that require direct access to, or location in, inland waters and that cannot be located away from these waters. The uses include, but are not limited to, recreational and commercial fishing and boating facilities, excluding recreational boat storage buildings, waterfront dock facilities, marinas, navigation aids, basins and channels, retaining walls, and uses that primarily provide general public access to inland waters.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
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 Part 3, where the artificially formed or increased inland body of water is completely surrounded by land held by a single owner. Sebago Lake is the only great pond associated with Frye Island.
Small plants, fallen leaves, needles and twigs, and the partially decayed organic matter of the forest floor.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The vertical distance between the mean original grade at the downhill side of the structure and the highest point of the structure, excluding chimneys, steeples, antennas, and similar appurtenances which have no floor area.
An occupation or profession which is customarily conducted on or in a residential structure or property and which:
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.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
An area of land not associated with a campground used for temporary placement of tents or recreational vehicles.
[Amended 8-31-2019]
The assembling, fabrication, manufacturing, packaging, or processing of goods, or the extraction of minerals.
The area of land enclosed within the boundary lines of a lot, minus land below the normal high-water line of Sebago Lake or an upland edge of a wetland, and minus areas beneath roads serving more than two lots.
A business establishment having frontage on navigable water and, as its principal use, providing for-hire, off-shore moorings, or docking facilities for watercraft, and which may also provide accessory services such as boat and related sales, boat repair and construction, indoor and outdoor storage of boat and marine equipment, bait and tackle shops, and marine fuel service facilities.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The estimated price a property will bring on the open market and under prevailing market conditions in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer, both conversant with the property and with prevailing general price levels.
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.
Any operation within any twelve-month period which removes more than 100 cubic yards of soil, topsoil, loam, sand, gravel, clay, rock, peat, or other like material from its natural location, and transportation of the product removed, away from the extraction site.
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.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
A residential structure containing three or more residential dwelling units.
A nonconforming lot, structure or use which is allowed solely because it was in lawful existence at the time this Part 3 or subsequent amendments took effect.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
A single lot of record which, at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Part 3, does not meet the area, frontage, or width requirements of the district in which it is located.
A structure which does not meet any one or more of the following dimensional requirements: setback, height, or lot coverage; but which is allowed solely because it was in lawful existence at the time this Part 3 or subsequent amendments took effect.
Use of buildings, structures, premises, land, or parts thereof which is not permitted 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 Part 3 or subsequent amendments took effect.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
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 shore 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 or wetland than the closest portion of the existing structure from that water body or wetland, and provided that other provisions of this Part 3 are complied with. Included in this allowance are expansions which in-fill irregularly shaped structures.
A freshwater wetland that is not a forested wetland.
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. In the case of wetlands adjacent to ponds and Sebago Lake, the normal high- water line is the upland edge of the wetland, and not the edge of the open water.
An individual, corporation, governmental agency, municipality, trust, estate, partnership, association, two or more individuals having a joint or common interest, or other legal entity.
Extending over or beyond the normal high-water line or within a wetland:
A building other than one which is used for purposes wholly incidental or accessory to the use of another building or use on the same premises.
A use other than one which is wholly incidental or accessory to another use on the same premises.
Any facility, including, but not limited to, buildings, property, recreation areas, and roads, which is owned, leased, or otherwise operated or funded by a governmental body or public entity.
The following soil series as described and identified by the National Cooperative Soil Survey: Alluvial, Cornish, Charles, Fryeburg, Hadley, Limerick, Lovewell, Medomak, Ondawa, Podunk, Rumney, Saco, Suncook, Sunday, and Winooski.
A place designed and equipped for the conduct of sports, leisuretime activities, and other customary and usual recreational activities, excluding boat launching facilities.
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.
A system intended to replace an existing system which is either malfunctioning or being upgraded, with no significant change of: design flow, use of the structure, or any existing overboard wastewater discharge.
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.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The average of the basal area of trees remaining on a harvested site.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
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.
A free-flowing body of water, including its associated floodplain wetlands, downstream to its mouth from that point at which it provides drainage for a watershed of 25 square miles. There are no rivers on Frye Island.
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.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
Any utility line extension which does not cross or run beneath any portion of Sebago Lake, provided that:
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.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The length of a lot bordering on Sebago Lake measured in a straight line between the intersections of the lot lines with the shoreline at normal high-water elevation.
The land area located within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of Sebago Lake or upland edge of a nonforested wetland; within 75 feet of the normal high-water line of a stream, and within all nonforested wetlands.
The normal high-water line or upland edge of a freshwater wetland.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
A building that is a single residential dwelling unit.
A route repeatedly used by forwarding machinery or animal to haul or drag forest products from the stump to the yard or landing, the construction of which requires minimal excavation.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The residue, e.g., treetops and branches, left on the ground after a timber harvest.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
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 edition of a United States Geological Survey 7.5-minute series topographic map or, if not available, a fifteen-minute series topographic map, to the point where the body of water flows to another water body or wetland within the shoreland area.
[Amended 7-5-2003; 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
Anything built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, goods, or property of any kind, together with anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on or in the ground, exclusive of fences, and poles, wiring and other aerial equipment normally associated with service drops as well as guying and guy anchors. The term includes structures temporarily or permanently located, such as decks and satellite dishes.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
Completion of 30% or more of a permitted structure or use measured as a percentage of estimated total cost.
Any system designed to dispose of water or wastewater on or beneath the surface of the earth; includes, but it 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 wastewater disposal system, or any municipal or quasi-municipal sewer or wastewater treatment system.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
A change in elevation where the referenced percent grade is substantially maintained or exceeded throughout the measured area.
The cutting and removal of timber for the primary purpose of selling or processing forest products. The cutting or removal of trees in the Shoreland Zone on a lot that has less than two acres within the Shoreland Zone shall not be considered timber harvesting. Such cutting or removal of trees shall be regulated pursuant to § 10-3.28, Clearing of vegetation for development.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
A channel between defined banks created by the action of surface water, which is characterized by the lack of upland vegetation or by the presence of a bed devoid of topsoil containing waterborne deposits on 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 humans. This definition does not include the term "stream" as defined elsewhere in this Part 3, and only applies to that portion of the tributary stream located within the Shoreland Zone of Sebago Lake or the wetland.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The boundary between upland and wetland. 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.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
All live trees, shrubs, ground cover, and other plants, including, without limitation, trees both over and under four inches in diameter, measured at 4 1/2 feet above ground level.
[Amended 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]
The volume of all portions of a structure enclosed by a roof and fixed exterior walls as measured from the exterior faces of these walls and roof.
Any great pond, river, or stream. Sebago Lake is the only water body associated with Frye Island.
Any project extending from one bank to the opposite bank of a river or 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.
[Amended 10-9- 2010 TM by Art. 11]
A freshwater or coastal wetland (see "freshwater wetland").
Wetlands contiguous with or adjacent to Sebago Lake, and which during normal high water are connected by surface water to it. Also included are wetlands which are separated from Sebago Lake by a berm, causeway, or similar feature less than 100 feet in width, and which have a surface elevation at or below the normal high-water line of Sebago Lake. Wetlands associated with Sebago Lake are considered to be part of it.
Live trees or woody, nonherbaceous shrubs.
[Added 10-9-2010 TM by Art. 11]