Accessory Animal Husbandry Use: Activities located on the same lot(s) of an operating animal husbandry operation that are subordinate and related to the primary use of animal husbandry and limited to:

1. indoor and outdoor agricultural education and 
2. the processing, packaging and storage of fiber from animals raised on the premises. [Adopted 7/10/17]

Effective on: 7/10/2017

Accessory Apartment: A separate and subordinate dwelling unit located within a single family detached dwelling. [Amended 5/24/04]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Accessory Structure or Use: A subordinate structure or use customarily incidental to, and located on the same lot with, the main structure or use, such as a garage, workshop, and the like. [Amended 7/25/22]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Accessory Cottage: A separate and subordinate dwelling unit that is located on the same lot as a single family detached dwelling but is contained in a detached garage or other out building, or is its own structure. [Adopted 5/24/04]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Accessory Dwelling Unit: An Accessory Apartment or Accessory Cottage. [Adopted 5/24/04]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Accessory Farm Use:  Activities located on the same lot(s) as an operating farm that are subordinate and related to the primary use of farming and limited to:

1. indoor and outdoor agricultural education;
2. processing, packaging and storage of crops grown on the premises;
3. lease or rent of garden plots to the public and
4. pick-your-own operations. [Adopted 7/10/17]

Effective on: 7/10/2017

Acre: A measure of land containing 43,560 square feet.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Affordable Housing: Decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings, apartments or other living accommodations for households making at or below eighty (80%) percent of the median household income as determined by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. [Adopted 3/27/89]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Affordable Housing Development: A development consisting of one or more permitted land uses in the zoning district where it is located and which meets the requirements of Sec. 19-73 of this ordinance, and meets the following requirements:

1. A.
   For rental housing, a development in which a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under the United States Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 75-412, 50 Stat. 888, Section 8, as amended, can afford 51% or more of the units in the development without spending more than 30% of the household's monthly income on housing costs;
2. B.
   For owned housing, a development in which a household whose income does not exceed 120% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under the United States Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 75-412, 50 Stat. 888, Section 8, as amended, can afford 51% or more of the units in the development without spending more than 30% of the household's monthly income on housing costs.

For the purpose of this definition, “housing costs” include, but are not limited to:

1. A.
   For a rental unit, the cost of rent and any utilities (electric, heat, water, sewer, and/or trash) that the household pays separately from the rent; and
2. B.
   For an ownership unit, the cost of mortgage principal and interest, real estate taxes (including assessments), private mortgage insurance, homeowner’s insurance, condominium fees, and homeowners’ association fees. [Adopted 12/11/23]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Aggrieved Person or Party: A person who participated in a hearing, if one is held under this ordinance, and who suffers a particularized injury as a result of the grant or denial of a permit, approval, or variance under this ordinance.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Agricultural Education:  The teaching of farming, animal husbandry, natural resources and land management through hands on experience and guidance. [Adopted 7/10/17]

Effective on: 7/10/2017

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; fruits and vegetables; and ornamental and green house products. Agriculture does not include forest management and timber harvesting activities (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Alteration: A change, addition, or modification, requiring construction, including any change in the location of structural members of buildings such as bearing walls, columns, beams, or girders, but not including cosmetic or decorative changes.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Animal Husbandry: Boarding, raising, breeding or keeping of animals, fowl or birds, for commercial purposes including, without limitations, swine, poultry, cattle and horses.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Antenna: A system of electrical conductors that emit or receive radio waves, including microwave dishes. [Adopted, 7/23/90]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Aquaculture: the growing or propagation of harvestable freshwater, estuarine, or marine plant or animal species (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Art & Craft Studio: A business or commercial establishment which provides working space for artists or craftspeople including facilities for classes or demonstrations and the sales of foods. Activities may include the sales of supplies or materials necessary for these activities and may include the sale of art produced on the premises. [Effective 1/25/88; Amended 4/25/22]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Assisted Living Facility: A residential facility that provides a State licensed program of assisted living services to consumers in private apartments in buildings that include a common dining area. Services include medication management, 24-hour supervision, and assistance with the activities of daily living, social activities, transportation and other health-related services. [Adopted 10/13/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Attic: The unfinished portion or portions of a building which are located immediately below and wholly or partly within the roof framing.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Automobile Dealership: A facility that sells or leases new or used automobiles, light trucks or other similar motorized transportation vehicles. The facility may maintain an inventory of the vehicles for sale or lease on site and may provide on-site facilities for the repair and service of the vehicles as an accessory use. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Automobile Graveyard: A yard, field, or other area used as a place of storage for three or more unserviceable, discarded, worn-out or junked automobiles.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Ballet Arts Facility: A business establishment engaging in dance instruction and performances in ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance; or theatrical performances. [Adopted 5/24/04]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Bank of Parking: One row of parking, including access, in front of a building’s primary façade, regardless of angle. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Basement: A space underneath a building having at least one-third (1/3) but not more than two-thirds (2/3) of its floor to ceiling height above the average finished grade within twenty (20) feet of the building and with a floor to ceiling height of not less than six and one half (6 1/2) feet.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Bed and Breakfast Establishment: A business, whether carried on in a commercial building or dwelling, which has a maximum of eight (8) bedrooms and which provides overnight accommodations and breakfast, but no other meals or cooking facilities, to guests for compensation. No guest may stay longer than seven (7) consecutive nights. [Amended, 5/27/93]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Board: The Board of Zoning Appeals of the Town of Falmouth.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Boat Launching Facility: A facility designed primarily for the launching and landing of watercraft, and which may include an access ramp, docking area, and parking spaces for vehicles and trailers (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Building: Any structure designed or intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals, processes, equipment or property of any kind.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Building Inspector: The Building Inspector of the Town of Falmouth, also referred to as the Code Enforcement Officer.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Building frontage: The linear distance measured along a street or internal drive between two lines projecting perpendicular from the street or internal drive to the corners of the building. [9/27/2023]

