Town of Gorham, ME - Chapter I

Except where specifically defined herein, all words used in this Code shall carry their customary meanings. Words used in the present tense include the future, and the plural includes the singular; the word "lot" includes the word "plot"; the word "building" includes the word "structure"; the word "shall" is always mandatory; "occupied" or "used" shall be considered as though followed by the words "or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied".

Abandonment - For the purposes of this ordinance only, any well or borehole of such condition as to be of no possible further use. A properly capped dry well at the time of drilling may not be considered abandoned. Abandonment requires the complete sealing of a well or borehole with grout or other impermeable material to prevent contamination of the aquifer.

Area of Special Flood Hazard - The land in the floodplain having a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year, as specifically identified in the Flood Insurance Study cited in this Ordinance.

Building - Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls and intended for the shelter, housing, or enclosure of persons, animals or chattel. Each portion of a building, separated from other portions by a fire wall, shall be considered as a separate structure.

Business and Professional Offices - Offices for the conduct of business and involve no sales of tangible products available on the premises for storage of materials or equipment which are used off the premises. The following uses are not considered business and professional offices:

Business Services - An activity that supplies a direct service to business, including, by way of example, advertising, credit reporting and collection, mailing and reproduction, care of buildings, personnel supply, computer and data processing, market research, and management and public relations.

Cluster Residential Development - A form of development which allows a developer to create smaller lots than required by the applicable zoning district regulations in return for setting aside a portion of the tract as permanent open space owned and maintained jointly by the individual lot owners.

Condominium - Means real estate, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions under a declaration, or an amendment to a declaration, duly recorded pursuant to the Maine Condominium Act (33 MRSA 1601-101-1604-118), as may be amended from time to time. Real estate is not a condominium unless the undivided interest in the common elements are vested in the unit owners. Any real estate development consisting exclusively of clustered, detached, single family residences is not a condominium, unless so designated in the declaration.

Corner Lots - In districts where yards are required: Such corner lots, located at the intersection of two streets, shall be deemed to have a side rather than a front yard between the principal building and the side street. Such side yard shall not be less than the front yard requirements of uses located on the side street.

Such corner lots located at the intersection of two streets, shall be deemed to have a side rather than a rear yard between the principal building and the abutting property on the side street. Such side yard shall not be less than the side yard requirements of uses located on the side street.

Drive-throuqh Service - A retail or service activity in which the customer the customer does not leave his/her motor vehicle to complete the transaction, and which complies with the following requirements:

Dwelling - A building designed or used as the living quarters for one or more families. The term shall not be deemed to include a hotel, motel, rooming house, mobile home, manufactured housing unit or trailer, but shall include a modular housing unit consisting of two or more units of which neither unit is a complete dwelling unit and which is constructed in accordance with the BOCA Building Code.

Dwelling Unit - A room or group of rooms forming a habitable unit for one family with facilities used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating. The term shall not be deemed to include trailers.

Essential Services - The construction, alteration or maintenance of gas, electrical or communication facilities; steam, fuel, electric power or water transmission or distribution lines, towers and related equipment; telephone cables or lines, poles and related equipment; gas, oil, water, slurry or other similar pipelines; municipal sewage lines, collection or supply systems; and associated storage tanks. Such systems may include towers, poles, wires, mains, drains, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarms and police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and similar accessories, but shall not include service drops or buildings which are necessary for the furnishing of such services. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Flood Insurance Rate Map - The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the Town of Gorham, Maine.

Floor Area Ratio - A measure of the intensity of the use of a piece of property determined by dividing the sum of the gross floor area of all floors of all principal buildings or structures by the total area of the parcel.

Forest Management Activities - Timber cruising and other forest resources evaluation activities, pesticide or fertilizer application, management planning activities, timber stand improvement, pruning, regeneration of forest stands, and other similar or associated activities, exclusive of timber harvesting and the construction, creation or maintenance of roads. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

1. of ten or more contiguous areas; or of less than 10 contiguous acres and adjacent to a surface water body, excluding any river, stream or brook such that in a natural state, the combined surface area is in excess of 10 acres; and

2. inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and a duration sufficient to support, and which under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of wetland vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils.

