A.
In the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter,
all words other than those specifically defined in the chapter shall
have the meanings implied by their context in the chapter or their
ordinarily accepted meanings.
B.
The word "person" includes a firm, association, organization,
partnership, trust, company or corporation, as well as an individual
or any other legal entity.
C.
The present tense includes the future tense; the singular
number includes the plural; and the plural number includes the singular.
D.
The words "shall" and "will" are mandatory; the word
"may" is permissive.
E.
The word "lot" includes the words "plot" and "parcel."
F.
The term
"he" is intended to include both "he" and "she."
[Added 6-15-2009]
In this chapter, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
All property owners within 250 feet of subject property lines,
including property owners across roadways and bodies of water.
A separate dwelling unit located within, attached to or stand-alone
on the primary home's property and subordinate to a single-family
detached dwelling. The unit must have a minimum of 190 square feet
and be no larger than 750 square feet of living space.
[Amended 12-12-2023]
A use or structure which is customarily and in fact both
incidental and subordinate to the principal use or structure. The
term "incidental" in reference to the principal use or structure shall
mean both subordinate and minor in significance to the principal use
or structure and attendant to the principal use or structure. Such
accessory uses, when aggregated, shall not subordinate the alleged
principal use of the lot. Trailers utilized for storage are considered
in this category.
Average daily trips. The number of trips generated for a
particular use as found in the Institute of Transportation Engineers;
Trip Generation Rate (latest edition available); an example of this
is that a single-family home has 10 trip ends per unit. A trip end
equals a vehicle coming and going from a property.
[Added 4-14-2015]
[Added 12-12-2023]
For rental housing, a development in which a household whose
income does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area as defined
by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under
the United States Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 75-412, 50 Stat.
888, Section 8, as amended, can afford 51% or more of the units in
the development without spending more than 30% of the household's
monthly income on housing costs; and
For owned housing, a development in which a household whose
income does not exceed 120% of the median income for the area as defined
by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under
the United States Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 75-412, 50 Stat.
888, Section 8, as amended, can afford 51% or more of the units in
the development without spending more than 30% of the household's
monthly income on housing costs.
For purposes of this definition, "housing costs" means:
For a rental unit, the cost of rent and any utilities (electric,
heat, water, sewer, and/or trash) that the household pays separately
from the rent; and
For an ownership unit, the cost of mortgage principal and interest,
real estate taxes (including assessments), private mortgage insurance,
homeowner's insurance, condominium fees, and homeowners' association
fees.
Any agreement among one or more owners, one or more tenants
of residential real estate and one or more qualified holders, or between
one or more owners and one or more qualified holders, or between one
or more tenants and one or more qualified holders, that permits a
qualified holder to control, either directly or indirectly, the purchase
price of residential housing for the primary purpose of providing
that the housing remains affordable to lower-income and moderate-income
households.
[Added 12-12-2023]
A person who demonstrates standing to appeal from a decision
rendered under this chapter.
See "animal husbandry."
The cultivation of soil and the producing or raising of crops,
including gardening as a commercial operation. The term shall also
include greenhouses, nurseries and versions thereof; but those two
terms, when used alone, shall refer specifically to a place where
flowers, plants, shrubs and/or trees are grown for sale.
Any change, addition or modification in construction, other
than cosmetic or decorative, or any change in the structural members
of buildings, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.
Any private or commercial premises which is maintained or
operated primarily for the amusement, patronage or recreation of the
public, containing an aggregate of four or more table sports, pinball
machines, video games or similar mechanical or electronic games, whether
activated by coins, tokens or discs, or activated through remote control
by the management.
The keeping of any domesticated animals other than household
pets.
An individual or a firm having written authorization to act
on behalf of a property owner, signed by the property owner and notarized.
A yard, field or other area, used as a place of storage for
three or more unserviceable (incapable of passing a state highway
safety inspection), discarded, worn out or junked motor vehicles.
Temporary storage by an establishment or place of business which is
engaged primarily in doing auto body repair for the purpose of making
repairs to render a motor vehicle serviceable shall not constitute
an automobile graveyard.
A place where, with or without the attendant sale of engine
fuels, the following services may be carried out: general repair,
engine rebuilding, rebuilding or reconditioning of motor vehicles,
collision service, (such as body, frame or fender straightening and
repair), overall painting and undercoating of automobiles.
A place where gasoline or any other engine fuel (stored only
in underground tanks), kerosene or motor oil and lubricants or grease
are retailed directly to the public on the premises, including the
sale of minor accessories and the servicing and minor repair of automobiles,
not including storage or unlicensed vehicles and not including body,
frame or fender straightening and repair.
An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange or issue
of money, for the extension of credit and for facilitating the transmission
of funds.
The area of cross section of a tree stem at diameter breast
height (4.5 feet above the ground) and includes bark.
