STETSON BUILDING CODE

STETSON BUILDING CODE
REVISIONS 03/15/85, 06/25/86, 06/15/87, 10/24/88, 04/01/89,
05/16/92, 11/23/92, 05/14/93, AND 11/08/06

Section 1: Scope
The provisions of this ordinance shall apply to all new dwellings, whether seasonal, permanent, or mobile homes, and major additions thereto, and all other building. These provisions shall also apply to the relocation or replacement of dwellings and other buildings and to the conversion of seasonal dwellings to year-round dwellings.

Section 2: Definitions
In this ordinance the following terms shall have the following meanings unless a contrary meaning is required by the context of is specifically prescribed:

Building: a structure for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals,
goods or property of any kind.
Campground: any premises established for overnight use for the purpose of
temporary camping, and for which a fee is charged.
Camper Trailer: a vehicle capable of travel on highways and designed for
overnight use as living quarters and not permanently attached to a foundation or
utilities.
Commercial Structure: a building for use in the manufacture, processing or
distribution of goods or services.
Dwelling: a fixed structure, containing one or more dwelling units.
Dwelling Unit: a room or group of rooms designed and equipped exclusively for
use as living quarters for only one family, including provisions for living, sleeping,
cooking and eating.
Dwelling, multi-unit: a fixed structure containing more than one dwelling unit.
Dwelling, seasonal: any dwelling that is inhabited for not more than six months
during the year.
Family: one or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single
household unit, as distinguished from a group occupying a boarding house,
lodging house, or hotel.
Frontage, road: the horizontal distance between the intersections of the side lot
lines with the road.
Frontage, shore: the horizontal distance, measured in a straight line between the
intersections of the side lot lines with the shoreline at normal high water elevation.
Living space: the enclosed floor area of a structure which are suitable for year
round occupancy, not including porches, patios or similar area, weather or not
enclosed.
Lot: a parcel of land in single ownership, described on a deed, plot or similar
legal document, and not divided by a public way.
Major additions: any addition to an existing structure which extends the area of the
lot covered by the structure, including any deck or porch.
Mobile home: a structure designed as a dwelling unit containing sleeping
accommodations, a toilet, tub or shower bath, and kitchen facilities with plumbing
and electrical connections provided for attachment to outside systems, and
designed to be transported, after fabrication, on its wheels to a site for location on
a permanent foundation.
Privately owned lake road: a roadway constructed to serve seasonal dwellings
along the lake shore and in which the owners of said dwellings have a property
right of right of usage.
Public building: any building intended for use by the public.
Public way: a town way as defined in 23 MRSA 3021 or state owned road or a
roadway in which there is an easement permitting its use by the public and which
has been constructed to the following standards:
Width of right of way shall be a minimum of 50 feet.
Width of traveled road surface shall be a minimum of 20 feet.
Traveled road surface shall contain at least 18 inches of sand and gravel
approved by the Road Commissioner.
Shoulders shall be graded on each side to a minimum width of 3 feet.
Drainage ditches and culverts shall be installed where required by the
Road Commissioner.

SECTION 3: REGULATIONS

A. All new dwellings, mobile homes, and other building, and major additions thereto, including any deck or porch, shall be build or placed no closer than:
1. Sixty-eight (68) feet from the center line of a public road or way.
2. Ten (10) feet from any other lot line

B. All new sanitation facilities and the replacement or enlargement of existing
facilities, including but not limited to septic tanks, cess-pools, outhouses, and
their drainage fields or treatment systems, shall meet all specifications established
in the state codes and laws. The Plumbing Inspector shall determine whether or
not state specifications have been met. No sanitation facility or portion thereof
and no well shall be located closer to the centerline of a public road or way than
sixty-eight (68)feet.

C. REPEALED 11/23/92

D. Every dwelling unit, except factory build mobile homes, to be used by a single
family, shall enclose a living space of at least six hundred (600) square feet on
ground floor. Factory built mobile homes shall enclose a living space of at least
four hundred fifty (450) square feel. Seasonal dwellings shall have a ground floor
living space of at least three hundred seventy-five (375) square feet. No factory
built mobile home shall be installed on any lot other than upon an approved
foundation as required by this section.

E. Except when erected on solid rock or equivalent, all dwellings, and commercial
buildings shall be set on a masonry foundation wall, not less than eight (8) inches
thick, carried to hardpan or a depth of three (3) feet, whichever is less in depth, or
upon a poured concrete slab at least four (4) inches thick and properly drained.
The Code Enforcement officer may waive these requirements on additions to
Dwellings erected or begun before the enactment of this section ( March 18,
1972) and which are built on substandard foundations.