Freshwater wetlands may contain small stream channels or inclusions of land that do not conform to the criteria of this definition. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Front Building Line - Line parallel to the front lot line transecting that point in the building face which is closest to the front lot line. This face includes porches, whether enclosed or unenclosed but does not include steps.

Functionally Water-Dependent Uses - Those uses that require, for their primary purpose, location on submerged lands or that require direct access to, or location in, coastal and inland waters and which cannot be located away from these waters. The uses include, but are not limited to, commercial and recreational fishing and boating facilities, fish processing, fish storage and retail and wholesale fish marketing facilities, waterfront dock and port facilities, shipyards and boat building facilities, marinas, navigation aides, basins and channels, industrial uses dependent upon water-borne transportation or requiring large volumes of cooling or processing water and which cannot reasonably be located or operated at an inland site, and uses which primary provide general public access to waters. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Funeral Home - A building used for the preparation of the deceased for the burial and display of the deceased and rituals connected therewith before burial or cremation. A funeral home, as defined for purposes of this code, includes a funeral chapel.

Great pond - Any inland body of water which in a natural state has a surface area in excess of ten acres, and any inland body of water artificially formed or increased which has a surface area in excess of thirty (30) acres except for the purposes of this Ordinance, where the artificially formed or increased inland body of water is completely surrounded by land held by a single owner. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Groundwater - All the water found beneath the surface of the ground that is present in soil pore space or in bedrock cracks or fractures. In this Code, the term refers to the subsurface water present in aquifers, wells, recharge areas, and discharge areas.

Height of Building - The vertical measurement from grade to the highest point of the roof beams in flat roofs; to the highest point on the deck of mansard roofs; to a level midway between the level of the eaves and highest point of pitched roofs or hip roofs; or to a level two-thirds of distance from the level of the eaves to the highest point of gambrel roofs. For this purpose, the level of the eaves shall be taken to mean the highest level where the plane of the roof intersects the plane of the outside wall on a side containing the eaves.

Home Occupation - An occupation or profession which is: accessory to a residential use and is customarily carried on in a dwelling unit or in a building or other structure accessory to a dwelling unit; carried on by a member of the family residing in the dwelling unit; clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes; conforms with the following conditions:

3) There shall be no exterior display, no exterior sign (except as expressly permitted by the district regulations of this chapter), no exterior storage of materials and no other exterior indication of the home occupation or variation from the residential character of the principal building.

6) In addition to the off-street parking provided to meet the normal requirements of the dwelling, adequate off-street parking shall be provided for the vehicles of each employee and the vehicles of the maximum number of users the home occupation may attract during peak operating hours.

Household Pets - Those animals normally considered as household companions, and not including horses, cows, sheep, goats, mink, swine, chickens, turkeys or any animals raised for sale or for the sale of their products.

Hydraulic or Hydro Fracturing - The process of putting hydraulic pressure on the bedrock surrounding a borehole for the purpose of enhancing the flow rate of ground water that may be produced from the borehole.

Impervious Coverage Ratio - A measure of the intensity of the use of a piece of property determined by dividing the total area of the site covered by impervious surface including roofs, parking lots, roads, access drives, service areas, paved drainage ways, and similar impervious surfaces by the total area of the parcel.

Junk Yard - A lot or part thereof, exposed to the elements, which is used for the sale or for the storage for sale of second-hand products or materials, for the storage of any three or more automobiles or trucks which cannot pass the state inspection test in their existing condition.

Light Industrial Use - The fully enclosed assembly or fabrication of materials, but excluding basic processes such as smelting, refining, distilling, forging, brewing and similar processes involving converting raw materials to a finished or semi-finished product.

