[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Bethel 3-5-1956; amended 6-1-1997; 6-13-2001. Subsequent
amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for
the safety, health, and public welfare by the control of the construction,
alteration, addition, repair, removal, demolition, use and occupancy
of all structures.
This chapter is created according to the powers
granted to municipalities under 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3001.
The following terms as used in this chapter
shall have the following meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise.
All undefined terms shall have their standard dictionary meanings.
Any detached structure used in conjunction with a residential,
commercial, or industrial structure, such as a garage, shed, barn,
etc.
To change the exterior appearance of a structure
by the addition, deletion, or relocation of a door, window, or other
feature requiring the cutting of a structural wall, roof, or floor.
To change or renovate the interior of a structure
by the addition, deletion, reconstruction, or relocation of a wall,
ceiling, or floor that may affect the strength of the structural members
or affect fire safety requirements.
Any published compilation of regulations or enforceable standards
which has been prepared by any association or organization that is
nationally recognized for establishing standards in the areas set
out below, or any department or agency of the federal government or
the state, and includes:
A building or structure or any portion thereof that is deemed
structurally unsafe, unstable, or unsanitary; constitutes a fire hazard;
is unsuitable or improper for the use or occupancy to which it is
put; or constitutes a hazard to health or safety because of inadequate
maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment; or is otherwise
dangerous to life or property.
[Added 6-11-2003]
Any part of a structure which, through sale or lease, is
intended for human habitation, including single-family and multifamily
housing, condominiums, apartments and time-share units.
[Amended 6-11-2003;[1] 6-13-2012]
Anything constructed, erected, or placed on the ground which
is permanent, temporary, or mobile for the shelter or support of persons,
animals, goods, or property of any kind and which requires location
in or on the ground or attachment to something on the ground. Structures
include but are not limited to buildings, mobile homes, piers, floats,
and storage and processing facilities. Boundary walls, fences, roads,
driveways, parking areas, and flagpoles are not considered structures.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also deleted
the definition of "engineered system" which immediately followed this
definition.
[Amended 6-11-2003]
A.
Before the construction, erection, alteration, or
placement of any structure shall be commenced, the owner or lessee,
or the architect, contractor, or builder employed by such owner or
lessee, shall obtain from the Code Enforcement Officer of the Town
of Bethel a building permit covering such proposed work. Any interior
or exterior work with a fair market value including materials and
labor of less than $2,500 does not require a permit. However, all
work performed must conform with the provisions of this chapter whether
or not a permit is required.
[Amended 6-13-2007]
B.
Building permits will be in two parts:
(1)
Part A shall contain all of the information necessary
to identify the building and location, including a street number,
as well as all of the information to ensure that all of the necessary
permits have been obtained.
(2)
Part B shall be of a material resistant to weather.
It shall have an identifying number and shall be signed by the Code
Enforcement Officer. It shall be large enough to be seen from the
street and shall be posted at the building site.
C.
No building permit shall be issued until a plumbing
permit and/or a subsurface waste disposal permit, if applicable, is
obtained from the licensed Local Plumbing Inspector appointed by the
Town of Bethel.
D.
All building permits shall be void unless work thereunder
is commenced within two years from the date of issuance. Commencement
is generally accepted as the pouring of a foundation or placement
of support structure for a building. The Building Inspector has the
right to review the appropriateness of the permits if not completed
within five years from date of issuance.
E.
No new building or existing building which has been structurally modified so that fire safety requirements have been affected may be occupied until the Building Inspector has provided a certificate of compliance that the building has been constructed with all the proper safeguards against the catching and spreading of fire and that the proper cutoffs have been placed in the walls and floorings as required by the standards in § 96-5.
F.
Building permits can only be transferred from the
original applicant after review by the Building Inspector and the
payment of an appropriate transfer fee.
[Amended 6-11-2002; 6-13-2012]
A.
A certain document, one copy of which is on file with
the Town Clerk of the Town of Bethel, being marked and designated
as National Fire Protection Association No. 211, Chimneys, Fireplaces,
Vents and Solid Fuel Burning Appliances, and being the version most
recently adopted by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, as prepared
and published by the National Fire Protection Association for regulating
the construction, alteration, renovation, and installation of chimneys
and fireplaces, and each and all of the regulations, provisions, conditions
and terms of such National Fire Protection Association No. 211 on
file in the office of the Town Clerk are hereby referred to, adopted
and made a part hereof as if fully set out in this chapter.
