Code of Maine Rules › 06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL › Chapter 1000 - GUIDELINES FOR MUNICIPAL SHORELAND ZONING ORDINANCES › Section 096-1000-15 - Land Use Standards

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
All land use activities within the shoreland zone shall
				  conform with the following provisions, if applicable.
NOTE
: Municipalities should review the land use
				  standards contained herein to determine whether they will result in a scale of
				  development that is compatible with existing development or with the future
				  desired scale of development. If not, more restrictive land use standards may
				  be adopted by the municipality.
A. Minimum Lot Standards
Minimum Lot
Area (sq. ft.)
Minimum
						  Shore
Frontage (ft.)
(1)
(a) Residential per dwelling unit
(i) Within the Shoreland Zone Adjacent to Tidal
						  Areas
30,000
150
(ii) Within the Shoreland Zone Adjacent to Non-Tidal
						  Areas
40,000
200
(b) Governmental, Institutional,
						  Commercial or Industrial per principal structure
(i) Within the Shoreland Zone Adjacent to Tidal Areas,
						  Exclusive of Those Areas Zoned for Commercial Fisheries and Maritime
						  Activities
40,000
200
(ii) Within the Shoreland Zone Adjacent to Tidal Areas
						  Zoned for Commercial Fisheries and Maritime Activities
NONE
NONE
(iii) Within the Shoreland Zone Adjacent to Non-tidal
						  Areas
60,000
300
(c) Public and Private Recreational
						  Facilities
(i) Within the Shoreland Zone Adjacent to Tidal and
						  Non-Tidal Areas
40,000
200
NOTE
: In a district equivalent to a General
				  Development District that is served by municipal water and sewer systems the
				  Department may approve a municipal shoreland zoning ordinance that provides for
				  greater residential densities than set forth in Section
				  15(A)(1)
				  above.
(2) Land below the normal
				high-water line of a water body or upland edge of a wetland and land beneath
				roads serving more than two (2) lots shall not be included toward calculating
				minimum lot area.
(3) Lots 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 after September 22, 1971.
(4) The minimum width of any portion of any
				lot within one hundred (100) feet, horizontal distance, of the normal
				high-water line of a water body or upland edge of a wetland shall be equal to
				or greater than the shore frontage requirement for a lot with the proposed
				use.
(5) If more than one
				residential dwelling unit, principal governmental, institutional, commercial or
				industrial structure or use, or combination thereof, is constructed or
				established on a single parcel, all dimensional requirements shall be met for
				each additional dwelling unit, principal structure, or use.
NOTE
: Municipalities may include provisions for
				  clustered housing within the shoreland zone provided that the overall
				  dimensional requirements, including frontage and lot area per dwelling unit,
				  are met. When determining whether dimensional requirements are met, only land
				  area within the shoreland zone shall be considered.
B.
Principal and Accessory
				Structures
(1) All new principal and
				accessory structures shall be set back at least one hundred (100) feet,
				horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line of great ponds classified
				GPA and rivers that flow to great ponds classified GPA, and seventy-five (75)
				feet, horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line of other water
				bodies, tributary streams, or the upland edge of a wetland, except that in the
				General Development I District the setback from the normal high-water line
				shall be at least twenty five (25) feet, horizontal distance, and in the
				Commercial Fisheries/Maritime Activities District there shall be no minimum
				setback. In the Resource Protection District the setback requirement shall be
				250 feet, horizontal distance, except for structures, roads, parking spaces or
				other regulated objects specifically allowed in that district in which case the
				setback requirements specified above shall apply.
NOTE
: The
Natural Resources Protection
				  Act
, 38 M.S.R.A. sections 480-A through 480-HH, requires the
				  Department of Environmental Protection to designate areas of "significant
				  wildlife habitat".
Permitting under the
Natural Resources Protection
				  Act
for activities adjacent to significant wildlife habitat areas may
				  require greater setbacks. Contact your local Department of Environmental
				  Protection office to see if additional permitting is required.
In addition
:
(a) The water body, tributary stream, or
				wetland setback provision shall neither apply to structures which require
				direct access to the water body or wetland as an operational necessity, such as
				piers, docks and retaining walls, nor to other functionally water-dependent
				uses.
(b) All principal structures
				along Significant River Segments as listed in 38 M.R.S.A. section 437 (see
				Appendix A), shall be set back a minimum of one hundred and twenty-five (125)
				feet, horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line and shall be
				screened from the river by existing vegetation. This provision does not apply
				to structures related to hydropower facilities.
(c) For principal structures, water and
				wetland setback measurements shall be taken from the top of a coastal bluff
				that has been identified on Coastal Bluff maps as being "highly unstable" or
				"unstable" by the Maine Geological Survey pursuant to its "Classification of
				Coastal Bluffs" and published on the most recent Coastal Bluff map. If the
				applicant and the permitting official(s) are in disagreement as to the specific
				location of a "highly unstable" or "unstable" bluff, or where the top of the
				bluff is located, the applicant may at his or her expense, employ a Maine
				Registered Professional Engineer, a Maine Certified Soil Scientist, a Maine
				State Geologist, or other qualified individual to make a determination. If
				agreement is still not reached, the applicant may appeal the matter to the
				board of appeals.
NOTE
: A municipality may choose not to adopt
				  subparagraph B(1)(d) below. However, if a municipality elects to adopt a
				  provision similar to that subparagraph, it must be no less
				  restrictive.
(d) On a
				non-conforming lot of record on which only a residential structure exists, and
				it is not possible to place an accessory structure meeting the required water
				body, tributary stream or wetland setbacks, the code enforcement officer may
				issue a permit to place a single accessory structure, with no utilities, for
				the storage of yard tools and similar equipment. Such accessory structure shall
				not exceed eighty (80) square feet in area nor eight (8) feet in height, and
				shall be located as far from the shoreline or tributary stream as practical and
				shall meet all other applicable standards, including lot coverage and
				vegetation clearing limitations. In no case shall the structure be located
				closer to the shoreline or tributary stream than the principal structure.
NOTE
: All tidal land which is subject to tidal
				  action during the highest annual tide is coastal wetland.
NOTE
: A municipality may within its ordinance,
				  authorize the Planning Board to increase the required setback of a proposed
				  structure, as a condition to permit approval, if necessary to accomplish the
				  purposes of this or dinance. Instances where a greater setback may be
				  appropriate include, but are not limited to: areas of steep slope; shallow or
				  erodible soils; or where an adequate vegetative buffer does not exist.
NOTE
: A tributary stream may be perennial or
				  intermittent. Where a tributary stream is present within the shoreland zone,
				  setback standards from that tributary stream are
				  applicable.