Lot - A parcel of land in single ownership occupied or capable of being occupied by one building and the accessory buildings or uses customarily incidental to it, including such open spaces as are required by this Code, and having frontage upon a street as defined herein.

Manufactured Housing Unit - A mobile home constructed after June 15, 1976, which the manufacturer certifies is constructed in compliance with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Standards and which meets the following additional standards, or a Modular Home constructed after January 1, 1984, which the manufacturer certifies is constructed in compliance with the State of Maine's Manufactured Housing Act and Regulations and complies with the following additional standards:

3. The exterior wall surfaces are covered with materials similar to traditional site-built housing units. These materials may include clapboards, simulated clapboards such as conventional vinyl or metal siding, wood shingles or shakes or similar materials, but shall not include smooth, ribbed or corrugated metal or plastic panels.

Mobile Home - A factory-built housing unit constructed after June 15, 1976, which the manufacturer certifies is constructed in compliance with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Standards, meaning a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is 14 feet or more in width and has 750 or more square feet of floor area, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling unit, with or without permanent foundations, when connected to the required utilities, including the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained herein, and which does not comply with the definition of a manufactured housing unit.

Mobile Home Park - A contiguous parcel of land having a minimum area of 25 acres and plotted for the development of a minimum of 25 mobile home lots which are to be rented, leased or sold.

Mobile Vending Unit - A vehicle, trailer, van, pushcart or portable structure which is temporarily located on private property for the purpose of operating a retail business or service business and removed from the site every day, but which does not include such structures temporarily located on any particular private property for such purposes for less than one-half hour. It shall not include such uses as construction offices during the duration of a building project or sales as part of an approved farmers market, fair or similar event.

Modular Housing Unit A residential dwelling unit designed for transportation, after fabrication, to the site where it is to be occupied as two or more component parts which must be assembled into a livable dwelling unit on site. No component part of the Modular Housing Unit shall be a complete dwelling unit. A Modular Housing Unit must be placed on a permanent foundation and comply with all regulations of this code governing dwellings.

Motel - A building or group of detached or connected buildings designed or intended or used primarily for the providing of sleeping accommodations for automobile travelers and having a parking space adjacent to a sleeping room. An automobile court or a tourist court with more than one unit or a motel lodge shall be deemed to be a motel.

Net Acreage - The area of any parcel generally suitable, in its natural state, for development and theoretically related to the natural capacity of the land to support a certain intensity of use. The net acreage shall be determined by subtracting unsuitable areas from the gross acreage of the parcel. The following original land areas shall be considered unsuitable and shall be deducted in the following order:

1. Fifteen (15) percent of the total acreage of the parcel as an estimated allowance for new access roads and parking areas, whether or not the actual area devoted to these uses is greater or less than 15 percent

2. Areas that are, because of existing land uses, natural features, or lack of access, isolated and unavailable for building purposes or for use in common with the remainder of the parcel, as determined by the Town Planner, whose determination is subject to Planning Board review in the event of a dispute.

5. Areas of rights-of-way and easements, except for new access roads deducted above and rights-of-way easements for landscaped buffer strips and walking/bicycle paths not part of a street right-of-way.

7. Areas with a sustained slope of 33 percent or more. Slope areas of 20 to 33 percent shall also be deducted unless the developer can demonstrate to the Planning Board's satisfaction that these slopes will be used as part of the overall plan for the development, that they are stable for structures, if so utilized, and that any slope development will minimize soil erosion and comply with Maine State Plumbing Code.

9. Areas with very poorly drained soils, as measured from a high-intensity soils map prepared by a certified soil scientist in accordance with the National Cooperative Soil Survey Classification:

10. For sites not served by public sewer and water, fifty (50) percent of the areas with poorly drained soils, and twenty-five (25) percent of the areas with soils with multiple drainage classifications, one of which is poorly drained (i.e., poorly drained to somewhat poorly drained), as measured from a high-intensity soils map prepared by a certified soil scientist in accordance with the National Cooperative Soil Survey Classification. This deduction is to account for the marginal development suitability of these soils if public sewer and water are not available.