The total of the basal area of trees remaining on a harvest
area.
The maximum number of units allowed on a lot not used for
affordable housing based on dimensional requirements in a local land
use or zoning ordinance.
[Added 12-12-2023]
The enclosed area underneath a structure, typically having
a masonry floor and walls which are part of the structure's foundation.
The clear height up to the joists supporting the floor directly above
is four feet or greater.
A single-family dwelling in which lodging or lodging and
meals are offered to the general public for compensation, offering
no more than five bedrooms for lodging purposes with a maximum stay
of no more than 14 days.
An area which serves to provide a visual, aesthetic, and
noise-reduction barrier between conflicting land uses.
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls
for the housing or enclosure of persons, animals or personal property.
The vertical distance between the highest point of the roof
and the average grade of the ground adjoining the building.
Any building, seasonal in nature, such as cabins or hunting
shelters intended for temporary or intermittent use not to exceed
three months per year. Each camp must have sanitation facilities in
compliance with the State of Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal
Rules.
Any area or tract of land to accommodate two or more parties
in temporary living quarters, including but not limited to tents,
recreational vehicles or other shelters.
The leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds of all species/derivatives
(including hemp) of plant genus cannabis, whether growing or not.
It does not include mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from
the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other
compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of
mature stalks, fiber, oil or cake or sterilized seed of the plant
which is incapable of germination.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A store, in compliance with § 140-67.1, that has attributes generally associated with retail stores, including, but not limited to, a fixed location, a sign, regular business hours, accessibility to the public and sales of goods or services directly to a consumer, and that is used by a registered caregiver to offer cannabis plants or harvested cannabis for sale to qualifying patients.
[Added 1-14-2020; amended 9-14-2020; 5-23-2023]
Two or more medical cannabis or adult use cultivators claiming
a location as a primary residence in order to conduct cannabis home
production. Cannabis cooperatives are considered adult use cannabis
production facilities if cannabis is grown by an adult use caregiver
and considered a medical cannabis production facility if grown by
a medical cannabis caregiver.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A facility licensed under this chapter to purchase cannabis
plants and seeds from other cultivation facilities; to cultivate,
prepare and package adult use cannabis; to sell adult use cannabis
to product manufacturing facilities, to cannabis stores and to other
cultivation facilities; and to sell cannabis plants and seeds to other
cultivation facilities and immature cannabis plants and seedlings
to cannabis stores.
[Added 5-23-2023]
An entity registered under 558-C M.R.S.A. § 2425-A
that acquires, possesses, cultivates, manufactures, delivers, transfers,
transports, sells, supplies, or dispenses cannabis plants or harvested
cannabis or related supplies and educational materials to qualifying
patients and the caregivers of those patients.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A cultivation facility, a products manufacturing facility,
a testing facility or a cannabis store licensed by the State of Maine.
[Added 5-23-2023]
The production, blending, infusing, compounding or other
preparation of cannabis and cannabis products, including, but not
limited to, cannabis extraction or preparation by means of chemical
synthesis. "Manufacturing" or "manufacture" does not include cultivation
or testing.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A facility licensed under 28-B M.R.S.A. § 101 et
seq. to purchase adult use cannabis, immature cannabis plants and
seedlings from a cultivation facility, to purchase adult use cannabis
and adult use cannabis products from a products manufacturing facility
and to sell adult use cannabis, adult use cannabis products, immature
cannabis plants and seedlings to consumers.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A facility licensed by the State of Maine to research and
test cannabis, cannabis products and other substances.
[Added 5-23-2023]
Cannabis that is cultivated, manufactured, distributed, or
sold by a cannabis establishment for adults 21+ as defined by Maine
Title 28-B.
[Added 5-23-2023]
See "basement."
Property used for interring the dead.
A change from one category in the land use table to another
or the addition of a new category of use to an existing use.
A building or structure or group of buildings or structures,
designed, primarily intended and used for the conduct of religious
services.
A building or complex of buildings that house municipal offices
and services, and which may include cultural, recreational, athletic,
convention and entertainment facilities owned and/or operated by a
governmental agency.
Any association of persons organized for social, religious,
benevolent or academic purposes whose facilities are open to members
and guests, including fraternities, sororities and social organizations.
A development in which dimensional requirements may be reduced
in order to promote the retention of open space.
A person appointed by the Town Manager to administer and
enforce this chapter. Reference to the "Code Enforcement Officer"
may be construed to include Building Inspector, Plumbing Inspector;
Electrical Inspector and the like, where applicable.
Includes commercial premises such as retail stores or service
establishments which occupy premises designed, operated or utilized
as a single development, which accommodate more than one business
and which use less than 12,000 square feet of gross floor space.