Effective on: 9/27/2023

Built, Erected: The words "built" and "erected" shall each contain the other and shall include the words "constructed," "reconstructed," "altered," "enlarged," "moved," and any others of like significance.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Business and Professional Offices: The place of business of doctors, lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, architects, surveyors, real estate and insurance businesses, psychiatrists, counselors, and the like, or in which a business conducts its administrative, financial or clerical operations including banks and other financial services. [Amended, 7/22/91, 5/27/93].

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Car Wash:  An establishment engaged in the washing of motor vehicles.

Effective on: 7/24/2017

Cellar: A space, underneath a building, with less than one-third of its floor to ceiling height above the average finished grade within twenty (20) feet of the building or with a floor to ceiling height of less than six and one half (6 1/2) feet.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Cemetery: Property used for the interring of the dead.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Change in Use: The change from an existing use to another use, including without limitation, the addition of a new use to an existing use.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Channel: A water-course between defined banks created by the action of surface water and characterized by the lack of terrestrial vegetation and by the presence of a bed, devoid of topsoil, containing waterborne deposits or exposed soil parent material or bedrock.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Coastal high hazard area: The portion of the 100-year floodplain that is subject to storm related coastal flooding and that is identified as a coastal high hazard area on the most recent version of the FEMA floodplain maps for Falmouth. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Code Enforcement Officer: Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of Falmouth, also referred to as the Building Inspector.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Commercial School – A for-profit business facility or institution which provides instruction or tutoring by previous arrangement for a particular skill or subject to a group of students in a classroom or similar type setting and may include private lessons as an ancillary service. By way of example only, commercial schools may include schools for performing arts, fine arts, photography, driving, pottery, business, beauty, sports, language or driving.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Common Open Space: Land within or related to a subdivision that is set aside to conserve natural resource, scenic, cultural, historic, or archeological values, provide active or passive recreation, or accommodate support facilities related to the subdivision, and that is restricted from significant development or intensive use except for approved recreational or support facilities and protected in perpetuity in a substantially undeveloped state through legally binding fee ownership or conservation easements. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Conditional Use: A conditional use is a structure or use which is generally appropriate with restrictions in a given zone, which if controlled as location, size and off-site impacts may have no adverse effects upon the public health, safety or welfare. The only structures or uses which shall be permitted as conditional uses are those listed as conditional uses in Div. II-19-1-3 or specifically described as conditional uses in other provisions of this Ordinance.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Conditional Rezoning: The process by which a property owner or developer, in consideration for the rezoning of his property, agrees to the imposition of certain conditions or restrictions not imposed on other similarly zoned properties.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Congregate Housing: "Congregate Housing" means residential housing consisting of private apartments and central dining facilities and within which a congregate housing supportive services program serves elderly occupants. [Amended 10/13/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Conservation Subdivision: A residential development, whether or not part of a subdivision and including private way developments, meeting the requirements of Section 19-18.5 in which a significant portion of the site is set as common open space and permanently protected. [Adopted 12/22/05, Amended 3/12/18]