No building or structure shall be sited in areas treated as 100 percent deductions from the parcel's gross area. Siting of structures in areas treated as 50 percent deductions shall be discouraged but permitted where the applicant/developer demonstrates that measures will be taken to minimize erosion, sedimentation, and seasonal wetness, that these areas are stable for the siting of structures and that proposed subsurface waste disposal systems are sited away from marginal soils and otherwise meet the State of Maine Subsurface Waste Disposal Rules.

Net Residential Density - The maximum number of dwelling units allowed on a parcel of land. The net residential density of a parcel is determined by dividing the net acreage* of the parcel by the minimum lot area per dwelling unit.

Non conforming Use - A building, structure or use of land existing at the time of enactment of this Code, and which does not conform to the regulations of the district or zone in which it is situated.

Normal High-Water - That line which is apparent from visible markings, changes in the character of the soils due to prolonged action of the water or changes in vegetation, and which distinguishes between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial land. In the case of wetlands adjacent to rivers and great ponds, the normal high-water line is the upland edge of the wetland, and not the edge of the open water. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Overpumping - Pumping a well at a flow rate and duration sufficient to mobilize fine sediment out of bedrock fractures (or out of soil for screened wells) to increase the flow rate of groundwater into a well. Such pumping often causes large

Parking Space - Parking space shall mean an area of not less than 200 square feet, exclusive of drives or aisles giving access thereto, accessible from streets or aisles leading to streets and usable for the storage or parking of passenger vehicles. Parking space or access thereto shall be construed as to be usable year round.

Personal Services - Includes barber, hairdresser, beauty parlor, shoe repair, shoe shine, laundry, laundromat, dry cleaner, photographic studio, and businesses providing similar services of a personal nature.

Permanent: Structures which remain in or over the water for seven (7) months or more in any period of twelve (12) consecutive months. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Alluvial, Cornish, Charles, Fryeburg, Hadley, Limerick, Lovewell, Medomak, Ondawa, Podunk, Rumney, Saco, Suncook, Sunday, Winooski. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Repair Services - Businesses providing for the repair of personal and business property such as radios and televisions; electrical and electronic equipment; watches, clocks, and jewelry; furniture and upholstery; musical instruments, sporting equipment; small engines and equipment; and similar items but not including the repair of motor vehicles, boats, recreational vehicles, or heavy equipment. Retail sales of parts and supplies shall be allowed provided such sales are accessory to the repair service.

Retail Store - Includes enclosed restaurant, cafe, shop, and store for the sale of retail goods, and shall exclude any drive-up service, free-standing retail stand, gasoline service and motor vehicle repair service, new and used car sales and service, trailer and mobile home sales and service, and similar uses.

River - A free-flowing body of water including its associated flood plain wetlands from that point at which it provides drainage for a watershed of twenty-five (25) square miles to its mouth. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Roadside Stand - A building or structure used for the retail sales of fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs or plants. In addition, it may involve the accessory sales of other unprocessed foodstuffs, home processed food products such as jams, jellies, pickles, sauces or baked goods and home-made handicrafts. The floor area devoted to the sales of these accessory items shall not exceed 50% of the total sales area. No commercially packaged handicrafts or commercially processed or packaged foodstuffs shall be sold at a roadside stand.

Rooming House - Any dwelling in which more than three persons, whether individually or as families are housed for compensation with or without meals. This shall be deemed to include fraternity and sorority houses.

b. the extension requiring the installation of new utility poles or placement underground is less than one thousand (1,000) feet in length. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Setback, Norma High Water Line - The nearest horizontal distance from the normal high-water line to the nearest part of a structure, road, parking space or other regulated object or area. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Shore Frontage - The length of a lot bordering on a water body measured in a straight line between the intersections of the lot lines with the shoreline at normal high-water elevation. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Sign - Any structure or part thereof attached thereto or painted or represented thereon, which shall display or include any letter, word, model, banner, flag, Pennant, insignia, device or representation used as, or which is in the nature of an announcement, direction or advertisement. The word "sign" does not include the flag, pennant or insignia of any nation, state, city or other political unit, or of any political, educational, charitable, philanthropic, civic, professional, religious or like campaign, drive, movement, or event.

