Lamoine Building & Land Use Ordinance

“Definitions 2005”

Proposed to the Lamoine Town Meeting

March 9, 2005

The following amendments are proposed to Section 15 of the Lamoine Building and Land Use Ordinance adopted in June, 2002.

Present Definition:

Aquifer: An underground bed or stratum of earth, gravel or porous stone that contains water.

Proposed Definition:

Aquifer. “A geologic formation composed of rock or sand and gravel that stores and transmits significant quantities of recoverable water, as identified by the Bureau of Geology and Natural Areas, Maine Geological Survey with the Department of Conservation.”

Present Definition:

Building Height: The vertical distance between the highest point of the structure and the average grade of the original ground adjoining the building, whichever distance is greater.

Proposed Definition:

Building Height. “The vertical distance between the highest point of the structure and the average final grade around the foundation, or the average grade of the original ground adjoining the building, whichever is greater.”

Present Definition:

None

Proposed Added Definition:

Groundwater: “All water found beneath the surface of the ground. For purposes of aquifer protection, this term refers to the slowly moving subsurface water present in the aquifers and recharge areas.

Present Definition:

None

Proposed Added Definition

Junkyard. “A yard, field or other area used to store discarded, worn-out or junked plumbing, heating supplies, household appliances, furniture, scrap or junked lumber, scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper trash, rubber debris, waste, scrap iron, steel, other scrap ferrous or nonferrous materials and garbage dumps, waste dumps and sanitary fills”

Present Definition:

Net Acreage: The area of a lot or lots which is useable for determining allowable densities, as set forth in the Net Acreage calculations standard contained in the section 3.D - (Land not suitable for development section) of this Ordinance.

Proposed Definition:

Net Acreage. The area of a lot or lots that is usable for determining allowable densities after land not suitable for development (as defined in this ordinance) has been subtracted from the total acreage.

Present Definition:

None

Proposed Added Definition:

Non-Conforming Structure. A structure which does not meet any one or more of the following dimensional requirements: setback, height or lot coverage, but which is allowed to remain solely because it was in lawful existence at the time this Ordinance or subsequent amendments took effect.

Present Definition:

None

Proposed Added Definition:

Non-conforming Use. The use of buildings, structures, premises, land or parts thereof which is not permitted in the zoning district in which it is situated, but which is allowed to remain solely because it was in lawful existence at the time this Ordinance or subsequent amendments took effect.

Present Definition:

None

Proposed Added Definition:

Nuisance: Any property or use existing in violation of a municipal land use ordinance or regulation

In the above proposed definitions, the proposed language would replace the existing ordinance language. If there is no present definition, the proposed definition would be added to the Building and Land Use Ordinance.