1. Capacity of Off-Site Roads
2. Vehicular Access
3. Highway Access

Section 2. Buffering and Screening

1. Buffer Strips
2. Screening

Section 3. Campgrounds

Section 4. Conversions

Section 5. Dimensional Requirements

Section 6. Dust, Fumes, Vapors, Gases, Odors, Glare, and Explosive Materials

Section 7. Erosion and Sedimentation Control

Section 8. Flood Hazard Areas

Section 9. Junkyards

Section 10. Nuisances

Section 11. Penalties

Section 12. Land not Suitable for Development

Section 13. Mineral Exploration and Extraction

Section 14. Mobile Homes Parks

Section 15. Mobile Homes and Recreational Vehicles

Section 16. Municipal Services

Section 17. Off-Street Loading/Unloading Requirements

Section 18. Off-Street Parking 21. Private Rights-of-Way

Section 19. Oil and Chemical Storage 22. Signs

Section 20. Pollution Levels 23. Waivers

The purpose of the regulations contained in these standards are to allow maximum utilization of land while assuring against adverse impacts on the environment, neighboring properties, and the public interest.

This Ordinance has been prepared inn accordance with the provisions of Title 30-A, Sections 3001 & 4358 of the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated (M.R.S.A.). This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the "Town of Bradley Land Use Ordinance".

The Planning Board of the Town of Bradley, Maine hereinafter called the "Board", shall administer this Ordinance. The Code Enforcement Officer shall enforce the provision of this Ordinance with the assistance of the Town Council.

This Ordinance applies to all land areas within the Town of Bradley. Structures thereafter constructed, reconstructed, altered, enlarged, or moved, and the uses of buildings and land, including the division of land, shall be in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance. No existing or future building, structure, land area shall be used for any purpose or in any manner except as provided for in this Ordinance.

The effective date of this Ordinance or any amendments thereto shall be the thirtieth day following its adoption by the Bradley Municipal Legislative Body. A copy of this Ordinance, certified by the Town Clerk, shall be on file at the Town Office.

This Ordinance has been prepared to complement all ordinances previously adopted by the Town of Bradley and the Town of Bradley may adopt all future ordinances as. The existing land use ordinances; "Subdivision Ordinance of the Planning Board of the Town of Bradley, Maine", "Shoreland Zoning Ordinance for the Municipality of Bradley", "Floodplain Ordinance", "Townway Entrance Permit Ordinance", and "Building Permit Ordinance"; as well as other ordinances as adopted, shall remain in effect.

In the event that any Article or provision of this Ordinance shall be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid for any reason, such decision shall not be deemed to affect the validity of any other Article or provision of this Ordinance.

Whenever a provision of this Ordinance conflicts with or is inconsistent with another provision of this Ordinance or other Ordinance, regulation or Statute, the more restrictive provision shall control.

1. The principal structure (s) may be repaired, maintained, or improved, and may be enlarged in conformity with all requirements of this Ordinance, except area.
2. If the proposed enlargement of the principal structure (s) cannot meet the dimensional requirements of this Ordinance, a variance may be obtained from the Board of Appeals.

Two or more abutting lots of record, any or all of which do not meet the dimensional requirements of this Ordinance, shall be combined to meet the dimensional requirements provided that:

1. They are under the same ownership;
2. Two or more of the lots are vacant or contain only an accessory structure;
3. Compliance with the State Minimum Lot Size Law and Subsurface Wastewater Disposal rules has been met;
4. The lots are not separated by a public right-of-way.

Section 1. Access to the Site

Proposals for new access to existing Town ways and State highways shall be accompanied by entrance permit approvals from the appropriate agencies.

Screening is required within the required buffer strips in the form of natural or man-made barriers, existing vegetation or new plantings, if suitable existing vegetation and natural features do not exist. The design and intensity of such screening shall be determined by the Board.

Campgrounds shall conform to the minimum requirements imposed under State licensing procedures and the following:

1. Each tent or shelter site shall contain a minimum of five thousand (5,000) square feet of suitable land in the Shoreland areas (ie., within two hundred fifty feet (250'), horizontal distance, of the normal high water line of any pond or river), and twenty-five hundred (2,500) square feet of suitable land in inland areas, not including driveways and roads, for each site. Suitable land is defined as land which is not described in Section 11 –
   "Land not Suitable for Development".
2. A minimum of two hundred (200) square feet of off-street parking plus maneuvering space shall be provided for each tent or shelter area;
3. The area intended for placement of the tent or shelter site, and utility and service buildings shall be set back a minimum of fifty feet (50’) from the exterior lot lines of the camping area, and none hundred feet (100’) from the normal high water elevation of any body of water; and
4. Screening shall be required to shield the campground from abutting areas.

