In general, words and terms used in this chapter shall have their customary dictionary meanings. More specifically, any word or term defined in the most recent revision of Chapter 280, Zoning, of the Town Code shall have the definition contained in that chapter, unless defined differently below.
Other words and terms used herein are defined as follows:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Housing units that will meet the sales price and/or rental targets established by the Comprehensive Plan for housing affordability.
APPLICANT
The person applying for subdivision approval under these regulations.
AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT)
The average number of vehicles per day that enter and exit the premises or travel over a specific section of road.
BUFFER AREA
A part of a property or an entire property which is not built upon and is specifically intended to separate and thus minimize the effects of a land use activity (e.g., noise, dust, visibility, glare, etc.) on adjacent areas.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (CIP)
The municipality's proposed schedule of future projects listed in order of construction priority together with cost estimates and the anticipated means of financing each project.
CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN
The portion of the Comprehensive Plan that identifies the projects for consideration for inclusion within the capital improvements program, together with an estimate of the order of magnitude for the cost of each project.
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT
A subdivision meeting the requirements of § 280-89 of Chapter 280, Zoning, in which the lot sizes are reduced below those normally required in the zoning district in which the development is located in return for the provision of permanent common open space.
COMMON OPEN SPACE
Land within or related to a subdivision, not individually owned or within an individual lot, which is designed and intended for the common use or enjoyment of the residents of the development or the general public. It may include complementary structures and improvements typically used for maintenance and operation of the open space, such as for outdoor recreation.
COMPLETE APPLICATION
An application shall be considered complete upon submission of the required fee and all information required by these regulations or by a vote of the Planning Board to waive the submission of required information. The Planning Director shall issue a written statement to the applicant upon his determination that an application is complete.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Town of Sanford Comprehensive Plan as adopted by the Town's legislative body.
CONCEPTUAL PLAN
A preliminary plan showing the major features of the site and development concepts in a generalized format.
CONSERVATION EASEMENT
A nonpossessory interest in real property imposing limitations or affirmative obligations, the purposes of which include retaining or protecting natural, scenic or open space values of real property, assuring its availability for agricultural, forest, recreational or open space use, protecting natural resources, or maintaining air or water quality.
DENSITY
The number of dwelling units per acre of land.
DEVELOPED AREA
Any area on which a site improvement or change is made, including buildings, landscaping, parking areas, and streets.
DIRECT WATERSHED OF A GREAT POND
That portion of the watershed that drains directly to the great pond without first passing through an upstream great pond. For the purposes of these regulations, the watershed boundaries shall be as delineated in the Comprehensive Plan. Due to the scale of the map in the Comprehensive Plan there may be small inaccuracies in the delineation of the watershed boundary. Where there is a dispute as to exact location of a watershed boundary, the Board or its designee and the applicant shall conduct an on-site investigation to determine where the drainage divide lies. If the Board and the applicant cannot agree on the location of the drainage divide based on the on-site investigation, the burden of proof shall lie with the applicant to provide the Board with information from a registered professional engineer showing where the drainage divide lies.
DRIVEWAY
A vehicular accessway serving two dwelling units or fewer.
ENGINEERED SUBSURFACE WASTEWATER DISPOSAL SYSTEM
A subsurface wastewater disposal system designed, installed, and operated as a single unit to treat and dispose of 2,000 gallons of wastewater or more per day or any system designed to be capable of treating wastewater with higher BOD5 and total suspended solids concentrations than domestic wastewater.
FINAL PLAN
The final drawings on which the applicant's plan of subdivision is presented to the Board for approval and which, if approved, may be recorded at the Registry of Deeds.
FRESHWATER WETLAND
Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater 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 and that are not part of a great pond, coastal wetland, river, stream or brook. Freshwater wetlands may contain small stream channels or inclusions of land that do not conform to the above criteria.
GREAT POND
Any inland body of water that 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. For the purposes of these regulations, no artificially formed or increased pond will be considered a great pond if it is completely surrounded by land held by a single owner.