B.
A certain document, one copy of which is on file with
the Town Clerk of the Town of Bethel, being marked and designated
as National Fire Protection Association No. 101, Life Safety Code,
and being the version most recently adopted by the State Fire Marshal’s
Office, as prepared and published by the National Fire Protection
Association for regulating the construction, alteration, renovation,
and installation of fire escapes and means of egress, and each and
all of the regulations, provisions, conditions and terms of such National
Fire Protection Association No. 101 pertaining to fire escapes and
means of egress on file in the office of the Town Clerk are hereby
referred to, adopted and made a part hereof as if fully set out in
this chapter.
C.
A certain document, one copy of which is on file with
the Town Clerk of the Town of Bethel, being marked and designated
as National Fire Protection Association No. 58, Liquefied Petroleum
Gas Code, and being the version most recently adopted by the State
Fire Marshal’s Office, as prepared and published by the National
Fire Protection Association for regulating liquefied petroleum gas,
and each and all of the regulations, provisions, conditions and terms
of such National Fire Protection Association No. 58 pertaining to
liquefied petroleum gas on file in the office of the Town Clerk are
hereby referred to, adopted and made a part hereof as if fully set
out in this chapter.
D.
A certain document, one copy of which is on file with
the Town Clerk of the Town of Bethel, being marked and designated
as National Fire Protection Association No. 54, National Fuel Gas
Code, and being the version most recently adopted by the State Fire
Marshal’s Office, as prepared and published by the National
Fire Protection Association for regulating general criteria for the
installation and operation of gas piping and gas equipment on consumers'
premises, and each and all of the regulations, provisions, conditions
and terms of such National Fire Protection Association No. 54 pertaining
to fuel gas on file in the office of Town Clerk are hereby referred
to, adopted and made a part hereof as if fully set out in this chapter.
[Amended 6-11-2003; 6-9-2004; 6-15-2005]
A.
All flammable liquids and hazardous material within
the limits of the Town of Bethel shall be stored subject to and in
conformity with the laws of the State of Maine, 25 M.R.S.A. § § 2481
to 2485, flammable liquids, and 25 M.R.S.A. § § 2101
to 2106-A, hazardous material.
C.
Setback requirements.
[Amended 6-13-2007]
(1)
All buildings erected or relocated must have a minimum
setback of 10 feet on all lot lines of the parcel on which they are
located.
(2)
Accessory buildings, as defined herein, on parcels
of less than 40,000 square feet must have a minimum setback of 10
feet on the street line and must have a minimum setback of five feet
on all other lot lines.
(3)
A variance, as defined in § 140-12, of any of these setback requirements may be obtained from the Bethel Board of Appeals on the basis of undue hardship, as defined under 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4353(4). The Board of Appeals shall hold a public hearing and follow the process established in the BOA Rules of Procedure adopted by the Bethel Board of Selectmen.
D.
Any new electrical service on a pole or structure
shall have a manual shut-off installed on the pole or the outside
of the structure, located between the meter box and the main breaker
box.
E.
For all building permits issued for construction exceeding
$50,000 in value as stated in a permit application, a viable container
for the lawful private disposal of all waste materials generated by
permit activities shall be maintained on the parcel identified in
said application, or at a separate location identified in the permit
application and controlled by the permit holder.
[Added 6-14-2006; amended 6-13-2007]
[Added 6-11-2008[1]]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this District is to manage
development and redevelopment in the recognized Bethel Historic District
to conserve the District's unique architectural values and character.
[Amended 6-13-2012]
B.
Definition of district boundaries: the general area
referred to in the National Register of Historic Places as the "Broad
Street Historic District" and the subsequent "Broad Street Historic
District (Boundary Extension)."
