A.
Administering bodies and agents.
B.
Permits required. After the effective date of this chapter, no person
shall, without first obtaining a permit, engage in any activity or
use of land or structure requiring a permit in the district in which
such activity or use would occur; or expand, change, or replace an
existing use or structure; or renew a discontinued nonconforming use.
A person who is issued a permit pursuant to this chapter shall have
a copy of the permit on site while the work authorized by the permit
is performed.
(1)
A permit is not required for the replacement of an existing road
culvert as long as:
(a)
The replacement culvert is not more than 25% longer than the
culvert being replaced;
(b)
The replacement culvert is not longer than 75 feet; and
(c)
Adequate erosion control measures are taken to prevent sedimentation
of the water, and the crossing does not block fish passage in the
watercourse.
(2)
A permit is not required for an archaeological excavation as long
as the excavation is conducted by an archaeologist listed on the State
Historic Preservation Officer's level 1 or level 2 approved list,
and unreasonable erosion and sedimentation is prevented by means of
adequate and timely temporary and permanent stabilization measures.
(3)
Any permit required by this chapter shall be in addition to any other
permit required by other law or ordinance.
C.
Permit application.
(1)
Every applicant for a permit shall submit a written application, including a scaled site plan, on a form provided by the municipality, to the appropriate official as indicated in Chapter 140, Zoning, Attachment 1, Table A, Land Use, Attachment 2, Table B, Dimensional Requirements; and Attachment 3, Table C, Shoreland Dimensional Requirements.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Table C is included at the end of this chapter.
(2)
All applications shall be signed by an owner or individual who can
show evidence of right, title or interest in the property or by an
agent, representative, tenant, or contractor of the owner with authorization
from the owner to apply for a permit hereunder, certifying that the
information in the application is complete and correct.
(3)
All applications shall be dated, and the Code Enforcement Officer
or Planning Board, as appropriate, shall note upon each application
the date and time of its receipt.
(4)
If the property is not served by a public sewer, a valid plumbing
permit or a completed application for a plumbing permit, including
the site evaluation approved by the Plumbing Inspector, shall be submitted
whenever the nature of the proposed structure or use would require
the installation of a subsurface sewage disposal system.
D.
Procedure for administering permits.
(1)
Within 35 days of the date of receiving a written application, the Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer, as indicated in § 110-38B, shall notify the applicant, in writing, either that the application is a complete application, or, if the application is incomplete, that specified additional material is needed to make the application complete. The Planning Board or the Code Enforcement Officer, as appropriate, shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny all permit applications, in writing, within 35 days of receiving a completed application. However, if the Planning Board has a waiting list of applications, a decision on the application shall occur within 35 days after the first available date on the Planning Board's agenda following receipt of the completed application, or within 35 days of the public hearing, if the proposed use or structure is found to be in conformance with the purposes and provisions of this chapter.
(2)
The applicant shall have the burden of proving that the proposed
land use activity is in conformity with the purposes and provisions
of this chapter.
(3)
After the submission of a complete application to the Planning Board,
the Board shall approve an application or approve it with conditions
if it makes a positive finding based on the information presented
that the proposed use:
(a)
Will maintain safe and healthful conditions;
(b)
Will not result in water pollution, erosion, or sedimentation
to surface waters;
(c)
Will adequately provide for the disposal of all wastewater;
(d)
Will not have an adverse impact on spawning grounds, fish, aquatic
life, bird or other wildlife habitat;
(e)
Will conserve shore cover and visual, as well as actual, points
of access to inland and coastal waters;
(f)
Will protect archaeological and historic resources as designated
in the comprehensive plan;
(g)
Will not adversely affect existing commercial fishing or maritime
activities in a Commercial Fisheries/Maritime Activities District;
(h)
Will avoid problems associated with floodplain development and
use; and
(4)
If a permit is either denied or approved with conditions, the reasons,
as well as conditions, shall be stated in writing. No approval shall
be granted for an application involving a structure if the structure
would be located in an unapproved subdivision or would violate any
other local ordinance, or regulation or statute administered by the
municipality.
E.