Conversions of existing structures into multiple family dwelling units may be permitted provided that:

1. Off-street parking for two (2) vehicles per dwelling unit will be provided. A parking space is defined as a surfaced area, not less than nine (9) feet wide and eighteen (18) feet long, enclosed or unenclosed, which is sufficient in size to store one motor vehicle and permit ingress and egress of that vehicle without the necessity of moving any other motor vehicle.
2. Approval of conversion plans by the fire, electrical and plumbing inspector (s) is required prior to issuance of a building permit.
3. Each dwelling unit shall be at least four hundred (400) square feet in area for one (1) bedroom units plus one hundred twenty (120) square feet for each additional bedroom.
4. Each dwelling unit shall have its own toilet and kitchen facilities and no dwelling unit will share these facilities with any other dwelling unit.

All structures and uses except mobile home parks shall meet or exceed the following dimensional requirements. The dimensional requirements for mobile home parks are listed in Section 13.

The following measures relating to conservation, erosion and sediment control shall be included where applicable as part of all projects submitted for review and approval under this Ordinance:

1. The procedures outlined in the erosion and sedimentation control plan, prepared and submitted by the applicant or his/her agent, shall be implemented during the site preparation, construction, and clean-up states.
2. Erosion of soil and sedimentation of watercourses and water bodies shall be minimized by employing the following best-management practices:

1. Stripping of vegetation, soil removal and re-grading or other development shall be done in such a way as to minimize erosion:
2. Development shall preserve outstanding natural features, keep cut-fill operations to a minimum and ensure conformity with topography so as to create the least erosion potential and adequately handle the volume and velocity of surface water runoff;
3. The development shall not unreasonably increase the rate or volume of surface water runoff from the proposed site.
4. Whenever feasible, natural vegetation shall be retained, protected and supplemented;
5. The disturbed area and the duration of exposure shall be kept to a practical minimum;
6. Disturbed soils shall be stabilized as quickly as practicable;
7. Temporary vegetation or mulching shall be used to protect disturbed areas during development;
8. Permanent (final) vegetation and mechanical erosion control measures;
9. Until the disturbed area is stabilized, sediment in the runoff water shall be trapped by the use of debris basins, sediment basins, silt traps or other acceptable methods;
10. The top of a cut or the bottom of a fill shall not be closer than ten feet (10’) to an adjoining property. Extraction operations (gravel pits, etc.) shall not be permitted within one hundred feet (100’) of any property line in absence of the prior written agreement of the owner of such adjoining property;
11. During grading operations, environmentally safe methods of dust control shall be employed;

 

 

 

 

 

12. Any activity on a stream, watercourse or swale or upon floodway or right-of-way shall comply with the Natural Resource Protection Act, Title 38, MRSA, Sections 480-A and 480-S and the Bradley shoreland Ordinance. Any such activity shall also be conducted in such a manner so as to maintain as nearly as possible the present state of the stream, watercourse, swale, floodway, or right-of-way for the duration of the activity and shall be returned to its original or equal condition after such activity is completed;
13. Maintenance of drainage facilities or watercourses originating and completely on private property are the responsibility of the owner to the point of open discharge at the property line or at a communal watercourse within the property.

When any part of a development is located in a Flood Hazard Area as identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the plan shall indicate that all principal structures on lots in the development shall be constructed in compliance with the Town of Bradley Floodplain Ordinance. Such a restriction shall be included in the deed to any lot, which is included or partially included in the flood hazard area.

