Article 2 - Definition Of Terms Used In This Ordinance
In this ordinance, certain words shall be interpreted as follows: the word person includes groups such as a firm, association, partnership, company, or corporation as well as an individual: the word shall is mandatory; the word may is permissive. Terms not defined shall have the customary dictionary meaning.
Accessory structure or use – a use or structure which is incidental and subordinate to the principal use or structure. Accessory uses, when aggregated shall not subordinate the principal use of the lot.
Agriculture – the production, keeping or maintenance for sale or lease, of plants and/or animals, including but not limited to: forages and sod crops; grains and seed crops; dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock; fruit and vegetable; and ornamental and greenhouse products.
Aggrieved party – the owner of land whose property is directly or indirectly affected by the granting or denial; of a permit or variance under this ordinance; a person whose land abuts land for which a permit or variance has been granted; or any other person or group of persons who have suffered particularized injury as a result of the granting or denial of such permit or variance.
Aquaculture – the growing or propagation of harvestable freshwater, estuarine, or marine plant or animal species.
Automobile graveyard or junkyard – a yard, field or other area occupied by two or more unserviceable, inoperative, discarded, worn-out or junked motor vehicles; or occupied by autobodies, engines, or other parts sufficient in bulk to equal two or more motor vehicles.
Campgrounds – any area or tract of land to accommodate two or more parties in temporary living quarters, including, but not limited to tents, recreational vehicles or other shelters.
Coastal wetlands – all tidal and subtidal lands; all lands with vegetation present that is tolerant of salt water and occurs primarily in a salt water or estuarine habitat; and any swamp, marsh, bog, beach, flat or other contiguous low land which is subject to tidal action during the maximum spring tide level as identified in tide table published by the National Ocean Survey.
Commercial use – the use of lands, buildings or structures, other than a “home occupation” defined below, the intent and result of which activity is the production of income from the buying and selling of goods and/or services, exclusive of rental of residential buildings and/or dwelling units.
Community facility – a building or structure that is operated and maintained by the City or by a community or non-profit organization and that is available for use by the general public.
Dimensional requirements – numerical standards relating to spatial relationships including but not limited to setbacks; lot area, shore frontage and height.
Domestic animals – small animals generally kept as pets (dogs, cats, birds, etc.) Not included are large animals (horses, cattle, etc.), nor exotic animals which may be dangerous to others.
Driveway – a vehicular access-way less than five hundred feet in length serving two lots or less.
Dwelling – a fixed, single or multiunit structure that, when constructed or installed after enactment of this ordinance, complies with the following:
1. structures over twelve feet in height – Foundation wall, piers, and other
permanent supports shall extend below the frost line or thirty inches, whichever is greater; (except when erected upon solid rock or otherwise protected from frost; and
2. structures under twelve feet of height – Such dwellings may be placed
upon a continuous mat of reinforced concrete designed to resist frost action.
Placement upon concrete piers laid with type M or S mortar shall be allowed.
Hollow, concrete masonry units shall be filled with concrete or high-strength
mortar after reinforcement with a minimum of four No. 5 steel bars.
Cast-in-place concrete piers may also be used. Piers shall sit upon footings
not less than eight inches wider than the pier supported thereon.
3. A mobile home shall be considered a dwelling if the wheels are removed
and it is secured by an anchoring system consisting of:
a. frame ties of rust-resistant steel cable or straps with a yoke-type fastener
and tensioning device or clamps and turnbuckets attached to;
b. ground anchors which can include screw augers, expanding anchors, or
concrete deadmen.
Dwelling unit – a room or group of rooms designed and equipped exclusively for use
As permanent, seasonal, or temporary living quarters for only one family. The term shall include mobile homes, but not recreational vehicles.
Emergency operations – operations conducted for the public health, safety
or general Welfare, such as protection of resources from immediate destruction
or loss, law enforcement, and operations to rescue human beings, property,
and livestock from the threat of destruction or injury.
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, and 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.
Expansions of a structure - an increase in the floor area or volume of a structure, including all extensions such as (but not limited to), attached decks, garages, porches and greenhouses.