F. The exterior walls of all dwellings, commercial structures, and buildings
accessory thereto, shall be finished with a covering of clapboards, wood siding,
wood or asbestos shingles, masonry, brick, stone or other materials approved by
the Code Enforcement Officer. Such covering shall be completed within one year
after the outside studding is in place unless an extension is granted by the Code
Enforcement Officer. Tarred paper, felt, or similar materials shall not be
approved as an exterior wall covering.

G. Off street parking shall be provided in the amount of three hundred (300) square
feet per dwelling unit. This may be accomplished by driveway space, garage
space, or parking lot space, or by any combination of the three.

H. Each dwelling, mobile home and public building shall have at least two exterior
doors.

I. Any chimney, fireplace, or vent shall be constructed or installed in accordance
with the requirements of the National Fire Protection Association Code #211, as
adopted by the Maine Commissioner of Public Safety.

J. Every new roof, or roof which is hereafter recovered, shall be covered with non-
combustible or fire resistant roofing materials. The use of tarred felt or tarred
paper as permanent exposed roof covering is prohibited. Untreated wood
shingles are prohibited.

K. Camping trailers, ect., under the required ground floor area for seasonal
dwelling shall be required to have a valid vehicle license if occupied for
residential purposes. Units located other than in a Town approved campground
and occupied for more than three (3) weeks in any one calendar year ( or units
left on the site of more than 90 consecutive days) must comply with all the
provisions imposed on seasonal dwellings included in Section 3A (setbacks),
3B (septic system requirements), 3C (lot requirements), 3E (foundation
requirements), 3H ( two exterior doors), and 3L (rented units) of this Building
Code. The construction of any additional accessories ( decks, chimneys, fuel
oil tanks, additions, ect.) apart from the camping trailer, ect., disqualifies the
unit from being considered under this section and the unit must comply with
the provisions of the code for seasonal dwellings.

L. Any building or structure rented as dwelling unit shall have State approved water
and sewerage facilities; chimneys, fireplaces and vents shall meet the
requirements of Section 3 (1.) above, and the building shall meet all the
applicable requirements of the 1992 BOCA National Building Code. Rental
properties will be inspected annually by the Code Enforcement Officer and any
deficiencies cited will be promptly corrected and the facility reinspected.

M. No seasonal dwelling shall be converted to year-round use until a plumbing
permit has been obtained for that purpose. The proposed conversion must comply
with all the provisions of this code that apply to year-round dwellings.

N. No new dwelling or other building shall be erected unless it is on a building lot with not less than two hundred (200) feet by two hundred fifty (250) feet and a minimum area of fifty thousand (50,000) square feet.
Building permits may be issued for the construction of dwellings and related structures on parcels of land which are not on a public way, if the permit when issued contains conditions to the effect that the town will have no responsibility or obligation to provide or maintain access to the property or to provide fire protection, school bus service, or any other services that require access. No building lot shall contain more than one dwelling, except that a second dwelling may be erected upon a lot that meets the aforesaid requirements for dimensions (50,000), provided that said second dwelling is under the same ownership and is occupied by a member of the immediate family. (The immediate family shall include only the parents, siblings, or children of the owners.) In the case of multi-unit dwellings, lot shall contain a minimum of one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet for a duplex unit plus an additional ten thousand (10,000) square feet for each additional unit constructed up to a maximum of eight (8) units per structure. In the case of multiple structures on one lot, each structure must meet the lot requirements for one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet for a duplex unit plus an additional ten thousand (10,000) square feet for each additional unit. No structure will include more than eight dwelling units.

SECTION 4: Permits

A. A building permit must be granted by the Code Enforcement Officer before
construction may begin on any new building, major additions to buildings, the
foundations or slabs for mobile homes, or modular homes: or before any new
sanitation facilities may be installed. A building permit must be granted before
any seasonal dwelling can be converted for year-round use.

B. No building permit shall be granted until sanitation facilities required by the
State of Maine plumbing code or proposed to be installed have been approved by
the local plumbing inspector in accordance with Section 3B.

C. A building permit shall be in effect for twelve (12) months from the date of
issuance. After such time, a new permit shall be required if the construction is not
complete or has not progressed to a reasonable degree of completion.

D. Application for building permits and for approval of the plumbing inspector
Shall be in writing signed by the applicant, and addressed to the Stetson Town
Offices. They shall contain drawings, plans, and other documentation necessary
to the findings and approval requested.

E. The plumbing inspector and the code enforcement officer shall inform the
applicant in writing of his or their decision within fifteen (15) days of the
receipt of such application, and if denied, shall state therein the reasons for
denial.

F. The code enforcement officer shall issue a permit to be posted within public
View on each building site, prior to any construction.

SECTION 5; REPEALED effective 01/01/93.