For the purposes of this Ordinance, a junkyard is defined as follows:

1. Automobile or Equipment Graveyard:

A yard, field or other area used as a place of storage for three (3) or more vehicles or pieces of equipment which can be described by any one of the following conditions; unregistered, unserviceable, discarded, worn-out, parted-out, junked, or unmoved for a period of six months. This provision does not apply to serviceable, but unregistered vehicles or equipment offered for sale by a State-licensed automobile or equipment dealer; or

 

 

 

 

2. Junkyard:

1. Junkyards shall be located a minimum of two hundred feet (200’) from the edge of any right-of-way, and shall be set back one hundred feet (100’) from all side and rear lot lines;
2. Junkyards shall be located a minimum of three hundred feet (300’) from any public park, facility, or grounds; and
3. Junkyards shall be entirely screened from view by earth berms, plantings or fences that shall be well constructed and properly maintained at a minimum height of six feet (6’) and sufficient to accomplish the complete screening from ordinary view. In addition, the following provisions apply to the operation of all junkyards, as defined, in the Town of Bradley:
4. Upon arrival of salvage materials at the junkyard, all fuel, engine oil, radiator, battery, and transmission fluids, etc. shall be drained from all vehicles, and appropriate safety precautions, such as the removal of door and trunk locks, shall be taken to avoid potential injury and accidents. Waste fluids and hazardous materials shall be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner;
5. No vehicles may remain intact in the yard for more than thirty (30) days, and complete processing of vehicles into salvage materials shall be accomplished within four (4) months;
6. All junk and salvage materials shall be stored within the screened/fenced areas and the operation shall be conducted in such a manner as to prevent unsightliness to the adjacent area; and
7. No open burning of salvage material or junk shall be permitted on the premises. Unusable materials shall be disposed on in an environmentally sound manner.
8. A log shall be maintained indicating date of transfer, type of material, weight and/or volume, and composition of all materials being brought into or removed from the junkyard. The log shall be made available on demand for inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer or other individuals as directed by the Town Council.

Any junkyards, as defined, existing within the Town of Bradley at the date of adoption of this Ordinance shall have come into compliance with the provisions of this Section prior to a period of one (1) year after the adoption date of this Ordinance.

Any places where one or more old, discarded, worn out or junked motor vehicles as defined in Title 29, section 1, subsection 7, or parts thereof gathered together, kept deposited or allowed to accumulate, in such or in such location or situation, either within or without the limits of any highway, as to be unsightly, detracting from the natural scenery or injurious to the comfort and happiness of individuals and the public, and injurious to property rights, are declared to be public nuisances.

The owner or person in control of any private property shall, at all times, maintain the premises free of litter.

No person shall throw or deposit litter on any private property on the town, whether owned by such person or not; provided however, that the owner or person in control of private property may maintain authorized receptacles for the deposit or rubbish or other waste materials, in such a manner that waste materials will be prevented from being carried or deposited onto any public or private property.

Whenever there shall be in or upon any lot or piece of ground within the limits of the Town of Bradley any damaged merchandise, litter, trash, rubbish, garbage, wrecked cars, or parts thereof, or an accumulation of junk of any type upon any private or public property, except licensed junkyards, or stored within an enclosed building, structure, or fence, so it is not visible from adjacent properties or public way, the existence of such material or items shall constitute a nuisance and be in violation of this Ordinance.

No person shall throw or deposit, or cause or permit to be thrown or deposited, any offal composed of dead animal or vegetable substances, or both, any dead animal, excrement, garbage or offensive matter whatever, upon nay street, avenue, alley, sidewalk, or public or private grounds.

No person shall, in this town, throw or deposit or cause or permit to be thrown or deposited anything specified in any foregoing part of this section or any other substance that would tend to have a polluting effect into the water of any stream, ditch, pond, well, cistern, trough, or other body of water, whether artificially or naturally created, or so near any such place as to be liable to pollute the water.

Any person/business found to be in violation of the Nuisance section or any other section of this Ordinance will be subject to penalties. Parties in violation of this Ordinance will be allowed a period to meet the requirements of this Ordinance. Letter will notify parties in violation. A plan of correction must be received and approved by the CEO and or the Town Manager. Once the plan of correction is approved the party in violation will be allowed 14 days to come into compliance.

Penalties will be structured as follows.

Extensions to come into compliance with any section of this Ordinance will be granted for the following two reasons.

1. Reasonable progress must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the CEO and or the Town Manager.
2. A specific hardship that impairs the ability of the person or business in violation to meet the requirements of this Ordinance.

The following lands shall not be included in the calculations of lot area for the purposes of meeting the requirements of the minimum lot size requirements of this Ordinance:

1. Land which is situated below the normal high water mark of any water body;
2. Land which is located within the one hundred (100) year frequency flood plain as identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Flood Insurance Administration, unless the developer shows proof through the submittal of materials prepared by a Registered Land Surveyor which shows that the property in question lies at least one foot (1’) above the one hundred (100) year flood elevation;
3. Land which is part of a right-of-way, or easement, including utility easements;
4. Land which, on or after the date of the adoption of this Ordinance, is created by filling or draining a pond or wetland;
5. Land that has been determined to be a freshwater wetland, as defined in Title 38, M.R.S.A., Section 480-B.

