Augusta City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
Establishment of Districts; Basic Requirements
§ 300-301 Establishment of districts; Zoning Map.
The City is hereby divided into zones or districts as shown on the Official Zoning Map, which, together with all explanatory matter thereon, is hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this chapter. The Official Zoning Map shall be certified by the attested signature of the City Clerk and shall be filed with the City Services Department.
§ 300-302 Zoning districts.
[Amended 5-17-2004 by Ord. No. 72; 4-19-2005 by Ord. No. 061; 8-1-2024 by Ord. No. 24-104]
For the purposes of this chapter, the City of Augusta is divided into urban, rural and overlay areas which are further divided into the following classes of use districts, or zones, as shown on the Official Zoning Map:
A.
Urban Growth Area:
(3)
Civic Center District (CD).
(4)
Industrial District (IA).
(5)
Planned Development District (PD).
(6)
Government Services District (GS).
(7)
Riggs Brook Village District (RBV).
(8)
Medical/Hospital District (MED).
(9)
Planned Development 2 (PD2).
(10)
Kennebec Locks District (KL).
(11)
Westside Professional District (WP).
C.
Overlay districts:
(1)
(2)
Bridge/Highway Corridor Districts.
(4)
Capitol View District. (Reserved).
(5)
Historic District.
(6)
Resource Conservation and Use District. (Reserved).
(7)
Affordable Housing Development Density Bonus District.
§ 300-303 Interpretation of district boundaries.
Where uncertainty exists with respect to the boundaries of the various districts as shown on the Official Zoning Map, the following rules shall apply:
A.
Boundaries indicated as approximately following the center lines of streets, highways, or alleys shall be construed to follow such center lines;
B.
Boundaries indicated as approximately following well-established lot lines shall be construed as following such lot lines;
C.
Boundaries indicated as approximately following municipal limits shall be construed as following municipal limits;
D.
Boundaries indicated as following railroad lines shall be construed to follow such lines;
E.
Boundaries indicated as following shorelines shall be construed to follow such shorelines, and in the event of natural change in the shoreline shall be construed as moving with the actual shoreline; boundaries indicated as approximately following the center lines of water bodies shall be construed to follow such center lines;
§ 300-304 Conformity required; division of lots by zoning; aviational clearances.
A.
Conformity to requirements of this chapter.
[Amended 4-23-2001 by Ord. No. 37; 12-3-2001 by Ord. No. 141-A; 12-3-2001 by Ord. No. 141-B; 12-3-2001 by Ord. No. 141-C; 2-6-2006 by Ord. No. 029]
(1)
Except as hereinafter specified, no building, structure or land shall hereafter be used or occupied, and no building, structure, luminaire, fixture, or part thereof shall hereafter be erected, constructed, expanded, moved or altered, and no new lot shall be created, except in conformity with all of the regulations herein specified for the district in which it is located, unless a variance is granted. Any use not specifically listed or otherwise permitted in a district shall be deemed prohibited.
(2)
The provisions of this chapter shall apply equally to all uses of land and to all buildings and structures.
(3)
A limited exemption to Subsection A(1) above shall be granted to any landowner who was engaged in a legally permitted business land use that was subject to a taking by the State of Maine in conjunction with the construction of the so-called "Third Bridge." Such exemption shall allow said owners to apply for Planning Board approval to replicate, but not expand, said business upon any parcel of land that said owners may currently own, either wholly or in part, and which is contiguous to the property so taken by the state.
(a)
In order for said landowner to request said exemption, a statutory notice of taking from the Maine Department of Transportation shall be required. Upon presentation of said notice and a complete application for the business use to be replicated on the contiguous property, the Planning Board will review said application, granting the necessary approval if all requirements, other than the intended land use, meet the provisions of this chapter in effect at the time of the application.
(b)
This exemption shall expire 18 months from the date of the statutory notice of taking from the Maine Department of Transportation or date of passage by the City Council, whichever comes later. Upon expiration, this paragraph shall automatically be removed from this chapter.
(4)
A limited exemption to Subsection A(1) above shall be granted to any landowner who is engaged in a legally permitted business land use with lot frontage on Route 104 (West River Road), whose land is located northerly of the proposed intersection of the new "Third Bridge" connector road and Rt. 104 (West River Road). Such exemption shall allow said landowners to apply for Planning Board approval to expand their existing business upon any parcel of land that said owners may currently own, either wholly or in part, if said parcel is either adjacent to or contiguous to their existing property.
(a)
Upon presentation of a complete application for the expansion, the Planning Board will review said application, granting the necessary approval if all requirements, other than the intended land use, meet the provisions of this chapter in effect at the time of the application.
(b)
This exemption shall expire eight months from date of passage by the City Council, and this paragraph shall automatically be removed from this chapter.
(5)
The existence of a public easement over a private road to the City of Augusta shall not be considered when determining setbacks, lot size, or whether a lot or use is legally nonconforming under this chapter.
B.
Division of lots by zoning. Except for lots or parcels located on the Leighton Road, the Cony Road and on parcels with projects for which an application has been deemed complete by applicable City offices as of the date of the adoption of this revised chapter, in all zoning districts, where a zoning district boundary line divides a lot or parcel of record at the time such line is adopted, the land use and dimensional requirements for each separately zoned portion of that lot shall be as allowed by the applicable zoning district requirements for that portion of that lot; within the lots or parcels subject to exception, the requirements applicable to the less restrictive portion of such lots or parcel may apply to the other portion of the lot as provided in §§ 300-309 and 300-603.
[Amended 8-1-2005 by Ord. No. 101]
C.
Aviational clearances.
(1)
No part of any new structure, planting, etc., shall be allowed to protrude into the air sufficiently to interfere with aviation requirements of the Augusta State Airport as determined by the FAA criteria applicable to the current airport development plans as submitted and approved by the FAA.
(2)
In addition, all properties within 500 feet of any portion of the airport runway must submit a copy of an "intent to build" notice submitted to the Augusta State Airport with any application for a permit.
(3)
See § 300-514A(1), Noise standards.