Any concentration of retail stores or service establishments
occupying premises which are designed operated or utilized as a single
development which encompass 12,000 square feet or more of gross floor
space. This definition shall also include large department stores
or grocery stores which meet the above floor space requirements.
Any commercial enterprise which receives a fee in return
for the provision of some recreational activity, including but not
limited to racquet clubs, health facility, amusement parks, golf courses,
etc., but not including amusement centers, as defined herein.
A housing facility for eight or fewer mentally handicapped
and developmentally disabled persons which are approved, authorized,
certified, or licensed by the state. A "community living facility"
may include a group home, foster home or intermediate care facility.
Police and Fire Department protection, schools, library,
rescue, etc., and not hereinafter defined as utility.
A use of buildings, structures or land which complies with
all applicable provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 4-10-2012]
A dwelling or group of dwellings and shared community space,
providing shelter and services for elderly persons, which may include
meals, housekeeping, transportation, recreational activities, personal-care
assistance, and the like. Elderly persons shall mean a person 55
years old or older, or a couple that constitutes a household with
at least one member who is 55 years old or older at the time of entry
into the facility. A person who meets the definition of “disabled”
or “handicapped” as set forth in 501(b) of the Housing
Act of 1949, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities
Act or the Rehabilitations Act of 1973, or in regulations issued by
either the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
or the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development,
shall be deemed to meet the congregate housing age requirements of
this chapter, and may occupy units within such developments, even
if that person is not 55 years or older or is not part of a household
with another member who is 55 years or older.
Congregate housing is distinct from “dwelling,” “multifamily,” or “nursing homes,” and shall not be required to meet the standards of § 140-46.
Includes built, erected, altered, reconstructed, moved upon
or any physical operations on the premises which are required for
construction. Excavation, fill, drainage and the like shall be considered
a part of construction.
A unit of measure of wood products four feet wide, four feet
high, and eight feet long, or its equivalent containing 128 cubic
feet when wood is ranked and well stacked. Any voids that will accommodate
a stick, log, or bolt of average dimensions to those in that pile
shall be deducted from the measured volume.
An establishment where more than 12 children will be cared
for in return for payment.
Repainting; residing, reroofing, removing or replacing trim,
railings or other nonstructural architectural details; or the addition,
removal or change of location of windows and doors.
An area that is designated in a municipality's or multimunicipal
region's comprehensive plan as suitable for orderly residential, commercial,
or industrial development, or any combination of those types of development,
and into which most development projected over 10 years is directed.
Designated growth areas may also be referred to as "priority development
zones" or other terms with a similar intent.
[Added 12-12-2023]
The intentional discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling,
leaking or placing of any solid or liquid waste into or onto any land
or water so that the solid waste or any constituent thereof may enter
into the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into
any waters, including groundwaters.
Conviction for a violation of a state or federal controlled
substance law that is a crime punishable by imprisonment for one year
of more, but does not include 1) an offense for which the sentence,
including any term of probation, incarceration or supervised release,
was completed 10 or more years earlier; or 2) an offense that consisted
of conduct that would have been permitted under the Maine Medical
Use of Marijuana Act.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A specified portion of the municipality, delineated on the
Official Zoning Map, within which certain regulations and requirements
or various combinations thereof apply under the provisions of this
chapter.
A building or portion thereof providing sleeping rooms, bathrooms,
and common areas for individuals or for groups affiliated with an
educational institution. Each such dormitory or residence hall must
have a full-time live-in adult resident supervisor to provide support
services and oversight of occupants.
[Added 1-10-2017]
A private way providing access to no more than two buildings
on separate abutting lots from a public or private street.
[Added 4-14-2015]
A building containing three or more dwelling units, such
buildings being designed exclusively for residential use and occupancy
by three or more families living independently of one another, with
the number of families not exceeding the number of dwelling units.
Any structure containing only one dwelling unit.
A building containing only two dwelling units for habitation
by not more than two families.
A building or portion thereof providing complete housekeeping
facilities for one family and which contains independent areas for
living, cooking, sleeping, bathing and sanitary facilities. The term
shall not be deemed to include a recreational vehicle.
Topsoil, sand, gravel, clay, peat, rock or other minerals.
A commercial riding stable which includes instruction in
horsemanship which may also board horses not owned by the facility.
Such a facility may also include both indoor and outdoor riding arenas.
[Added 1-14-2020]
Gas, electrical, communication facilities, steam, fuel or
water transmission or distribution systems, collection, supply or
disposal systems. Such systems may include poles, wires, mains, drains,
sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm and police call boxes,
traffic signals, hydrants and similar accessories, but shall not include
buildings which are necessary for the furnishing of such services
or transmission towers as defined herein.
Any removal of earth from its original position.
A strip of land which is dedicated for the sole purpose of
providing access to a parcel or parcels of land abutting, described
on a deed recorded prior to the effective date of this chapter.