Special exceptions. In addition to the criteria specified in § 110-38D, above, excepting structure setback requirements, the Planning Board may approve a permit for a single-family residential structure in a Resource Protection District, provided that the applicant demonstrates that all of the following conditions are met:
(1)
There is no location on the property other than a location within
the Resource Protection District where the structure can be built.
(2)
The lot on which the structure is proposed is undeveloped and was
established and recorded in the registry of deeds of the county in
which the lot is located before the adoption of the Resource Protection
District.
(3)
All proposed buildings, sewage disposal systems and other improvements
are:
(a)
Located on natural ground slopes of less than 20%; and
(b)
Located outside the floodway of the one-hundred-year floodplain
along rivers and artificially formed great ponds along rivers and
outside the velocity zone in areas subject to tides, based on detailed
flood insurance studies and as delineated on the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps and Flood Insurance
Rate Maps; all buildings, including basements, are elevated at least
one foot above the one-hundred-year floodplain elevation; and the
development is otherwise in compliance with any applicable municipal
floodplain ordinance. If the floodway is not shown on the Federal
Emergency Management Agency Maps, it is deemed to be 1/2 the width
of the one-hundred-year floodplain.
(4)
The total ground-floor area, including cantilevered or similar overhanging
extensions, of all principal and accessory structures is limited to
a maximum of 1,500 square feet. This limitation shall not be altered
by variance.
(5)
All structures, except functionally water-dependent structures, are
set back from the normal high-water line of a water body, tributary
stream or upland edge of a wetland to the greatest practical extent,
but not less than 100 feet, horizontal distance. In determining the
greatest practical extent, the Planning Board shall consider the depth
of the lot, the slope of the land, the potential for soil erosion,
the type and amount of vegetation to be removed, the proposed building
site's elevation in regard to the floodplain, and its proximity to
moderate-value and high-value wetlands.
F.
Expiration of permit. Permits shall expire one year from the date
of issuance if a substantial start is not made in construction or
in the use of the property during that period. If a substantial start
is made within one year of the issuance of the permit, the applicant
shall have one additional year to complete the project, at which time
the permit shall expire.
G.
Installation of public utility service. A public utility, water district,
sewer district or any utility company of any kind may not install
services to any new structure located in the Shoreland Zone unless
written authorization attesting to the validity and currency of all
local permits required under this chapter or any previous ordinance
has been issued by the appropriate municipal officials or other written
arrangements have been made between the municipal officials and the
utility.
A.
The Board of Appeals may, upon written application of an aggrieved party and after public notice, hear appeals from determinations of the Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer in the administration of this chapter. Such hearing shall be held in accordance with § 140-76C. Following such hearing, the Board of Appeals may reverse the decision of the Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer only upon a finding that the decision is clearly contrary to specific provisions of this chapter by the concurring vote of a majority of the votes cast.
B.
Notwithstanding § 110-39A above, the Board of Appeals may grant a variance to an owner of a residential dwelling for the purpose of making that dwelling accessible to a person with a disability who resides in or regularly uses the dwelling. The board shall restrict any variance granted under this subsection solely to the installation of equipment or the construction of structures necessary for access to or egress from the dwelling by the person with the disability. The Board may impose conditions on the variance, including limiting the variance to the duration of the disability or to the time that the person with the disability lives in the dwelling. The term "structures necessary for access to or egress from the dwelling" shall include railing, wall or roof systems necessary for the safety or effectiveness of the structure.
C.
A copy of each variance request, including the application and all
supporting information supplied by the applicant, shall be forwarded
by the municipal officials to the Commissioner of the Department of
Environmental Protection at least 20 days prior to action by the Board
of Appeals. Any comments received from the Commissioner prior to the
action by the Board of Appeals shall be made part of the record and
shall be taken into consideration by the Board of Appeals.
See Appendix I, Table A, Land Use.[1] Table of land uses. All land use activities, as indicated in Table A, Land Use, in the Shoreland Zone, shall conform with all of the applicable shoreland standards in Article V. The district designation for a particular site shall be determined from the Official Shoreland Zoning Map.
