Code of Maine Rules › 06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL › Chapter 1000 - GUIDELINES FOR MUNICIPAL SHORELAND ZONING ORDINANCES › Section 096-1000-13 - Establishment of Districts

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Resource
				Protection District.
The Resource Protection District includes areas in
				which development would adversely affect water quality, productive habitat,
				biological ecosystems, or scenic and natural values. This district shall
				include the following areas when they occur within the limits of the shoreland
				zone, exclusive of the Stream Protection District, except that areas which are
				currently developed and areas which meet the criteria for the Limited
				Commercial, General Development I, or Commercial Fisheries/Maritime Activities
				Districts need not be included within the Resource Protection District.
(1) Floodplains along rivers and floodplains
				along artificially formed great ponds along rivers, defined by the 100 year
				floodplain as designated on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA)
				Flood Insurance Rate Maps or Flood Hazard Boundary Maps, or the flood of
				record, or in the absence of these, by soil types identified as recent
				floodplain soils. This district shall also include 100 year floodplains
				adjacent to tidal waters as shown on FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps or Flood
				Hazard Boundary Maps.
(2) Areas of
				two or more contiguous acres with sustained slopes of 20% or greater.
(3) Areas of two (2) or more contiguous acres
				supporting wetland vegetation and hydric soils, which are not part of a
				freshwater or coastal wetland as defined, and which are not surficially
				connected to a water body during the period of normal high water.
NOTE
: These areas usually consist of forested
				  wetlands abutting water bodies and non-forested wetlands.
(4) Land areas along rivers subject to severe
				bank erosion, undercutting, or river bed movement, and lands adjacent to tidal
				waters which are subject to severe erosion or mass movement, such as steep
				coastal bluffs.
NOTE
: Municipalities may also include the
				  following other areas which have been recommended for protection in the
				  comprehensive plan of the municipality, or as otherwise endorsed for protection
				  by the municipal legislative body, such as:
A. Other important wildlife
				habitat;
B. Natural sites of
				significant scenic or esthetic value;
C. Areas designated by federal, state or
				municipal governments as natural areas of significance to be protected from
				development; and
D. Other
				significant areas which should be included in this district to fulfill the
				purposes of this Ordinance, such as, but not limited to, existing public access
				areas and certain significant archaeological and historic sites deserving of
				long-term protection as determined by the municipality after consultation with
				the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
E. Areas within 250 feet, horizontal
				distance, of the upland edge of freshwater and/or coastal wetlands, which are
				rated "moderate" or "high" value waterfowl and wading bird habitat, including
				nesting and feeding areas, by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and
				Wildlife (MDIF&W). These areas are generally depicted on a Geographic
				Information System (GIS) data layer.