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 months to a use's operating season; or the
use of more floor area or ground area devoted to a particular use.
Any operation engaged in the removal of more than 10 cubic
yards in any twelve-month period of topsoil, sand, gravel, clay, rock
or other like material from its natural location and for transportation
off the lot except as may be exempted within the extractive industry
performance standards in this chapter.
One or more persons occupying a premises and living as a
single housekeeping unit, as distinguished from a group occupying
a boardinghouse, lodging house or hotel as herein defined.
An establishment, including a private residence as defined
under the Rules of the Maine Department of Human Services, Chapter
38, Licensing of Day-Care Homes.
Depositing or dumping any matter on, or into, the ground
or water.
The sum, in square feet, of the floor areas of all roofed
portions of a building, as measured from the exterior faces of the
exterior walls.
The total of all floor areas of a building, excluding the
following: stairwells, elevator shafts, equipment rooms, interior
vehicular parking or loading and all floors below the first or ground
floor, except when used or intended to be used for human habitation
or service to the public.
A forester licensed under 32 M.R.S.A. c. 75.
Includes clearing and other forest resource evaluation activities,
pesticide or fertilizer application, timber stand improvement, pruning,
regeneration of forest stands, and other similar or associated activities,
and the construction, creation or maintenance of land management roads.
[Amended 6-15-2009]
A site-specific document signed by a professional forester
outlining proposed activities to ensure complete standards and regeneration
requirements established by 12 M.R.S.A. § 8868 et seq.,
and any rules promulgated by the Department of Conservation.
The horizontal distance measured along the lot line between
the intersections of the side lot lines with the private or public
right-of-way.
A masonry foundation wall extending below the ground surface,
supported by footings located below the frost line to protect the
structure from frost heaves.
A building or a portion of a building which is rented, leased
or otherwise made available to individuals or groups for the purpose
of hosting a function such as a conference, wedding, banquet, party,
reception or other social event. Such a use may or may not include
kitchen facilities for the preparation or catering of food.
[Added 5-12-2015]
In relation to buildings, the average of the finished ground
level at the center of each wall of a building.
A glass or plastic enclosure used for cultivation or protection
of tender plants.
See "hotel."
An institution providing overnight health services and/or
medical or surgical care. Laboratories, outpatient, training, central
service and staff offices are related uses. A medical-care facility
includes hospitals, nursing homes, convalescent centers and similar
service facilities.
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 use which is conducted by a person(s) on the same lot where such person resides and which does not change the character thereof. Home occupations may be classified into either a "minor" or "major" home occupation as detailed in § 140-43.
An institution providing, but not limited to, overnight health
services, primarily for inpatients, and medical or surgical care for
the sick or injured, including as an integral part of the institution
such related facilities as laboratories, outpatient departments, training
facilities, central services facilities and staff offices.
A building containing guest rooms kept, used, maintained
or held out to the public as a place where lodging and/or meals are
provided. "Hotel" shall include motel, guest houses, tourist courts,
cabins and motor lodges. The hotel may contain such accessory services
and facilities for the benefit of its guests and only incidentally
for the general public as newsstands, personal grooming facilities
and restaurants.
[Amended 5-11-2009]
A ventilation system designed to mitigate and prevent marijuana
odors from detection outside the premises.
[Added 1-14-2020]
A process used for volume reduction of solid waste by means
of controlled combustion. This term does not include cone burners
or the practice of open burning.
An area of land which is not associated with a campground,
but which is developed for repeated camping, by only one group not
to exceed 10 individuals, and which involves site improvements which
may include but not be limited to gravel pads, parking areas, fire
places, or tent platforms. Individual private campsites may be utilized
for a period not to exceed three months total in any given calendar
year.
The assembling, fabrication, finishing, manufacturing, packaging
or processing of goods, or the extraction of minerals.
A single building containing 25 or fewer sleeping rooms and
built or converted to accommodate, for a fee, travelers who are staying
for a limited duration. An inn may provide dining services to its
guests and may host special functions, such as weddings, but does
not include a restaurant to serve the public at-large, unless restaurants
(eating places) are otherwise allowed in the district.
[Added 5-11-2009; amended 1-10-2017]
A yard, field or other area used as place of storage for
any of the following:
Discarded, worn-out or junked plumbing and heating
supplies, household appliances and furniture.
Discarded, scrap and junk lumber.
Old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries,
paper trash, rubber or plastic debris, waste and all scrap iron, steel
and other scrap ferrous or nonferrous material.
Garbage dumps, waste dumps and sanitary fills.
Unserviceable, discarded, worn-out or junked
motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts, unserviceable bikes, lawn
mowers and other similar items.