SECTION 6: APPEALS

A. An appeal may be taken by an applicant or by a property owner whose
property would be substantially affected by the proposed construction or
installation, from any decision of the plumbing inspector, or the code
enforcement officer, to the Board of Appeals. Upon receipt of an appeal in
writing to the Board of Appeals, they shall at their next meeting (or within
thirty (30) days, whichever shall come first) affirm, modify, or set aside the
decision of the Code Enforcement Officer, or the Plumbing Inspector.

B. The Board of Appeals may affirm or reverse a decision of the Building
inspector/Code Enforcement Officer as pertains to the interpretation of this
ordinance. In specific cases the Board of Appeals may permit variations from
the set back and lot area requirements of Section 3 (A), (B) and (C) of this
ordinance if the strict application of the ordinance would cause unnecessary
or undue hardship because of unique circumstances applying to the property.

C. An appeal may be taken from the decision of the Board of Appeals to the
Superior Court pursuant to Rule 80 (B) of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.

SECTION 7: FEES

A. No building permit shall be issued without payment of a fee according to the
following schedule. For structures under 300 square feet there shall be a flat
$10.00 fee. The flat fee applies to all accessory structures, pools, decks and
small additions. For all other structures over 300 square feet there shall be a
flat $20.00 fee plus five (.05) cents per square foot.

B. Building permits, after expiration may be renewed at one-half the original fees
paid.

C. For those projects requiring Board approval, no permit shall be issued until
Said approval has been obtained.

(This section was amended by the Board of Selectmen on February 17, 2004)

SECTION 8: SAVING CLAUSE

Any declaration by the courts that a section or part of a section of this ordinance
is unconstitutional or invalid shall not affect the validity of the remainder of these
provisions.

SECTION 9: AMENDENTS

This Ordinance may be amended from time to time in the manner provided by law.

SECTION 10: effective date

The provisions of this Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days following its
passage at a regular or special Town Meeting, provided that the lot area provisions of
section 3C shall apply only to lots acquired, or recorded, or shown on a plot after
November 15, 1971.

SECTION 11: VIOLATIONS

Any building construction or work performed in violation of the provisions
of this ordinance or of any permit issued by the Code Enforcement Officer, shall be
considered a nuisance.

SECTION 12: PENALTY

Any person, including but not limited to a landowner, a landowner’s agent or a contractor, who orders or conducts any activity in violation of this ordinance shall be
Penalized in accordance with Title 30-A, Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, subsection 4452.

SECTION 13: CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

The Code Enforcement Officer shall grant and /or withhold permits, make inspections, and carry out any other appropriate duties which shall be passed at town meeting. It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to enforce the provisions of this ordinance. If the Code Enforcement Officer shall find that any provisions of this ordinance is being violated, he or she shall notify in writing the person responsible for such violation, indicating the nature of the violation and ordering the action necessary to correct it, including discontinuance of illegal use of land, buildings or structures, and abatement of nuisance conditions. A copy of such notice shall be maintained as a permanent record.

SECTION 14: LEGAL ACTION

When the above action does not result in the correction or abatement of the violation or nuisance condition, the Municipal Officers, upon notice from the Code Enforcement Officer, are hereby authorized and directed to institute any and all actions and proceedings, either legal or equitable, including seeking injunctions of violations and the impositions of this ordinance in the name of municipality, in accordance with Title 30-A, Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, subsection 4452.

 

TOWN OF STETSON
FEE SCHEDULE

 

100 SQ’ TO 300 SQ’ flat $10.00 fee

Over 300 square fee to be $20.00 plus .05 cents per square foot

Example

20x20 400 sq’ x .05 = $ 20.00 - $ 20.00 = $ 40.00 fee
24x24 576 sq’ x .05 = $ 28.80 - $ 20.00 = $ 48.80 fee
24x28 672 sq’ x .05 = $ 33.60 - $ 20.00 = $ 53.60 fee
28x40 1120 sq’ x .05 = $ 56.00 - $ 20.00 = $ 76.00 fee
32x40 1280 sq’ x .05 = $ 64.00 - $ 20.00 = $ 84.00 fee
34x50 1700 sq’ x .05 = $ 85.00 - $ 20.00 = $ 105.00 fee
40x60 2400 sq’ x .05 = $ 120.00 - $ 20.00 = $ 145.00 fee
50x70 3500 sq’ x .05 = $ 175.00 - $ 20.00 = $ 195.00 fee

This fee schedule assumes a new construction cost @ $ 65.00 per square foot and comes very close to the current fee schedule. Changing the formula in other ways was resulting in a substantial increase or decrease in the current schedule. The upper end of this schedule will be a slightly lower fee, however it will likely provide for additional revenue do to being more consistent. The primary goal was to maintain the same fee level and still be sure it was fair to all applicants. I believe the change accomplishes that goal.