Opinion ID: 2076302
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Interpretation of the Biddeford Zoning Ordinance

Text: The article of the Biddeford Zoning Ordinance that specifies the use and size provisions for lots and structures in the City's different zones requires that houses built in the single family coastal residential zone have the following front yard setback: All buildings, structures and parts thereof shall be set back at least forty (40) feet from the major access road to the lot on which they are erected.... That generally applicable provision is, however, subject to a grandfather clause that permits a reduced setback on residential streets already developed at the enactment of the setback provision: B. A new structure may be permitted to be built with the greater of the following front yard setbacks: 1. The setback will be equal to the average front yard setback of the existing houses on the immediately adjacent lots, 2. The setback shall be at least fifteen (15) feet; 3. These provisions shall apply only along existing residential street which were developed prior to the enactment of the present front yard setback requirements. The parties do not dispute that Ocean Spray Avenue is a residential street that was developed before the enactment of the 40-foot setback requirement in the single family coastal residential zone. They do, however, dispute whether the grandfather setback provision controls the setback for Johnson's house. In approving Johnson's permit to build a house with a 15-foot setback, the Board of Appeals applied the grandfather setback provision, determining that because only one lot adjacent to Johnson's had a house, the average of the setbacks of adjacent lots could not dictate Johnson's setback. Consequently, Johnson was entitled, by default, to build with a 15-foot setback, the minimum that the grandfather provision allows. The Harringtons contend that decision to be error; that because no average of a single number could be taken, the grandfather provision cannot apply at all, and that Johnson must build with the usual 40-foot setback required in the single family coastal residential zone. We agree with the Board of Appeals that Johnson is entitled to build with a 15-foot setback, but we arrive at our conclusion through a different analysis. When the provisions of the Biddeford ordinance are read together, it is apparent that the grandfather setback provision controls the setback for houses to be built on any residential street that has been developed prior to the enactment of the present front yard setback requirements in all of the zones that Biddeford has created. Consequently, that provision and not the generally applicable setback controls lots like Johnson's on Ocean Spray Avenue. Although a literal application of the grandfather provision may be difficult because there is only one house facing Ocean Spray Avenue that is on a lot immediately adjacent to Johnson's, the overall purpose of the grandfather setback provision is not at all difficult to discern. The municipal legislature plainly intended that any house to be built on a grandfathered lot should have a setback that is consistent with that of existing houses on the same street. If there is only one improved lot adjacent to an empty lot, then any house on that empty lot is entitled to be built with the same setback as that of the adjacent existing house, subject to the prescribed minimum. Because the Hillman house next door to the Johnson lot had an existing 15-foot setback from Ocean Spray Avenue, Johnson is not required to build with any greater setback. The entry is: Judgment affirmed. All concurring.