Expansion of use – the addition of weeks or months to a use’s operating season; additional hours of operation; or the use of more floor area or ground area devoted to a particular use.
Exterior features – These shall include the architectural style, general design and general arrangement of the exterior of a building or other structure, including the kind and texture of the building material and type and style of all windows, doors, light fixtures, signs, and other appurtenant fixtures and natural features such as trees and shrubbery.
Family – one or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single housekeeping unit.
Floor area – the sum of the horizontal areas of the floor(s) of a structure enclosed by exterior walls, plus the horizontal area of any unenclosed portions of a structure such as porches and decks.
Forest management activities - timber cruising and other forest resource 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.
Foundation - the supporting substructure of a building or other structure including, but not limited to basements, slabs, sills, post or frostwalls.
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, finfish and shellfish processing, fish storage and retail and wholesale fish marketing facilities, waterfront dock and basins, and channels, industrial uses dependent upon waterborne transportation or requiring large volumes of cooling or processing water and which cannot reasonable be located or operated at an inland site, and uses which primarily provide public access to marine or tidal waters.
Height of a structure - the vertical distance between the mean original grade at the downhill side of the structure and the highest point of the structure, excluding chimneys, steeples, antennas and similar appurtenances which have no floor area.
Home occupation - an occupation or profession which is carried on by a person in his or her home for profit. A home occupation must be clearly incidental to and compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses, must not require external structural changes or external alterations which would change the residential appearance of the structure; and must not create offensive noise, odor, waste, glare, or other objectionable effects. A home occupation must not result in yard clutter or outside display of goods on a regular basis. A maximum of fifty percent of any one floor of a residential unit or accessory building may be sued for a home occupation. It may employ no more than two persons other than family members residing I the house, one advertising sign no larger than three
square feet shall be permitted. The sale of products shall be limited to those which are crafted, assembled, or substantially altered on the premises; to catalog items ordered off the premises by customers; and to items which are accessory and incidental to a service which is provided on the premises and the buying and selling of antiques.
Hotels and other lodging places - Hotel - a building with numerous rooms for rent to transient guest. Rooming house - a building of residential character, usually a converted large dwelling, several rooms of which are rented to guest who usually stay more the two weeks. Lodging house - is a similar building used primarily for transient guests, usually staying for a few days (Bed and Breakfast). Boarding house - a rooming house where meals are served to the guests.
Individual private campsites - an area of land which is not associated with a campground, but which is developed for repeated camping by only one group not to exceed ten individuals and which involves site improvements which may include, but not be limited to gravel pads, parking areas, fireplaces, or tent platforms.
Industrial - the assembling, fabrication, finishing, manufacturing, packaging, or processing of goods, or the extraction of minerals.
Junkyard - an open area where used materials and waste materials are stored, handled, or sold.
Kennel - Any lot on which dogs are kept for the primary purposes of breeding, selling, training, or boarding.
Local Historic District(s) - an area which includes one or more buildings, structures, or sites which have particular historic, archaeological, or architectural significance to the City of Eastport. Local historic district designation is distinct from placement in the National Registry of Historic Places and buildings, structures, or sites may be included under either or both designations.
Lot - A continuos parcel of land occupied or capable of being occupied by one building and its accessory structures and uses, and having frontage on a public or private street or documented right-of-way. A lot has a front lot line on any street which is abuts, a side lot line - abutting adjacent lost of common frontage, and a rear lot line abutting lots not of common frontage.
Lot area - the area of land enclosed within the boundary lines of a lot, minus and below the normal high-water line of a water body or upland edge of a wetland and areas beneath roads serving more then two lots.
Lot coverage - Area of a lot covered by the heated part of a dwelling, or by the entire building if the building is not a dwelling.
Lot of record - a parcel of land for which a legal description, dimensions and ownership has been registered with the County Registry of Deeds.
Marina - a business establishment having frontage on navigable water and as its principal use, providing for hire offshore moorings or docking facilities for boats, and which may also provide accessory services such as boat repair and construction, boat and related sales, indoor and outdoor storage of boats and marine equipment, bait and tackle shops and marine fuel service facilities.