Mineral exploration and extraction activities shall be subject to the requirements of all other Sections and provisions of this Ordinance and other applicable Ordinances and Laws, Local and State.

All structure and uses within mobile home parks shall meet or exceed the following dimensional requirements for lot sizes and land uses.

All mobile home parks shall be designed to provide contiguous open space in a common area for the use of park residents. Open space shall not be provided in areas considered unsuitable for development as defined in Section 11 – Land not Suitable for Development. Land delineated as mobile home lots, right-of-ways, and utility areas; i.e. subsurface wastewater disposal areas, equipment storage areas, etc., shall not be used in calculating

the minimum open space to be provided. Overhead utility lines shall not traverse open space areas. The dimensional requirements for open space are as follows: Open space per Mobile Home Lot: 200 square feet. Minimum Contiguous Open Space: 15000 square feet.

The Code Enforcement Officer may issue a special permit for the use of a mobile home for a temporary construction office for up to six (6) months in zones where offices are permitted or on construction sites anywhere in the Town of Bradley. For purposes of this section, temporary use is defined as a period not to exceed ninety (90) days unless otherwise approved by the Code Enforcement Officer. Such permit may only be issued if the Code Enforcement Officer is satisfied that:

1. The mobile home is a necessary convenience for the construction project and is clearly subordinate to such project.
2. No health hazards or problems of sanitation will be caused by improper disposal of sewage from the mobile home.

Recreational vehicles shall in no case be used as a permanent dwelling and any recreation vehicles in use as a temporary dwelling shall be stationed only in an authorized campground or trailer park, or on the premises of a consenting private property owner for use only by members of the property owners family or social guests.

The proposed development shall not have an unreasonable adverse impact on the municipal services including municipal road systems, fire department, solid waste program, schools, busing, open spaces, recreational programs and facilities, and other municipal services and facilities.

On every lot on which a commercial or industrial use is hereafter established, space with access to a public street shall be provided for the loading and unloading of vehicles. The space shall be sufficient, to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer, in area for the reasonably expected need of such space.

Sufficient off-street parking shall be provided for all new site developments to meet the reasonable expected need of such parking space. A single parking space is defined as a surfaced area, not less than nine (9) feet wide and eighteen (18) feet long, enclosed or unenclosed, which is sufficient in size to store one motor vehicle and permit ingress and egress of that vehicle without the necessity of moving any other motor vehicle.

All storage of petroleum or liquid products shall be in conformance with the provisions of Title 38, M.R.S.A., Section 541, and applicable NFPA Codes adopted by the State. The applicant shall have the burden of proof to assure the Board and the Code Enforcement Officer that all provisions of the above statutes have been met before the issuance of any permits may take place.

Any pollutant introduced into the soil on the site shall not exceed a concentration in the ground water that is greater than the guideline that is established for it in the Safe Drinking Water Standard, EPA Health Advisory, or NAS Health Advisory. Any violation of this standard shall be cause to order the immediate cessation of the use or activity responsible for the contamination. The landowner, contractor, occupant, or any other person with authority over the land, structure, or activity responsible for the contamination, shall be jointly responsible for the cost of all-remedial actions and damages resulting there from.

Any new private right-of-way shall be at least fifth feet (50’) in width. No such right-of-way shall be created over any existing lot or lots so that the balance of any such existing lot, exclusive of the area occupied by the right-of-way would fail to meet any of the requirements of this Ordinance for lot size or frontage.

Signs shall conform to applicable State sign standards.

A TRUE COPY SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

ATTEST:________________________

TOWN CLERK – MICHAEL R. CROOKER

The Town of Bradley hereby ordains that an Ordinance entitled, "Proposed Bradley Land Use Ordinance, September 11, 2001", which is represented by an attested copy dated September 11, 2001. Be adopted this date, September 25, 2001. By adoption of this Ordinance, the current Land Use Ordinance is hereby repealed.

This Ordinance shall be effective 30 days from the date of adoption.

Councilors of the Town of Bradley A TRUE COPY

____________________________ Attest: Town Clerk

____________________________ Michael R. Crooker