A. 
The Board shall consist of five members, serving staggered terms of three years or so that no more than two terms expire in any one year. The Board shall elect annually a Chairperson and Secretary from its membership at the next regular meeting after the Annual Town Meeting.
B. 
Neither a municipal officer nor his/her spouse may be a member of the Board.
C. 
Any question of whether a particular issue involves conflict of interest sufficient to disqualify a member from voting thereon shall be decided by a majority vote of the members, except the member being challenged.
D. 
A member of the Board may be dismissed for cause by the municipal officers before expiration of his or her term.
[Amended 6-11-2025]
A. 
The Chairperson shall call meetings of the Board as required, or when requested by a majority of the members, or by the municipal officers. A quorum of the Board necessary to conduct an official Board meeting shall be three members. The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall be the official spokesman of the Board. In the absence of the elected Chairperson, a temporary Chairperson may be elected by the members present.
B. 
The Secretary shall maintain a permanent record of all Board meetings and all correspondence of the Board and shall maintain those records which are required as a part of the various proceedings which may be brought before the Board. Copies of decisions, findings, and supporting documents shall be maintained at the Town office as well. All such records are deemed public and may be inspected at reasonable times at the Town office.
C. 
The Board may provide by rule, which shall be recorded by the Secretary, for any matter to the conduct of any hearing, except any rule may be waived by majority vote of the members present.
D. 
The Board may receive any oral or documentary evidence but shall provide as a matter of policy for the exclusion of irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence. Every party shall have the right to present his or her case or defense by oral or documentary evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to conduct a cross-examination as may be required for a full and true disclosure of the facts.
E. 
The transcript or recorded tapes, if any, and exhibits, together with all documents filed in the proceedings, shall constitute the record. All decisions shall become a part of the record and shall include a statement of findings and conclusions upon all the material issues of fact, law, or discretion presented and the appropriate order, relief, or denial thereof. Notice of any decision shall be mailed to every party within days of each decision.
F. 
Any aggrieved party who participated as a party during the proceedings before the Board of Appeals may take an appeal to Superior Court in accordance with state laws within 45 days of the date of any decision of the Board of Appeals as provided under 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2691 and Rule 80B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.
[Amended 6-11-2025; 6-10-2026]
The Board of Appeals shall have the following powers and duties:
A. 
Administrative appeals.
(1) 
To hear and decide where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Code Enforcement Officer in the administration of this chapter. Only the administrative decisions of the Code Enforcement Officer and not enforcement orders are appealable.
(2) 
To hear and decide where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirements, decision or determination made by the Planning Board regarding its administration of conditional use permits or other permits for which the Board is the issuing authority under this chapter.
B. 
Interpretation appeals. To consider applications for interpretation of issues involving the granting of permits under this chapter, whenever there is uncertainty as to the meaning and/or intent of any part of this chapter, the Board having the power to interpret such parts. The issuing authority shall be governed by the Boards findings in issuing or denying said permits and may be present at the hearing of the appeal. Reasonable notice shall be given the issuing authority and/or the Select Board of the hearing date, time, and location.
C. 
Variance appeals.
(1) 
Variances may be permitted only under the following conditions:
(a) 
Variances may be granted only from the dimensional requirements of this chapter.
(b) 
Variances shall not be granted for establishment or expansion of any uses otherwise prohibited by this chapter or because of the presence of nonconformities in the zone or in adjacent zones.
(c) 
The Board shall not grant a variance unless it finds that the proposed structure or use would meet the provisions of this chapter, except for the specific provisions which have created the nonconformity and from which relief is sought.
(d) 
The Board shall not grant a variance unless it finds that the strict application of the terms of this chapter would result in undue hardship as defined in § 60-1B, definition of "variance."
(2) 
A copy of all variances granted in the Shoreland Zone (R-4), and Resource Protection Zone (R-5) and Village Shoreland Zone (R-6) shall be submitted to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection within 14 days of the decision.
D. 
Parties. The Board shall reasonably notify of any hearing the petitioner, the Planning Board, the municipal officers, and the Code Enforcement Officer, and such persons shall be made parties to the action. All interested persons shall be given a reasonable opportunity to have their views expressed at any hearing.
E. 
Time limit for appeals. In all cases, a person aggrieved by a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer or Planning Board shall commence his or her appeal within 30 days after a decision is rendered by such issuing authority.
F. 
Procedure for appeals:
(1) 
The appeal shall be in writing on forms approved by the Board, and the aggrieved person shall specifically set forth on the form the grounds of the appeal.
(2) 
Before taking action on any administrative or variance appeal, the Board shall hold a public hearing and the Secretary shall publish notice of such public hearing at least seven days in advance of the hearing. The Board shall give notice via the U.S. Postal Service, first class mail, sent to the address which appears in the assessment records of the Town, to property owners within 500 feet of the property involved. Names and addresses of such property owners shall be furnished to the Board with the application. Fees for notification and administrative costs shall be set by the Board. No fee is required regarding interpretation appeals.
(3) 
Following the filing of an application for an administrative appeal or variance appeal, the Board of Appeal shall hold a public hearing on the appeal within 30 days. The public hearing portion of the appeal proceeding may be held in conjunction with a meeting at which the Board takes action on the application. In the case of interpretation appeals, the Planning Board and Code Enforcement Officer shall be notified seven days in advance of the hearing date.
(4) 
At any hearing, a party may be represented by an authorized agent or attorney. Hearings shall not be continued to other times except for good cause.
(5) 
The appellant's case shall be heard first. To maintain orderly procedures, each side shall proceed without interruption. All persons at the hearing shall abide by the order of the Chairperson.
(6) 
Within 20 days of a public hearing, the Board shall reach a decision or an appeal. In reaching a decision, the Board may reverse or modify the decision of the Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer only upon a finding that the decision is contrary to specific provisions of this chapter or based on a finding that the decision was unsupported by substantial evidence in the record. The Board shall inform, in writing, the appellant, Code Enforcement Officer, and municipal officers of its decision within seven days of the decision.
(7) 
Upon notification of the granting of an appeal by the Board, the Code Enforcement Officer and/or the Planning Board shall, within 10 days, issue a permit in accordance with the conditions of approval. Said permit shall be conditional and subject to any appeals made according to state law.
(8) 
A variance secured by a vote of the Board shall expire if the work or change is not commenced within one year of the date on which the appeal was granted and if the work or change is not substantially completed within two years of the date on which the appeal was granted.
G. 
Appeal to Superior Court. Any aggrieved party who participated as a party during the proceedings before the Board of Appeals may take an appeal to Superior Court in accordance with state laws within 45 days of the date of any decision of the Board of Appeals, as provided under 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2691 and Rule 80B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.
H. 
The Board of Appeals may reconsider any decision, upon request for reconsideration filed, within 10 days of its prior decision, as provided under 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2691. The Board may conduct additional hearings and receive additional evidence and testimony.