Market value - the estimated price a property will bring in the open market under prevailing market conditions in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer, both conversant with the property and with prevailing general price levels.
Minimum lot width - the closest distance between the side lot lines of a lot (only applicable in shoreland districts)
Mineral exploration - hand sampling, testing boring or other methods of determining the nature or extent of mineral resources which create minimal disturbance to the land and which include reasonable measures to restore the land to its original condition.
Mineral extraction - an operation which any twelve month period removes more than one hundred cubic years of soil, topsoil, loam, sand, gravel, clay, rock, peat or other like material from its natural location and transports the product removed from the extraction area.
Mobile home - a structure designed as a year-round dwelling unit and designed to be transported after fabrication on its own wheels. A mobile home must contain a toilet, tub, and/or shower, kitchen facilities, sleeping accommodations, plumbing and electrical connections designed for attachment to outside systems; and must be fully skirted.
Mobile home park - a plot of land laid out to accommodate two or more mobile homes.
Multi-unit residential - a residential structure containing three or more residential dwelling units.
Municipal Building - a temporary or permanent structure owned by The City of Eastport and utilized for furnishing municipal services.
Neighborhood store – a store with fewer than one thousand square feet of retail floor area that primarily serves residents of a particular neighborhood; but excluding auto service stations, repair garages or facilities serving food on the premises.
Non-conforming lot- a single lot of report which, at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Ordinance, does not meet any one or more of the dimensional requirement of the district in which it is located.
Non-conforming structure – a structure which does not meet any one or more of the following dimensional requirements: setbacks, height or lot coverage, but which is allowed solely because it was in lawful existence at the time this ordinance or subsequent amendments took effect.
Non-conforming use – use of building, structure, premises, land or parts thereof, which is allowed to remain solely because it was in lawful existence at the time this ordinance or subsequent amendments took effect.
Normal-high-water line – that line which is apparent from visible markings, from changes in the character of soils due to prolonged action of the water or from changes in vegetation, and which distinguishes between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial areas.
Principle structure – a building other than one which is used for purposes wholly incidental or accessory tot he use of another building or use on the same premises. A deck or similar extension of the principal structure or a garage attached to the principal structure by a roof or a common wall is considered part of the principal structure.
Principle use – a use other than one which is wholly incidental or accessory to another on the same premises.
Public recreation facility – an outdoor area that is operated and maintained by the City or by a community organization and that is available for use by the general public for recreational purposes.
Recent flood plain soils – the following soils series as described and identified by the National Cooperative Soil Survey:
Alluvial Cornish Charles Fryeburg Hadley Limerick
Lovell Medomack Ondawa Podunk Rumney Saco
Suncook Sunday Winooski
Recreational vehicle – a vehicle designed to be towed or an attachment to a vehicle designed for temporary sleeping or living quarters for one or more persons, and which may include a pick-up camper, travel-trailer, tent trailer, camp trailer, and motor home. In order to be considered as a vehicle and not as a structure, the unit must remain with its tires on the ground, and must be registered with the State Division of Motor Vehicles.
Recreational septic system – a system intended to replace:
an existing system which is either malfunctioning or being upgraded with no significant change of design flow or use of the structure, or any existing overboard wastewater discharge.
Riprap - rocks, irregularly shaped, and at least six inches in diameter, used for erosion control and soil stabilization on ground slopes of two units horizontal to one unit vertical or less.
Road – a route or track consisting of a bed of exposed mineral soil, gravel, asphalt, or other surfacing material constructed for a created by the repeated passage of motorized vehicles.
Salt marsh – an area along coastal waters (most often along coastal bays) which supports salt-tolerant species and where at average high tide during the growing season, the soil is regularly inundated by tidal waters.
Salt meadow - an area which supports salt-tolerant plant species bordering the landward side of slat marshes or open coastal water, where the soil is saturated during the growing season but which is rarely inundated by tidal water.