Effective on: 3/12/2018

Country Estate Lot: An oversized residential lot that meets the requirements of Section 19-18.6 or 7. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Country Estate Subdivision: A subdivision consisting of Country Estate lots meeting the requirements of Section 19-18.6. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Currently Developed: Areas having at least one principal structure per five hundred (500) feet of shoreland or wetland frontage, when these areas extend for more than one thousand (1,000) feet (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Day Care Center: A private establishment providing day care for 13 or more persons which charges for their care and holds all legally required licenses and approvals.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Day Care Home: A private home providing day care for up to 12 persons which charges for their care and which holds all legally required licenses and approvals. A day care home may also include the part time care of up to 20 persons. Part time in this use shall mean: 1) 4 hours or less per day, per person, and 2) the total number of persons during the day not to exceed 20.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Deck: A level structure adjacent to a building elevated above the surface of the ground which may have a railing, but no roof, awning or other covering.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Decorative Changes: Repainting, residing, reroofing; adding, removing or replacing trim, railings, or other non-structural architectural details.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Designated Great Pond, River, Saltwater Body, Stream or Wetland: A water body or area of land represented on the Official Zoning Map and subject to regulation under various provisions of Div. II-19-1-7 Shoreland Zoning of this Ordinance. [Adopted 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Dormer: A dormer is a modification of a roof which increases the elevation of a portion of that roof for the purposes of providing either more interior space or a window.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Drive-Through Facility: A use, otherwise allowed as a permitted or conditional use in the district where located, which is designed or used in such a manner as to permit customers or patrons to receive goods or services while remaining in their motor vehicles. [Adopted, 4/27/87]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Dwelling: A structure or portion thereof containing one or more dwelling units, but not including a motel, hotel, boarding house, tourist home, mobile home, or similar structure.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Dwelling, Multi-family: A building designed or intended to be used, or used exclusively for residential occupancy by three (3) or more families living independently of one another and containing three (3) or more dwelling units. [Amended 7/11/16]

Effective on: 7/11/2016

Dwelling, Single Family Detached: A building designed or intended to be used exclusively for residential occupancy by one family only and containing only one (1) dwelling unit, or one (1) dwelling unit with an accessory apartment as permitted under Section 19-55, including a manufactured housing unit with no horizontal dimension smaller than twenty-four (24) feet.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Dwelling, Two-Family: A building designed or intended to be used, or used exclusively for residential occupancy by two (2) families living independently of one another and containing two (2) dwelling units, but excluding single-family dwellings with an accessory  dwelling unit as permitted under Section 19-55. [Adopted, 4/4/05][Amended 7/11/16]

Effective on: 7/11/2016

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 at a time, and containing cooking, sleeping and toilet facilities. The term shall include mobile homes and rental units that contain cooking, sleeping, and toilet facilities regardless of the time-period rented. Recreational vehicles are not residential dwelling units. [Amended 5/26/09, 05/09/16]

Effective on: 5/9/2016

Elderly Boarding Care: Care for persons over the age of 60 which is greater than that necessarily attendant upon mere eating and lodging services but which is less than that attendant upon nursing home or hospital care. Elderly boarding care may include personal supervision, protection from environmental hazards, diet care, grooming care, hand and foot care, skin care, mouth and teeth care, shampooing, bathing, assistance in ambulation, supervision and assistance in the administration of medications, diversional or motivational activities, and stimulation of, or assistance in, activities of daily living or physical exercise. [Adopted 5/28/96]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Elderly Boarding Home: An owner occupied house having no more than four (4) elderly residents which for consideration is maintained wholly or partially for the purpose of providing elderly residents with boarding care. The term elderly boarding care does not include any facility otherwise providing residential services, health care, treatment, rehabilitation, or related services or other facilities within the definition of “health institution”, as defined in this Ordinance. Conversion of a single family dwelling to use as an elderly boarding home shall not be considered an expansion or enlargement requiring approval under Div. II-19-1-6 provided there is no enlargement of the structure. [Adopted 5/28/96]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Emergency Operations: Operations conducted for the public health, safety or general welfare, such as protection of resources from immediate distribution or loss, law enforcement, and operations to rescue human beings and livestock from the threat of destruction or injury.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Essential Services:  Facilities for the transmission or distribution of water, gas, electricity or communications or for the collection, treatment or disposal of wastes, including, without limitation, towers, poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm and police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and similar accessories but not buildings. Wastewater pump stations are not considered buildings for purposes of application of this definition. [Amended 7/28/14]

Effective on: 7/28/2014

Excavating Business: The operation by a lot owner of the business of off-site land excavation incidental to construction of buildings, driveways, parking areas, streets and the like, including the on-site storage of vehicles and equipment and the maintenance of administrative offices associated therewith. [Amended, 4/25/88]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Extractive Industries: The excavation, processing or storage of soil, topsoil, peat, loam, sand, gravel, rock or other mineral deposits, not including:

1. a.
   The excavation, processing, or storage of material incidental to and at the site of approved construction and/or site improvements, including, without limitation, buildings, roads, driveways or parking areas, provided that no off-site material may be processed on the site and provided that all processed material that will not be utilized for on-site use is removed from the site within six months of being processed and prior to the release of any performance guarantee related to the approved construction and/or site improvements; and
2. b.
   The excavation, processing or storage of less than one hundred (100) cubic yards of material on a lot within a one year period. [Amended 11/10/25]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Family: One or more persons occupying a dwelling unit, whether or not related to each other by birth, adoption or marriage, but not to consist of more than 6 unrelated persons.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Farming: The commercial production, keeping, harvesting or grading for sale of plants useful to humans, including, but not limited to:

1. forages and sod crops;
2. grains and seed crops;
3. bees and apiary products; and
4. horticultural or green house products.[Amended 07/10/17]

Effective on: 7/10/2017

Flood Plain: Land subject to inundation by storm or flood water caused by overflow from the normal high water mark of any coastal or inland waters, or as defined or identified by the Flood Boundary Maps of the Town of Falmouth.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Floodway: The portion of the 100-year floodplain that must remain open and undeveloped and that is identified as a floodway on the most recent version of the FEMA floodplain maps for Falmouth. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Floor Area, Gross: The sum in square feet, of the total floor area of a building, as measured from the interior faces of the outside walls. In the Shoreland Zone, floor area shall include the horizontal area of any unenclosed portions of a structure such as porches and decks. [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Floor Area Ratio: The gross floor area of all buildings on a lot divided by the lot area. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

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 (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Forestry: Management of forest land primarily for the growth and harvesting of trees.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Foundation: The supporting substructure of a building or other structure (excluding wooden sills and post supports in the Shoreland Zone and notwithstanding provisions in the FEMA Coastal Construction Manual), including basements, slabs, frost walls, or other base consisting of concrete, block, brick or similar material. [Adopted 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Four Step Design Process: A process for laying out a subdivision or Country Estate Development by identifying open space, home sites, access and lot lines as set forth in the Town of Falmouth’s Land Subdivision Ordinance. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Frontage, Shore: The length of a lot bordering on a water body or wetland measured in a straight line between the intersections of the lot lines with the shoreline at normal high-water elevation (applies to Div. II-19-1-7 Shoreland Zoning). [Adopted 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Frontage, Street: The horizontal distance measured between the intersections of the side lot lines of a lot with the right-of-way of a street.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

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, marinas, navigation aides, basins and channels, which cannot reasonably be located or operated at an inland site, and uses which primarily provide general public access to marine or tidal waters (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Gas Station: A business establishment engaged in the sale of engine fuel (stored only in underground tanks), kerosene, motor oil and lubricants, directly to the public. All dispensing of fuels, lubricants, and fluids shall be done entirely on the property. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Great Pond: Any inland body of water which in a natural state has a surface area in excess of ten (10) acres, and any inland body of water artificially formed or increased which has a surface area in excess of thirty (30) acres. [Adopted 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Greenhouse: A building or structure whose roof and sides are made largely of a transparent of translucent material and in which the temperature and humidity may be regulated for the cultivation of plants year-round and includes high tunnels and hoophouses. [Adopted 12/09/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Grocery Retail: A self-service retail store selling primarily food products for consumption off site. [Adopted 11/26/12]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Ground Floor Tenant Area: The first floor indoor space occupied by an individual tenant, either by rent, lease, or ownership, and as measured from the interior wall faces. [Adopted 4/25/22]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Growth Area: Those areas depicted as "Growth Areas" on the map labeled "Future Land Use", dated 2/19/2025, and approved as part of the 2024 Comprehensive Plan. [Adopted 3/9/26]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Habitable Attic: An attic which has a stairway as a means of access and egress and in which the ceiling area at a height of 7 1/3 feet above the attic floor is not more than one third the area of the next floor below. Every bedroom and living area in a habitable attic shall have a second means of escape. This second means of escape shall either be 1) an egress window within 20 feet of grade, 2) a window which is directly accessible to the fire department rescue apparatus as approved by the Fire Chief, or 3) a window or door which opens onto an exterior balcony. [Adopted, 7/22/91]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Half-Story: An attic or habitable attic as defined. A half story shall also include a basement which has more than one third but less than half of its floor to ceiling height above the average finished grade within twenty feet of the building. [Amended, 7/22/91]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Health Institutions: A hospital, clinic, nursing home, boarding care facility and any other place for the treatment or diagnosis of human ailments other than a professional office.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Home Occupation: An accessory use of a dwelling unit for gainful employment as permitted in Section 19-54.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Horticultural Nursery: The growing, cultivation, storage, and sale of garden plants, seeds, flowers, trees, shrubs, and fertilizers, as well as the sale of garden tools and similar accessory and ancillary products, to the general public. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Housing for Older Persons: A multi-family dwelling intended for or occupied by persons identified as eligible for “housing for older persons” as defined in the Federal Housing for Older Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 3607(b)(2) [Adopted 05/09/16]