Any place, building, tract or land, abode, enclosure or vehicle
where three or more dogs or three or more cats are kept for any purpose
for a fee. This definition shall also include dog day-care facilities,
dog grooming and agility facilities for dogs.
[Amended 1-14-2020]
A system of trash and garbage disposal in which the waste
is buried between layers of earth.
Uses intended primarily for the conduct of light manufacturing,
assembling and fabrication and for associated warehousing, wholesaling
and service operations that do not depend primarily on frequent personal
visits of customers or clients or a high number of truck and/or freight
visits per day. Such uses should accommodate a broad spectrum of clean
industries; but noticeable glare, noise, vibration, odor or other
nuisances at the property lines of the property on which the use is
situated are prohibited. Light industrial uses might include software
or computer development, electronics assembly, book, publishing, science
and research facilities, and microbreweries. Light industrial uses
also include contractor services such as landscaping, lawn care, tree
care, plumbing and heating where such services require facilities
to store equipment, materials and vehicles.
[Amended 1-14-2020]
A parcel or tract of land occupied or capable of being occupied
by one or more principal uses or building and the accessory buildings
or uses customarily incidental to it, including such open spaces as
are required by the chapter, having frontage upon a street, and existing
deeded right-of-way or a new deeded right-of-way with a minimum fifty-foot
width and with each principal building located on land identified
as allocable to that building which meets the minimum dimensional
requirement for that district as provided in this chapter.
[Amended 12-12-2023]
The total horizontal area within the lot lines.
A lot with at least two contiguous sides abutting upon a
street or right-of-way.
The percentage of the lot covered by all buildings, parking
areas, roadways, sidewalks and driveways.
Any lot other than a corner lot.
The lines bounding a lot as defined below:
REAR LOT LINEThe lot line opposite the front lot line.
SIDE LOT LINEAny lot line other than the front lot line or rear lot line.
A parcel of land, a legal description of which or the dimensions
of which are recorded on a document or map on file with the County
Registry of Deeds.
Any interior lot having frontages on two more or less parallel
streets or rights-of-way or between a street and a body of water or
a right-of-way and a body of water or between two bodies of water,
as distinguished from a corner lot. All sides of "through lots" adjacent
to streets, rights-of-way and bodies of water shall be considered
frontage, and front yards shall be provided as required.
The horizontal distance between the side lot lines, measured
at the front setback line.
A structural unit or units designed for occupancy and constructed
in a manufacturing facility and transported by the use of its own
chassis or an independent chassis to a building site. This shall include:
The making of goods and articles by hand or machinery. "Manufacturing"
shall include assembling, fabricating, finishing, packaging or processing.
As defined by Maine State Statute or rule.
[Added 1-14-2020]
Cannabis that is acquired, possessed, cultivated, manufactured,
used, delivered, transferred, or transported to treat or alleviate
a qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition or symptoms
associated with the qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A person, licensed hospice provider or licensed nursing facility
that is designated by a qualifying patient to assist the qualifying
patient with the medical use of cannabis in accordance with Maine
state law. A person who is a medical cannabis caregiver must be at
least 21 years of age and may not have been convicted of a disqualifying
drug offense.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A facility used for cultivating, ethanol extraction, and/or
storing medical cannabis by a medical cannabis caregiver at a location
which is not the medical cannabis caregiver's primary year-round residence
or their patient's primary year-round residence. Butane extraction
is considered an industrial use. The maximum size of a medical cannabis
production facility is 2,500 square feet of cultivation area. The
industrial use zones are I1 and I2 for the industrial facilities zoning.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A home-based facility used by a maximum of two registered
caregivers for cultivating, processing, and/or storing of medical
marijuana at a registered caregiver's primary year-round residence.
This definition also includes cultivating marijuana, harvesting marijuana,
drying marijuana, and the packaging and transportation of the product
from the premises or for limited client pick-up. The use is to be
for growing medical marijuana for personal use and for medical cardholding
patients/clients. The use is subject to Town licensing requirements
and all other activities authorized by state law. Only marijuana grown
on the premises shall be allowed on the property at any time with
the exception of the caregiver's personal use. No cannabis grown or
produced products manufactured off the premises shall be transported
to, stored at, sold, packaged, or processed at the property. The property
may not be utilized for commercial resale. No more than 700 designated
square feet per licensed caregiver or, where two registered caregivers
are growing on/within the same property, a maximum of 1,200 designated
square feet of cumulative square feet are permitted for the entire
home occupation operation.
[Added 5-23-2023]
A facility used by three or more registered caregivers for
cultivating, processing, and/or storing of medical marijuana by a
registered caregiver at a location which is not the registered caregiver’s
primary year-round residence or their patient’s primary year-round
residence. This definition also includes cultivating marijuana, harvesting
marijuana, drying marijuana, and the packaging and transportation
of the product from the premises. Medical marijuana shall not be transported
to the licensed facility from any other growing facility. Only marijuana
grown on the premises shall be allowed on the facility at any time.