Service Drop - any utility line extension which does not cross or run beneath any portion of a water body provided that:
1. in the case of electric service, the placement of wires and/or the installation of utility poles is located entirely upon the premises of the customer requesting service and/or upon a roadway right-of-way; and the total length of the extension is less than one thousand feet.
2. in the case of telephone service, the extension, regardless of length, will be made by the installation of telephone wires to existing utility poles, or the extension requiring the installation of new utility poles or placement underground is less than on thousand feet in length.
Setback – In the shoreland zone, the horizontal distance from the normal high-water line to the nearest part of a structure, road, parking space or other regulated object or area. In all other cases, the minimum horizontal distance from a lot line to the nearest part of any principal structure or accessory structure.
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.
Shoreland zone – the land area located within town hundred and fifty feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of any saltwater body or within 250 feet of the upland edge of a coastal wetland.
Sign – any structure, display, logo, device or representation which is designed or used to advertise or call attention to any thing, persons, business, activity, or place and is visible from any public way. Whenever dimensions of a sign are specified, they shall include frames. The term “sign” refers to matter located outside or on a structure. Umbrellas over tables outside eating establishments are not considered “signs” for the purpose of this ordinance even if they carry advertising logos. Off-premises signs are prohibited except as in accordance with MRSA Title 23 ss 1901-1925 as amended.
Special exception – use permitted only after review and approval by the Board of Appeals or the Planning Board. Such a use may be permitted only id specific provision for such special exception is made in this Ordinance. If no such provision has been made in this ordinance, the applicant’s only recourse is to obtain rezoning of the property.
Structure – anything built for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, goods or property of any kind together with anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on or in the ground, exclusive of fences and stairs pursuant to D.E.P. Chapter 1000 Section 15-B paragraph 5. The term includes structures temporarily located, such as satellite dishes.
Structural alterations – any change of the exterior dimensions of a building or structure, or any change in the supporting members of a building such as bearing walls, columns, or beams. A property owner must obtain a building permit before undertaking any structural alterations.
Subdivision – the division of a tract or parcel of land into three or more lots within a five year period for the Purpose, immediate or future, of lease, sale or building development. The term “subdivision” shall also mean the division of a new structure or structures on a tract of land or parcel of land into three or more dwelling units within a five year period, the construction or placement of three or more dwelling units on a single tract or parcel of land, and the division of an existing structure or structures previously used to commercial or industrial purposes. Into three or more dwelling units within a five year period.
Substantial start – completion of thirty percent of a permitted structure or use measured as a percentage of estimated total cost.
Subsurface sewage disposal system - a collection of treatment tank(s), disposal area(s), holding tank(s), and pond(s), surface spray system(s), cesspool(s), well(s), surface ditch (es), alternative toilet(s), or other devises and associated piping, designed to function as a unit for the purposes of disposing of wastes or wastewater discharge system licensed under 38 MRSA Section 413 ss-1a, or any public sewer. The term shall also not include a wastewater disposal system, designed to treat wastewater which is in whole or in part hazardous waste as defined in 38 MRSA Chapter 13, - subchapter 1.
Sustained slope – a change in elevation where the referenced percent grade is substantially maintained or exceeded throughout the measured area.
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 the clearing of land for approved construction.
Tributary stream – a channel between define banks created buy 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 on exposed soil, parent material or bedrock and which flows to a waterbody, or wetland as defined. This definition does not include the term stream as defined in “38 MRSA 436-A”: of the Shoreland zoning law. Only the, portion of a tributary stream located with in the shoreland zone is covered by this definition.
Upland edge – the boundary between upland and wetland.
Vegetation – all live trees, shrubs, ground cover, and other plants including without limitation, trees both over and under four inches in diameter, measured at four and one-half feet above ground level.
Volume of a structure – the volume of all portions of a structure enclosed buy a roof and fixed exterior walls as measured from the exterior faces of these walls and roof.
Water body – any tidal area
Wetland – As regulated in this ordinance, the term refers to salt marshes and salt meadows.
Yard - the area of land on a lot not occupied by the principal building.
Front yard – the area of land between the side lot line and the nearest part of the principle building.
Rear yard – the area of land between the rear lot line and the nearest part of the principle building.
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