Effective on: 3/27/2017

Hotel: A building with guest rooms used primarily for transient occupancy of individuals who are lodged, with or without meals, with the majority of the rooms having access through the main lobby of the building. [Amended 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Household Pet: A tame or domesticated animal living primarily within a dwelling unit and kept for the enjoyment of its occupants.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Impervious Surface: That portion of a site which is or will be improved with principal and accessory buildings and structures, and driveways, parking lots, pedestrian walkways, signs and other improvements on the surface of the ground which are more impervious than the natural surface of the site.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Internal Drive – A private street created in a VC District with or without a dedicated right of way which may provide frontage for purposes of establishing front setbacks for buildings. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Invasive Terrestrial Plants : Species of plants as listed below. [Adopted 5/13/13, Amended 3/27/17]:

Effective on: 3/27/2017

Junkyard: A yard, field or other area used as a place of storage for discarded, worn-out or junked plumbing, heating supplies, household appliances, furniture, discarded scrap or junked lumber, old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper trash, rubber debris, waste or scrap iron, steel or other ferrous or non-ferrous materials, including garbage dumps, waste dumps and sanitary landfills.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Kennel: An establishment in which more than four (4) dogs or four (4) cats more than one year old are housed, bred, boarded, trained or sold.  Without limitation, included in this definition are establishments that provide short-term daytime care and/or overnight care. [Amended 04/13/2020]

Effective on: 4/13/2020

Land Reclamation: The placement of solid fill and materials in a formerly excavated gravel pit for the purpose of reclamation of such gravel pit, provided, however, that all necessary Maine Department of Environmental Protection permits have been obtained. [Amended, 4/25/88]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Landscape Buffer: An area within a property or site, generally adjacent to and parallel with a property line, either consisting of natural existing vegetation or created by the use of trees and shrubs, designed to limit continuously the view of and/or sound from the site to adjacent sites or properties. [Adopted 8/26/96]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Landscaped Buffer Strip: A landscaped area adjacent to and parallel with the front property line of a lot or parcel. The border strip may be crossed by drives, access roads or pedestrian ways but otherwise shall be maintained in a landscaped state. The border strip shall not be used for parking, the storage of material, equipment or wastes or the display of any equipment, material or products. [Effective 1/25/88]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Library: A non municipal public or private facility that provides physical and/or electronic availability of books, periodicals, and other information sources and media to the general public or members. [Adopted, 4/4/05]

Effective on: 7/10/2017

Light Manufacturing: a business establishment engaged in the manufacturing, packaging, processing, assembling, or testing of goods or products, provided that all operations shall be carried on indoors and in such a manner as to confine smoke, fumes, dust, odors, and noise to the premises, and that no operations shall constitute a hazard by reason of the potential for fire, explosion, radiation release or other casualty. [Adopted, 4/27/87]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Local farm and food products: agricultural, marine, forestry, horticultural, viticultural, dairy, livestock, poultry, and bee raising products or the processed or manufactured products thereof grown, processed, packaged, and distributed by Maine citizens or businesses located wholly within the borders of Maine. [Adopted 02/27/12]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Local home prepared foods: food products processed or produced in a non-commercial kitchen in the state of Maine. [Adopted 02/27/12]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot: An area of land in one ownership, or one leasehold, with ascertainable boundaries established by deed or instrument of record, or a segment of land ownership defined by lot boundary lines on a land subdivision plan duly approved by the Planning Board and recorded in the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Area: The area of land enclosed within the boundary lines of a lot, minus land below the normal high-water line of a water body or upland edge of a designated wetland and areas within the right-of-way of streets as defined. [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Coverage: That percentage of the lot covered by buildings.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Front: On any lot bounded on more than one side by a street, or a lot bounded by both a street and ocean or lake frontage, the "lot front" shall be the street, lake or ocean frontage designated "lot front" in any building permit application for such lot.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Lines: The property lines bounding a lot.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Line, Front: The line separating the lot from a street and ordinarily regarded as the front of the lot. On any lot bounded on more than one property line by a street, the front lot line shall be that property line of the lot designated as "street frontage" in any building permit application for such lot.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Line, Rear: The line opposite and most distant from the front lot line; or in the case of triangular or otherwise irregularly shaped lots, a line ten (10) feet in length entirely within the lot, parallel to and at a maximum distance from the front lot line.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Line, Side: Any lot line other than the front lot line or rear lot line.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot of Record: A lot shown on a deed or subdivision plan recorded in the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds as of a certain date. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Lot Width: The width of any lot shall be measured wholly within the lot, at the required setback depth, along a line parallel to the front lot line. Lots located on a curved street shall be measured wholly within the lot, at the required setback depth, along a line parallel to a straight line connecting the intersections of the front lot line with the side lot lines.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Manufactured Housing Subdistrict: An area within a zoning district in which manufactured housing units can be located on undeveloped lots subject to the same requirements as single family detached dwellings except as provided in Section 19-43.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Manufactured Housing Unit: A mobile home constructed after June 15, 1976, which complies with the standards established under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and complies with the standards set forth below, or a modular home which the manufacturer certifies is constructed in compliance with the State of Maine's Manufactured Housing Act and Regulations and complies with the following additional standards:

1. The unit shall be constructed with a pitched roof having a pitch of 3 in 12 or greater.
2. The roof shall be covered with asphalt composition shingles or wood shingles or shakes which meet the requirements of the Falmouth Building Code.
3. The exterior wall surfaces shall be covered with materials similar to traditional site-built housing units. These materials may include clapboards, simulated clapboards such as conventional vinyl or metal siding, wood shingles, or similar materials, but shall not include smooth, ribbed or corrugated metal or plastic panels except as permitted above.
4. The minimum horizontal dimension of the unit as installed on the site shall be fourteen (14) feet.
5. The minimum floor area of the unit shall be seven hundred and fifty (750) square feet.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Manufacturing: The making of goods and articles by hand or machinery including assembly, fabrication, finishing, packaging and processing.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Marina: A business establishment having frontage on the navigable water within the town and providing for hire off shore mooring or docking facilities for boats and accessory services and facilities such as: boat sales, rental and storage, marine supplies and equipment, marina engine and hull repairs, construction and outfitting of pleasure craft, fuel and oil, electricity, fresh water, ice, shower and laundry facilities and on-premises restaurant.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Marquee: A permanent structure fastened entirely to a building and projecting from the wall above an entrance to provide shelter for automobile passenger loading and unloading to the entrance. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Mineral Exploration: Hand sampling, test 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 (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Mixed Use Development: A planned, integrated development involving two or more different uses including, but not limited to, office, residential, light manufacturing, and retail, in an architecturally harmonious environment with common access and utility systems. [Effective 1/25/88]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Mobile Home: A detached dwelling unit designed to be transported, after fabrication, on streets or highways on its own wheels, or on a flat bed or other trailer or on detachable wheels, and not meeting the definition of a manufactured housing unit.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Motel: A building or group of attached or detached buildings containing rental guest rooms with or without cooking facilities in each room, most rooms having a separate bathroom and outside entrance, designed or intended to be used by automobile transients.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Municipal Use: A governmental use funded in whole or in part by the Town of Falmouth including, by way of illustration, without limitation, municipal buildings, public schools, public parks, public recreational facilities, Falmouth Memorial Library, fire stations, and Town owned and operated antennae and towers serving public works, police, fire, or rescue agencies.