No marijuana grown off the premises shall be transported to, stored
at, packaged, or processed at the facility. The maximum size of a
medical marijuana cultivation/growing facility on a single lot of
record shall be 2,500 square feet of cultivation area.
[Added 8-17-2021]
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.
The land area of a parcel not including the area of any land
which is part of a right-of-way for a thoroughfare or easement, such
as but not limited to surface drainage easements or traveled rights-of-way
(but not including utility easement servicing that lot), subject to
tidal action or which is part of a major or minor freshwater wetland.
Fully enclosed structures with individual, secured units
which are available for lease or rent by persons other than residents
of the premises for the storage of nonhazardous goods not related
to the sale or manufacture of goods on the same lot.
[Added 1-14-2020]
See "manufactured home."
A parcel of land under unified ownership approved by the
municipality for the placement of three or more "newer mobile homes."
This does not apply to modular homes as described.
A home in which entire sections are constructed in a factory
and shipped to their eventual location where very little on-site labor
is required to piece the sections together.
A building or group of buildings in which lodging is offered
to the general public for compensation and where entrance to rooms
maybe made directly from the outside of the building.
A store of less than 1,500 square feet of floor space intended
to service the convenience of a residential neighborhood and not serving
gas or food that would normally be served in either a restaurant or
fast-food restaurant as defined herein. Allowed is the sale and preparation
of food which is:
[Added 5-11-2009]
The gross acreage available for development, excluding the
area for streets or access and the areas which are unsuitable for
development.
The number of dwelling units per net residential acre.
Related definitions:
dB(A) — The abbreviation designating both
the unit of measuring sound level, the decibel, and the mode of measurement
that uses the A-weighting of a sound level meter.
DECIBEL (dB)The practical unit of measurement for sound pressure level. The number of "decibels" of a measured sound is equal to 20 times the logarithm to the base of 10 of the ratio of the sound pressure of the measured sound to the sound pressure of a standard sound (20 micropascals), abbreviated "dB."
LOUD AND UNREASONABLE NOISEAny sound, the intensity of which exceeds the standards set forth in § 140-28 of this chapter.
A single lot of record which, at the effective date of adoption
of or amendments to this chapter, does not meet the area, frontage,
width or depth requirements of the district in which it is located.
A structure that does not meet one or more of the following
dimensional requirements: setbacks, height, yard and lot coverage.
It is allowed solely because it was in lawful existence at the time
this chapter or subsequent amendments took effect.
Use of premises that is not permitted to locate 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 chapter or subsequent
amendments took place.
Solid waste which does not present a potential or present
danger to people, animals or the natural environment.
Any land, buildings, structures or combination thereof used
for the processing of nonhazardous solid waste, excluding municipally
operated facilities for disposal of nonhazardous used building materials
and discarded vegetation resulting from normal residential maintenance
activities.
An area where plants (trees and shrubs) are grown for transplanting,
for use as stocks for budding or grafting or for sale.
A facility where maintenance and personal or nursing care
are provided for persons who are unable to care for themselves.
A sign erected and maintained in accordance with the Maine
Traveler Information Services Act, 23 M.R.S.A. § 1901 et
seq., which points the way to public accommodations and facilities.
A minimum area of 180 square feet, exclusive of drives, aisles
or entrances, fully accessible for the storage or parking of vehicles.
The opening and closing times of certain businesses or activities
regulated under the conditional use process. This term may apply to
hours of the day or night, days of the week or months of the year.
A commercial use, the primary concern of which is the rendering
of services rather than the sale of products, and which does not meet
the home occupation standards and definition as stated in this chapter.
Personal services may include but not be limited to barbershops, hairdressers,
clothing rental, shoe repair and dog grooming. They shall not include
gasoline stations, hotels, bed and breakfasts, banks, or restaurants.
A land development project comprehensively planned as an
entity via a unitary site plan which permits flexibility in building
siting, mixtures of housing types and land uses, usable open spaces
and the preservation of significant natural features.
See "planned residential development."
The building in which the primary use of the lot is conducted.
The primary use to which the premises are devoted and the
main purpose for which the premises exist.
A road that is privately maintained. A private road shall not receive road maintenance services, including but not limited to snowplowing, drainage, grading, etc., from the Town until the private road is classified and built to the standards of a residential access street, as defined in Chapter 121, § 121-44N, Type of street, and approved by the Code Enforcement Officer, and accepted by the South Berwick Town Council.
[Amended 4-14-2015]
The place of business, which can not be classified as a home
occupation by the definition and standards of this chapter, for doctors,
lawyers, accountants, architects, surveyors, real estate agents, insurance
agents, psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, engineers, and the
like, but not including financial institutions or personal services.
