[Amended 8-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-82]
The purpose of the Office-Residential District is to provide space within the Town of Gorham for a mixture of residential uses and business and professional offices in close proximity to the existing commercial areas of the Town. These office uses are intended to be in keeping with the existing character and scale of the area. The reuse and rehabilitation of existing structures is encouraged for new office uses.
[Amended 5-16-2017; 4-2-2019; 7-5-2022; 8-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-82]
The following are permitted uses in the Office-Residential District:
A. 
Any building or use identified as a permitted use in the Urban Residential District under Article 1-6, § 300-1.31.
B. 
Business and professional offices and professional outpatient clinics.
C. 
Drive-through service, as defined in § 300-1.29, when accessory to financial institutions.
D. 
Bed-and-breakfast establishment.
E. 
Retail sales having a gross floor area of less than 4,000 square feet.
F. 
Personal services having a gross floor area of less than 2,000 square feet.
G. 
Office of contractor or tradesperson.
[Amended 8-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-82]
The following are special exceptions in the Office-Residential District:
A. 
Any building or use identified as a special exception in the Urban Residential District under Article 1-6, § 300-1.32.
B. 
Bed-and-breakfast establishment with public dining as an accessory use.
C. 
Inn.
[Amended 3-4-2025 by Ord. No. 25-24]
A. 
A structure existing at the date of adoption of this Article 1-14 that does not conform to any of the following space standards may be converted or rehabilitated to an allowed nonresidential use, provided that such conversion involves no exterior enlargement of the existing structure or additional area for vehicular parking or access. Conversions involving exterior enlargement or additional parking or access areas shall adhere to all applicable space standards.
(1) 
Minimum lot size: 20,000 square feet.
(2) 
Minimum street frontage: 80 feet.
(3) 
Building setback: New buildings constructed in this district shall be located in such a manner as to maintain the relationship to the street established by existing neighboring structures. Where no such relationship exists, the minimum setback shall be 40 feet.
(4) 
Minimum setbacks.
(a) 
Minimum front yard setback: 10 feet.
(b) 
Maximum front yard setback: 25 feet.
(c) 
Minimum side and rear setbacks: 5 feet, except as otherwise required by buffer provisions of this Land Use and Development Code.
(5) 
Maximum building height: None.
(6) 
Maximum floor area ratio: 0.15.
(7) 
Maximum impervious coverage ratio: 0.40.
(8) 
Maximum gross floor area per each principal structure: 8,000 square feet.
(9) 
Maximum gross floor area per lot: 20,000 square feet.
B. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of this § 300-1.73, an auxiliary public utility structure is exempt from the minimum lot size, street frontage, floor area ratio and impervious coverage requirements of this district. Structures must meet setback requirements. Additional screening and buffering can be requested by the Planning Board.
[Added 5-16-2017]
The performance standards contained in Part 2 of this Land Use and Development Code shall be fully observed, with the following additional restrictions or allowances to be placed on uses within this district.
A. 
No portion of lot in front of the front building line shall be used for off-street parking, service or loading.
B. 
All new nonresidential uses shall be supplied with public water service.
C. 
All lots that generate a design sewerage flow, calculated in accordance with the Maine State Plumbing Code, of more than 3,000 gallons per day shall be serviced by public sewer.
D. 
The Planning Board may waive or reduce the off-street parking requirements of Part 2, Article 2-2, § 300-2.10, of this Land Use and Development Code if:
(1) 
An existing building is being converted to another permitted or special exception use; or
(2) 
Adequate off-street parking is available in public or cooperative off-street parking facilities within 300 feet of the site.
E. 
Any parking lot shall have a maximum of 32 parking spaces. Adjacent parking lots shall be separated by a landscaped buffer strip at least 25 feet wide.
F. 
No portion of a required rear or side yard may be used for parking if such yard abuts a residential zone or use.
G. 
For nonresidential uses, the required front setback, side yard and rear yard shall be maintained as landscaped buffer areas. These areas shall be vegetated and designed to minimize any adverse effects on aesthetic or environmental qualities as perceived by abutting properties and the public, and to screen or mitigate the appearance of such nonresidential uses. No building, parking or service areas are to be located in the buffer areas. Access roads may cross buffer areas to provide access to and from a street, but shall be designed to minimize the disruption of the buffer areas. No parking shall be permitted along the segment of an access road that crosses a buffer area. Where a principal structure(s) in nonresidential use would occur on the same lot with a principal structure(s) in residential use, such structures shall be separated by a minimum of 35 linear feet of landscaped buffer area.
H. 
Projects involving more than one principal building shall provide an internal circulation system to minimize entrances to the project.
I. 
To minimize vehicle turning conflicts and traffic congestion, the Planning Board may require that entrances to uses in this district be combined to the maximum extent possible.
J. 
To minimize vehicle turning conflicts and traffic congestion, the Planning Board may limit each building to one point of street entrance and exit at a point determined by the Board.
K. 
No new access road shall be created that will provide vehicular access to Main Street from property lacking Main Street frontage.
L. 
All new nonresidential uses, if subject to site plan review under Part 4 of this Land Use and Development Code, shall also be subject to review by a local Architectural Review Board, from the time such a board has been established.
M. 
All principal buildings and structures for nonresidential purposes shall be of a traditional New England Village design to be compatible with the predominant scale and character of the existing Gorham Village architecture.