Effective on: 7/10/2017

Museum: A non-profit institution operated principally for the purpose of preserving and exhibiting objects of historical, cultural, scientific or artistic interest and which may also engage in incidental retail sale of items related to its principal purpose.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Neighborhood Variety/Convenience Store: A store intended to serve a residential neighborhood with a limited variety of foods, beverages and dry goods. It may also include the sale of prepared foods, for consumption on or off-site, provided that such sale is accessory to the principal use and does not use drive-through. [Adopted 8/28/06; amended 7/24/2023]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Net Leasable Area: In a building or project, floor space that may be rented to tenants excluding common areas and space devoted to the heating, cooling, and other equipment of a building.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Nonconforming Structure, Use or Lot: A structure, use, or lot, lawfully existing prior to the effective date of this Ordinance in 1965 or lawfully existing between that date and the effective date of the revision of this Ordinance in 1983, or the effective date of any amendment to this Ordinance, which is not a permitted structure, use or lot in the district where located pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance, as amended.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Normal High-Water Line: That line which is apparent from visible markings, changes in the character of soils due to prolonged action of the water or changes in vegetation, and which distinguishes between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial land. Areas contiguous with rivers and great ponds that support non-forested wetland vegetation and hydric soils and that are at the same or lower elevation as the water level of the river or great pond during the period of normal high-water are considered part of the river or great pond. In the case of coastal wetlands, the normal high-water line is considered to be the upland edge of the wetland, and not the edge of the open water (applies to Div. II-19-1-7 Shoreland Zoning). [Adopted, 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Normal High Water Mark, Coastal Waters: That line on the shore of tidal waters which is ten (10) feet above mean low water sea level.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Normal High Water Mark, Inland Waters: That line on the shores and banks of non-tidal waters which is apparent because of the contiguous different character of the soil or the vegetation due to the prolonged action of the water. Relative to the vegetation, it is that line where the vegetation changes from predominantly aquatic to predominantly terrestrial (by way of illustration, aquatic vegetation includes, but is not limited to the following plants and plant groups -- upland grasses, aster, lady slipper, wintergreen, partridge berry, sarsaparilla, pines, cedars, oaks, ashes, alders, elms and maples). In places where the shore or bank is of such character that the high water mark cannot be easily determined (rock slides, ledges, rapidly eroding or slumping banks) the normal high water mark shall be estimated from places where it can be determined by the above method.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Nursing Facility: “Nursing Facility” means an institution or a distinct part of an institution which is primarily engaged in providing skilled nursing care and related services for residents who require medical or nursing care, rehabilitation services or health-related care and services above the level of room and board. [Adopted 10/13/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Open Space: The portion of a lot or site which is maintained in its natural state or planted with grass, shrubs, trees or other vegetation and which is not occupied by buildings, structures or other impervious surfaces.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Outdoor Display of Automobiles – An area of a lot, used for the display of automobiles for purchase or lease, which use is accessory to a building used as an automobile dealership and located on the same lot. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Outdoor Recreation Facilities: Any outdoor recreational use such as, but not limited to, golf courses, tennis courts, riding stables, swimming pools, or ice skating rinks, but not including campgrounds, drive-in movie theaters, race tracks, water slides, miniature golf and mechanical or motorized rides. [Adopted, 4/27/87]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Outdoor Retail Display– A dedicated area of a lot, used for display of merchandise or goods available for purchase from the business and directly accessible by the public, which use is accessory to a building used for retail on the same lot. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Outdoor Sales and Storage: The sale or storage of goods or materials outdoors as an accessory to a permitted or conditional use which is conducted in a building or permanent structure. [Adopted, 4/27/87]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Parking Space: An area abutting a street or drive measuring at least nine (9) feet in width by eighteen (18) feet in length, exclusive of space required for access and maneuvering, and intended or used for parking passenger vehicles.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Patio: A level area adjacent to a dwelling unit constructed of stone, cement or other materials located at ground level, with no railing or other structure above the level of the ground.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Person: An individual, firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company or corporation.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Personal Service: An establishment where nonprofessional services, involving the care of a person or of their personal goods or apparel, are provided. This definition applies only to the Residential Community Overlay District (RCOD). [Adopted 10/13/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Personal Use Airstrip: A personal use airstrip is a grass landing strip to be used by fixed wing aircraft and which strip meets the requirements of Section 19-74. [Adopted, 9/26/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Place of Worship: A building or structure, or groups of buildings or structures, designed, primarily intended or used for the conduct of religious services and accessory uses associated therewith. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Planning Board: The Planning Board of the Town of Falmouth.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Pond: Any inland body of water, except a man-made body of water, completely surrounded by land held by a single owner.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Potable: Safe for drinking as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories Table and Maine’s interim drinking water standards for six different perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Resolve 2021 Chapter 82, Resolve, To Protect Consumers of Public Drinking Water by Establishing Maximum Contaminant Level for Certain Substances and Contaminants. [Adopted 12/11/23]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Primary Conservation Area: The portion of a site containing: 1) land that meets the descriptions in subsections 19-64.1, Net Residential Area, c, d or f; 2) a protected natural resource as defined in subsection 19-71.3, Buffers and Setbacks Adjacent to Streams, Ponds and Wetlands; or 3) land within a buffer or setback required by subsection 19-71.4. [Adopted 12/22/05] [Amended 12/17/07]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Principal Building: The building in which the primary use of the lot is conducted.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Principal Use: The primary use to which the premises are devoted or for which the premises are arranged, designed or intended to be used.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Private Access Drive: An alternative form of access to a Country Estate lot that meets the requirements of Section 19-73. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Private Club: A group of people organized for a common purpose to pursue common goals, interests or activities, such as social or recreational, and usually characterized by certain membership qualifications, payment of fees or dues, and a constitution and bylaws.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Private School: A private institution for education or instruction including a college, university, or school conducting classes pursuant to a program approved by the State Board of Education or similar governmental agency, but not including commercially operated schools, such as schools of beauty, culture, business, dancing, driving, music or recreation.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Processing of Mineral Materials for Resale: The handling, screening, or storage of soil, topsoil, peat, loam, sand or rock extracted from an off-site source for the purpose of resale. [Amended, 4/25/88]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Public Utilities: [Repealed 7/28/14]

Effective on: 7/28/2014

Recent Flood Plain Soils: The following soil series as described and identified by the National Cooperative Soil Survey (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7) [Amended, 5/27/92]:

Alluvial  
Cornish 
Charles
Fryeburg
Hadley 
Limerick
Lovewell
Medomak
Ondawa
Podunk 
Runmey
Saco
Suncook
Sunday 
Winooski