An area designated specifically for passive recreational
use by the general public and involving minimal structural development.
A recreational facility operated by a governmental agency
and open to the general public.
Those owned and operated by a public utility.
Any person, firm, corporation, municipal department, board
or commission authorized to furnish gas, steam, electricity, waste
disposal, communication facilities, transportation or water to the
public.
A person who is certified by Enviro-Cert International in
erosion and sedimentation control practices or is certified by completing
the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Erosion and Sedimentation
Control Practices Workshop, or is a Maine professional engineer with
at least two years' experience in designing erosion and sedimentation
control BMPs.
[Added 5-9-2023]
A vehicle or vehicular attachment designed for temporary
sleeping or living quarters for one or more persons which is not a
dwelling and which may include a pickup camper, travel trailer, camp
trailer and motor home.
A caregiver who is registered by the State of Maine Department
of Administrative and Financial Services, Office of Cannabis Policy
pursuant to 22 M.R.S.A. § 2425-A.
[Added 1-14-2020; amended 5-23-2023]
A person paid to perform a service for a caregiver whether
as an employee or independent contractor, in accordance with Maine
State Statute or rule.
[Added 1-14-2020]
An establishment, located in an enclosed building, which
may provide additional outdoor seating, where meals are prepared on
the premises and served to the public for consumption on the premises;
and where no food or beverages are served directly to occupants of
motor vehicles or directly to pedestrian traffic from an exterior
service opening or counter, or any combination of the foregoing; and
where customers are not encouraged by the design of the physical facilities,
by advertising or by the servicing or packaging procedures to take
out food or beverages for consumption off of the premises.
[Amended 12-9-2014]
An establishment, located in an enclosed building, which
may provide additional outdoor seating, where food is prepared on
the premises and where the normal operation of the business is described
substantially by the following factors:
[Amended 12-9-2014]
The establishment offers both "eat-in" and "take-out"
service.
Customers place their orders at a counter or
window (including drive-up windows) rather than at a table served
by a waiter or waitress.
The predominant method of delivery is that customers
pick up their own orders at a counter or window and then either carry
the orders to a table or seating area within the restaurant or take
the orders out of the restaurant for consumption outside of the building.
(Table service by the establishment's staff during limited hours or
occasional delivery of food items to a customer table or seating area
will not be deemed to be the predominant method of delivery.)
The manner in which the food is prepared, presented
and packaged is essentially the same whether the customer chooses
"eat-in" or "take-out."
A business establishment operating from an enclosed building
on the premises, engaged in the sale, rental or lease of goods or
services to the consumer for personal use or household consumption
and not for resale.
[Amended 12-9-2014]
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.
PUBLIC and PRIVATE(Including parochial schools); Institutions for education or instruction of any branch or branches of knowledge or a place where knowledge is imparted and which satisfies either of the following requirements:
COMMERCIALSchools or institutions which are commercial or profit-oriented. Examples thereof are dancing, music, riding, and correspondence, aquatic schools, driving or business.
Any utility line extension which does not cross or run beneath
any portion of a water body, provided that:
The horizontal distance from a lot line to the nearest part
of a structure.
A name, identification, description, display, notification
or illustration which is affixed to, painted or represented, directly
or indirectly, upon a building, structure, parcel or lot and which
relates to an object, product, place, activity, person, institution,
organization or business on the premises.
A sign that is illuminated by a light source that is not
contained within or on the surface of the sign itself.
[Added 11-22-2016]
Any temporary or permanent sign located more than three feet
from the window glass on any part of any building and which is not
visible from the outside of the building.
[Added 11-22-2016]
A sign that is illuminated by light from a source within
the sign. Examples of internally illuminated signs include internally
illuminated translucent signs, which may have opaque surfaces with
translucent letters or translucent surfaces with opaque letters and
channel letter signs. Other types of internally illuminated signs
include signs using luminous gas-filled tubes (e.g., neon) or light-emitting
diodes (LED).
[Added 11-22-2016]
Any temporary or permanent sign affixed to the surface of
the window glass on any part of any building or any sign which is
within three feet of the window glass and which is visible from the
outside of the building shall be considered a window sign even though
it may not be affixed directly to the glass. Window displays of actual
products or merchandise for sale or rent on the business premises
shall not be considered interior signs.
[Added 11-22-2016]
The land application of a mixture of organic and residual
materials produced by industrial processes, water or sewage treatment
processes or domestic septic tanks.
Nothing shall preclude an individual residence or individual
business from installing solar on the residential or business structure
on the land associated with said structure to be able to benefit the
property owner with solar assistance for electrical power, provided
that all local and state permits have been obtained.