Special Exception - A special exception is a use that would not be appropriate generally or without restriction throughout the zoning district but which, if controlled as to number, area, location, or relation to the neighborhood, would promote the public health, safety, welfare, morals, order, comfort, convenience, appearance, prosperity, or general welfare. Such uses may be permitted in such zoning districts as special exceptions, if specific provision for such special exceptions is made in Chapter I of this Code.

Stream - A free-flowing body of water from the outlet of a great pond or the confluence of two (2) perennial streams as depicted on the most recent edition of a United States Geological Survey 7.5 minute series topographic map, or if not available, a 15-minutes series topographic map, to the point where the body of water becomes a river. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Street - A way established and maintained under public authority, or a fifty (50) foot wide recorded private way approved by the Planning Board, or a way shown on a plan of a subdivision duly approved by the Planning Board.

Structure - Anything built for (I) use or occupancy by or (ii) support shelter or enclosure of persons, animal, goods or property of any kind. For the purpose of this ordinance, the term "structure" shall not include:

Subdivision - The division of a tract or parcel of land into three (3) or more lots as defined by the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Title 30, Sec. 4956, as amended, within any five (5) year period.

Substantial Improvemen - Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of 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 of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historical Places.

Timber Harvesting - The cutting and removal of trees from their growing site, and the attendant operation of cutting and skidding machinery but not the construction or creation of roads. Timber harvesting does not include of land for approved construction. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Trailer - Trailer shall mean any vehicle used or so constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance on the public streets and highways and duly licensed as such, and constructed in such a manner as will permit occupancy thereof as a temporary dwelling for one or more persons. A trailer shall not be construed as a mobile home for the purposes of this Code.

Tributary Stream - A channel between defined banks created by the action of surface water, whether intermittent or perennial, and which is characterized by the lack of upland vegetation or presence of aquatic vegetation and by the presence of a bed devoid of topsoil containing waterborne deposits of exposed soil, parent material or bedrock, and which flows to a water body or wetland as defined. This definition does not include the term "stream" as defined elsewhere in this Ordinance, and only applies to that portion of the tributary stream located within the shoreland zone of the receiving water body or wetland.

Variance - A variance is a relaxation of the terms of this Code where such variance will not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of the actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of the Code will result in unnecessary or undue hardship. As used in this Code, a variance is authorized only for relief from the Space Standards applying to the district in which the property is located. Establishment or expansion of a use otherwise prohibited shall not be allowed by variance, nor shall a variance be granted because of the presence of non conforming uses in the particular district or adjoining district.

Village Character - A pattern of land use and building development that is consistent with the “selected concepts” set out in Section III. Alternative Concepts, of the Gorham Main Street Master Plan.

Water Crossing - Any project extending from one bank to the opposite bank of a river or stream, whether under, through, or over the water course. Such projects include but may not be limited to roads, fords, bridges, culverts, and water lines, and cables as well as maintenance work on these crossings. (Applies to Shoreland Area Protection, Chapter II, E.)

Yard Front - An open unoccupied space on the same lot with the building or structure between the front line of the building or structure and the front line of the lot and extending the full width of the lot.

Yard Rear - An open unoccupied space on the same lot with the building or structure between the rear line of the building or structure and the rear line of the lot and extending the full width of the lot.

Yard Side - An open unoccupied space on the same lot with the building or structure situated between the building and the side line of the lot and extending from the front yard to the rear yard. Any lot line not a rear line or a front line shall be deemed a side line.