HIGH-INTENSITY SOIL SURVEY
A map prepared by a certified soil scientist identifying the soil types down to 1/8 acre or less at a scale equivalent to the subdivision plan submitted. The soils shall be identified in accordance with the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The map shall show the location of all test pits used to identify the soils and shall be accompanied by a log of each sample point identifying the textural classification and the depth to seasonal high-water table or bedrock at that location. Single soil test pits and their evaluation for suitability for subsurface wastewater disposal systems shall not be considered to constitute high-intensity soil surveys.
HIGH-WATER MARK
That line that is apparent from visible markings, changes in the character of soils due to prolonged action of the water, or changes in vegetation that distinguishes between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial land. In the case of wetlands adjacent to rivers, streams, brooks, or ponds, the normal high-water mark is the upland edge of the wetland and not the edge of the open water.
INITIATE CONSTRUCTION
The completion of a portion of the improvements which represents no less than 30% of the costs of the proposed improvements within a subdivision. If the subdivision is to consist of individual lots to be sold or leased by the subdivider, the cost of construction of buildings on those lots shall not be included. If the subdivision is a multifamily development, or if the applicant proposes to construct the buildings within the subdivision, the cost of building construction shall be included in the total costs of proposed improvements.
LEVEL OF SERVICE
A description of the operating conditions a driver will experience while traveling on a particular street or highway calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Highway Capacity Manual, 1991 Edition, published by the National Academy of Sciences, Transportation Research Board. There are six levels of service ranging from Level of Service A, with free traffic flow and no delays, to Level of Service F, with forced flow and congestion resulting in complete failure of the roadway.
MEDIUM-INTENSITY SOIL SURVEY
A map identifying the soil types down to mapping units of three acres or less at a scale equivalent to the subdivision plan submitted. The soils shall be identified in accordance with the National Cooperative Soil Survey.
MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT
A subdivision that contains three or more dwelling units on land in common ownership, such as apartment buildings, condominiums, or mobile home parks.
NEW STRUCTURE OR STRUCTURES
Includes any structure for which construction began on or after September 23, 1988. The area included in the expansion of an existing structure is deemed to be a new structure.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD
The highest level of flooding that, on the average, has a one-percent chance of occurring in any given year.
PLANNING BOARD
The Planning Board of the Town of Sanford.
PLANNING DIRECTOR
The staff person responsible for the direction of the Planning Department, his/her designee, or other person designated by the Town Council to be responsible for development review.
PRELIMINARY PLAN
The preliminary drawings showing the proposed layout of the subdivision to be submitted to the Planning Board for its consideration.
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
A professional engineer registered in the State of Maine.
PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM
A water supply system that provides water to at least 15 service connections or services water to at least 25 individuals daily for at least 30 days a year.
RECORD DRAWINGS
Scaled detailed drawings of the completed or encountered existing infrastructure within a public right-of-way or easement. The plans shall be prepared and organized in a form that is consistent with the design plans submitted for Planning Board review during the subdivision approval process or engineering review by the Town Engineer. The plans shall be drawn and noted with field measurements, i.e., three-way ties, made by the contractor installing the infrastructure. The plans shall note the infrastructure materials, widths, diameters, elevations, service connection locations at the main and the right-of-way line, ledge profile, permanent reference benchmark, and other appropriate data necessary to show the completed or encountered existing infrastructure. The record drawing plan set shall include a copy of the signed plat.
RECORDING PLAN
An original of the final plan, suitable for recording at the Registry of Deeds, that shows only information relevant to the transfer of an interest in the property and which does not show other information presented on the plan, such as sewer and water line locations and sizes, culverts, and building lines.
RESERVED AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Affordable housing that is restricted by means of deed covenants, financing restrictions, or other long-term binding methods to occupancy by households making 80% or less of the area median household income.
SIGHT DISTANCE
The length of an unobstructed view from a particular access point to the farthest visible point of reference on a roadway. It is used in these regulations as a reference for unobstructed road visibility.
SITE INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS
Inventory maps, renderings, and supporting data describing the site proposed to be subdivided and analyzing the opportunities and constraints for subdivision and development. The inventory and analysis are submitted for initial review prior to submitting a formal application for subdivision approval.
SKETCH PLAN
A preliminary plan showing the major features of the site and the preliminary, generalized layout of proposed roads, lots, and other improvements.