[Added 2-14-2023]
[Added 2-14-2023]
Useless, unwanted or discarded solid material with insufficient
liquid or gaseous content to be free-flowing, including, by way of
example and not limitation, rubbish, garbage, scrap materials, junk,
refuse, inert fill material and landscape refuse, but not including
septic tank sludge, other liquid waste treatment sludge and agricultural
waste.
The sound pressure level measured to decibels with a sound
level meter set for A-weighting. Sound level is expressed in dB(A).
An instrument for the measurement of sound levels conforming
to American National Standards Institute Type I or II Standards.
The level of a sound measured in dB units with a sound level
meter which has a uniform (flat) response over the band of frequencies
measured.
The legal right to challenge a decision rendered under this
chapter. In order to have standing, a person must demonstrate particularized
injury from the challenged decision.
The collection and/or containment of solid waste on a temporary
basis pending permanent disposal.
An existing state, county or Town way, road or a street dedicated
for public use and shown upon a plan duly approved by the Planning
Board and recorded in the York County Registry of Deeds or a street
dedicated for public use and shown on a plan duly recorded in the
York County Registry of Deeds prior to the establishment of the Planning
Board and the grant to the Planning Board of its power to approve
plans or a private road. (See definition of Private Road.) The term
"street" shall not include those ways which have been discontinued
or abandoned.
[Amended 4-14-2015]
Any change involving the removal or replacement of supporting
members of a building, such as posts, columns, plates, joists or girders.
Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires
a fixed location on or in the ground or an attachment to something
having a fixed location on the ground, including buildings, billboards,
signs, commercial park rides and games, carports, porches and other
building features, but not including fences.
Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure,
the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure either before the improvement or repair is started or, if
the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage
occurred. For purposes of this definition, substantial improvement
is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling,
floor or structural part of the building commences, whether or not
that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure.
The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of
a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary
or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure
safe living conditions or for any alteration a structure listed on
the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historical
Places.
Completion of 30% of a permitted structure or use measured
as a percentage of estimated total cost.
A man-made receptacle or excavation designed to hold water
to a depth of at least 24 inches, primarily for swimming or bathing,
whether in the ground or above the ground.
A structure without a permanent foundation capable of providing
shelter to anything placed on, in or under the structure, including
but not limited to tents and trailers. Specifically excluded are pole
barns used to shelter farm animals and/or farm equipment.
A person, company, or other entity who harvests, or contracts
to harvest, a forest product.
The cutting or removing of timber for the primary purpose
of selling or processing forest products. "Timber harvesting" does
not include the clearing of land for approved construction.
A structure used commercially for transmitting and/or receiving
radio, television or electrical waves but not including telephone
and electrical poles.
That the land in question cannot yield a reasonable
return unless a variance is granted.
That the need for a variance is due to the unique
circumstances of the property and not to the general conditions of
the neighborhood.
That the granting of a variance will not alter
the essential character of the locality.
That the hardship is not the result of action
taken by the applicant or a prior owner.
A relaxation of the terms of this chapter. Variances permissible
under this chapter are limited to dimensional and area requirement.
No variance shall be granted for the establishment of any use otherwise
prohibited, nor shall a variance be granted because of the presence
of nonconformities in the immediate or adjacent areas.
Any business which involves a parking or display area for
the sale of new or used cars, trucks, motorcycles, campers, farm equipment,
recreational vehicles, mobile homes or similar products.
Animals, birds or insects capable or acting as a host for,
or carrier of, germs.
A building used for the diagnosis, care and treatment of
ailing or injured animals, which may include overnight accommodations.
The boarding of healthy animals shall be considered a kennel.
The volume of all portions of a structure enclosed by roof
and fixed exterior walls as measured from the exterior faces of these
walls and roof.
A structure or room for the storage, deposit or stocking
of merchandise or commodities.
On-premises storage, repacking, sale and/or distribution
of goods to customers engaged in the business of reselling or conveying
the goods to others. This definition shall not include the sale and/or
distribution of commodities to consumers on a retail basis.
The area of land on a lot not occupied by the principal building.
The area of land between the front lot line and the nearest
part of the principal building.
The area of land between the rear lot line and the nearest
part of the principal building.
The activity of selling or offering to sell household or personal articles (such as, but not limited to, furniture, tools, or clothing) on the lot on which the owner of the articles resides, provided that such activity occurs on no more than twelve days during any calendar year commencing on or after January 1, 1994. Any such activity occurring on more than twelve days per calendar year shall constitute a retail store. Any such activity commenced prior to the adoption of this chapter (10-25-1993) shall not constitute a lawful nonconforming use under § 140-5 of this chapter and can occur only as permitted pursuant to this definition. The term "yard sale" shall include garage sales, porch sales, tag sales, and the like.
The area of land between the side lot line and the nearest
part of the principal building.