(1)
More specifically, for the purposes of administering
this regulation, the Historic District is defined in terms of boundaries
in the Official Bethel Historic District Map and includes the following
lots, or portions thereof, as depicted on the Town of Bethel Property
Maps:
(2)
If a lot is more than 200 feet deep, only that portion
within 200 feet of the street, as measured from the edge of the right-of-way,
shall be included in the District. If a lot is at the edge of the
District (i.e., no registered property on one side) and the lot extends
more than 50 feet beyond the side of the registered building, the
boundary will be the line perpendicular to the street, 50 feet from
the side of the building.
(3)
Official Bethel Historic District Map. The area to
which this subsection is applicable is as shown on the Official Bethel
Historic District Map which is made a part of this chapter.
(4)
Certification of Official Bethel Historic District
Map. The Official Bethel Historic District Map shall be certified
by the attested signature of the Municipal Clerk and shall be located
in the Town offices of Bethel.
(5)
Interpretation of district boundaries. Where uncertainty
exists as to the exact location of district boundary lines, the Board
of Appeals shall be the final authority as to location.
(6)
This
shall also apply to any building listed on the National Register of
Historic Places.
[Added 6-10-2009]
C.
The following shall be considered in the review of
any application for a building permit in the District and on the National
Register of Historic Places which includes the construction of a new
structure, an addition to an existing structure and/or exterior alterations
to a structure; except for general upkeep and routine maintenance
such as exterior painting and roof repair.
[Amended 6-10-2009]
(1)
New structures, additions to existing structures and/or
the exterior alteration of a structure shall be visually compatible
with surrounding structures in terms of the following:
(a)
The height of the proposed structure or addition
to an existing structure shall be visually compatible with adjacent
structures.
(b)
The relationship of the width to the height
of the front elevation shall be compatible with buildings, public
ways and places to which it is visually related.
(c)
The relationship of the width and height of
windows shall be compatible with buildings, public ways and places
to which it is visually related.
(d)
The relationship of entrances and other projections
to sidewalks shall be compatible with buildings, public ways and places
to which it is visually related.
(e)
The relationship of the materials, texture and
color of the facade shall be visually compatible with the predominate
material used in the structures to which it is visually related.
(f)
The roof shape of the structure shall be visually
compatible with the structures to which it is visually related.
(g)
The size and mass of the structure in relation
to open spaces, windows, door openings, porches, and balconies shall
be visually compatible with the structures and public places to which
they are visually connected.
D.
Administration of building permits in the District
and on the National Register of Historic Places.
[Amended 6-10-2009]
(1)
The Planning Board shall review applications for building
permits in the Bethel Historic District, except for general upkeep
and routine maintenance such as exterior painting and roof repair,
and shall issue a written finding of fact based on the above criteria.
The Code Enforcement Officer may not issue a building permit until
the finding of fact has been affirmed and approved by the Board.
[Amended 6-13-2012]
(2)
Building permits issued in the District shall be subject
to the following condition of approval:
|
“The granting of this approval is dependent
upon and limited to the proposals and plans contained in the application
and supporting documents submitted and affirmed to by the applicant.
Any variation from these plans, proposals, and supporting documents
is subject to review and approval prior to implementation.”
|
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former § 96-7, Waivers, as amended 6-11-2003 and 6-9-2004.
Fees charged under this chapter shall be in
accordance with the Town of Bethel Fee Schedule.
A.
Any person, firm, or corporation aggrieved by any decision of the Code Enforcement Officer in the administration of this chapter may appeal to the Bethel Board of Appeals as established under Chapter 5, Administration. Any appeal shall be written and be made within 30 days of receipt of the written decision of the Code Enforcement Officer and shall be based on the decision.
[Amended 6-11-2003]
A.
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer
and/or Fire Chief to enforce the provisions of this chapter. If the
Code Enforcement Officer finds that any provision of this chapter,
including but not limited to any code incorporated by reference herein,
is being violated, he shall notify the municipal officers. The municipal
officers, or their agent, shall notify the person responsible for
such violation, indicating the nature of the violation and ordering
the action necessary to correct it within a certain time limit, not
to exceed 90 days, including immediate discontinuance of illegal structures
or work being done and the abatement of nuisance conditions.
[Amended 6-11-2008; 6-13-2012]
B.
Any person who continues to violate any provision
of this chapter after receiving notice of such violation shall be
subject to prosecution for committing a civil violation and subject
to penalties set forth in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4452.