STREET CLASSIFICATION
A. 
ARTERIAL STREETThose streets listed in the definition of "arterial" in Chapter 280, Zoning.
B. 
COLLECTOR STREETThose existing streets listed in the definition of "collector" in Chapter 280, Zoning, or a proposed street that has a projected average daily traffic of 1,000 or more trips.
C. 
CUL-DE-SACA street with only one outlet and having the other end for the reversal of traffic movement.
D. 
COMMERCIAL STREETStreets servicing industrial or commercial uses.
E. 
LOCAL STREETAn existing street not defined as an arterial or collector or a proposed street which has a projected average daily traffic of fewer than 1,000 trips.
F. 
PRIVATE WAYA minor street meeting the requirements of § 280-85 of Chapter 280, Zoning.
SUBDIVISION
The division of a tract or parcel of land into three or more lots within any five-year period that begins after September 23, 1971. This definition applies whether the division is accomplished by sale, lease, development, buildings or otherwise. The term "subdivision" also includes the division of a new structure or structures on a tract or parcel of land into three or more dwelling units within a five-year period, the construction or placement of three or more dwelling units on a single tract or parcel of land, and the division of an existing structure or structures previously used for commercial or industrial use into three or more dwelling units within a five-year period.
A. 
In determining whether a tract or parcel of land is divided into three or more lots, the first dividing of such tract or parcel shall be considered to create the first two lots and the next dividing of either of the first two lots, by whomever accomplished, unless otherwise exempted herein, shall be considered to create a third lot, unless:
(1) 
Both dividings are accomplished by a subdivider who has retained one of the lots for the subdivider's own use as a single-family residence or for open space land as defined in 36 M.R.S.A. § 1102 for a period of at least five years before the second dividing occurs; or
(2) 
The division of the tract or parcel is otherwise exempt under this definition.
B. 
A lot of 40 or more acres shall not be counted as a lot, except where the lot or parcel from which it was divided is located entirely or partially within any shoreland area as defined in 38 M.R.S.A. § 435 or Chapter 270, Shoreland Zoning, of the Town Code.
C. 
A division accomplished by devise, condemnation, order of court, gift to a person related to the donor by blood, marriage or adoption or a gift to a municipality or by transfer of any interest in land to the owner of land abutting that land does not create a lot or lots for the purposes of these regulations, unless the intent of the transferor in any transfer or gift is to avoid the objectives of these regulations. If real estate exempt under this subsection by a gift to a person related to the donor by blood, marriage or adoption is transferred within five years to another person not related to the donor of the exempt real estate by blood, marriage or adoption, then the previously exempt division creates a lot or lots for the purposes of this definition. The grant of bona fide security interest in an entire lot that has been exempted from the definition under this subsection, or subsequent transfer of that entire lot by the original holder of the security interest or that person's successor in interest, does not create a lot for the purposes of this definition, unless the intent of the transferor is to avoid the objectives of these regulations.
D. 
In determining the number of dwelling units in a structure, the provisions regarding the determination of the number of lots shall apply, including exemptions from the definition of a subdivision of land.
SUBDIVISION, DEVELOPMENTAL
Any activity meeting the state definition of "subdivision" that is not a major or minor subdivision.
SUBDIVISION, MAJOR
Any subdivision containing 10 or more lots or dwelling units or any subdivision requiring any new street or municipal facilities.
SUBDIVISION, MINOR:
Any subdivision containing nine or fewer lots or dwelling units. All lots shall be located on an existing, accepted public street, and no new public services or extensions of municipal facilities shall be required.
TOWN ENGINEER
Any registered professional engineer hired or retained by the Town, either as staff or on a consulting basis.
TRACT OR PARCEL OF LAND
All contiguous land in the same ownership, provided that lands located on opposite sides of a public or private road shall be considered each a separate tract or parcel of land unless such road was established by the owner of land on both sides thereof.
USABLE OPEN SPACE
That portion of the common open space which, due to its slope, drainage characteristics and soil conditions, can be used for active recreation, horticulture or agriculture. To be considered usable open space, the land must not be poorly drained or very poorly drained or have ledge outcroppings or areas with slopes exceeding 10%.