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Recreational Vehicle: A vehicle or vehicular attachment not exceeding three hundred twenty (320) square feet in gross floor area designed for temporary sleeping or living quarters for one or more persons, including without limitation, a pick-up camper, travel trailer, tent trailer or motor home.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Research Facilities: Facilities involved in the intellectual or physical study and analysis of materials, organisms, or ideas. [Adopted 4/4/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Residential Planned Development: A planned, integrated residential development involving detached single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, or a combination thereof in an architecturally harmonious environment with common access and utility system. [Effective 1/25/88; amended 7/25/22, 12/11/23]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Restaurant: An establishment, which may contain indoor and/or outdoor seating, where food and drink is prepared and served to or consumed by the public. [Amended 01/10/2022]

Effective on: 1/10/2022

Restaurant - Carry-out: A restaurant which by design of physical facilities or by service or packaging procedures permits as a principal use the purchase of prepared, ready-to-eat food intended to be consumed off the premises. [Adopted, 4/27/87]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Restaurant - Drive-Through: A restaurant which has a drive-through facility which permits customers to obtain food and drink while remaining in their vehicles. [Adopted 4/27/87, Amended 01/10/2022]

Effective on: 1/10/2022

Retail Service: Establishments providing services to the general public primarily for personal or household use, excluding those services defined in Business and Professional Offices. May include the sale of goods that is incidental and subordinate to the service. [Adopted 12/09/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Retail and Service Establishment: A business establishment engaged in the sale, rental, or lease of goods or services to the ultimate consumer for direct use or consumption and not for resale, and may include the display and sale of products and services outside of the building occupying up to and including 100 square feet of area. Fuel pumps are considered an accessory use to a retail and service establishment in all districts except R1N, VC1 and VC2. [Adopted 4/27/87] [Amended 5/13/13; 3/9/26]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Riding Stable: Any land or structure designed, intended or used for the keeping of horses or ponies for hire, either with or without instructions in riding.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Riprap: Rocks, irregularly shaped, and at least six (6) inches in diameter, used for erosion control and soil stabilization, typically used on ground slopes of two (2) units horizontal to one (1) unit vertical or less. [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Road: A route or track consisting of a bed of exposed mineral soil, gravel, asphalt, or other surfacing material constructed for or created by the repeated passage of motor vehicles. Within the Shoreland Zone, the term road includes driveways. [Amended, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Roadside Stand: A permanent structure accessory to either a residential or farm use intended for retail of locally made products as identified in Section 19-34.1 of this ordinance. [Adopted 02/27/12]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Salt Marsh: Areas along coastal waters (most often along coastal bays) which support salt tolerant species, and where, at average high tide during the growing season, the soil is regularly inundated by tidal waters. The predominant species is saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). More open areas often support widgeon grass, eelgrass, and Sago pondweed (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Salt Meadow: Areas which support salt tolerant plant species bordering the landward side of salt marshes or open coastal water, where the soil is saturated during the growing season but which is rarely inundated by tidal water. Indigenous plant species include salt meadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) and black rush; common threesquare occurs in fresher areas (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Secondary Conservation Area: The portion of a site that has open space, recreational, natural resource, scenic, cultural, historic, or archeological value and should be considered for inclusion within the common open space of a conservation subdivision but is not within the Primary Conservation Area. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Self Storage Facility: A building or buildings consisting of individual self-contained units or compartments that are rented, leased, or owned for the purpose of storing property and where the property is customarily stored and removed on a self-service basis. [3/9/26]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Senior Center: A facility with regular operating hours and staff that provide for a broad spectrum of health, social, nutritional and education services and recreational activities targeted for persons sixty (60) years of age and older. [Adopted 5/30/12]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Setback: The horizontal distance from the nearest part of a structure to a lot line or street line, whichever is closer to the structure. [Amended, 1/24/00]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Setback, Front: The setback from the front lot line. [Amended, 1/24/00]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Setback, Normal High-Water Line: The nearest horizontal distance from the normal high-water line of a water body or from the upland edge of a designated wetland to the nearest part of a structure, road, parking space or other regulated object or area (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Setback, Rear: The setback from the rear lot line. [Amended, 1/24/00]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Setback, Side: The setback from a side lot line. [Amended, 1/24/00]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Service Garage: A business establishment engaged in general repair, engine rebuilding, parts replacement, rebuilding or reconditioning of motor vehicles, body, frame or fender straightening and repair, painting and undercoating, Repair of motor vehicles shall performed inside an enclosed building. [Added 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Side Street: Bucknam Road, Depot Road, Clearwater Drive and Fundy Road. This definition is applicable to the VC Districts. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Sign: An object, device, display or structure, or part thereof consisting of the combination of the sign supporting structure and the sign display area, visible to the public and outside of a building, which is used to advertise, identify, display, direct or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, service, event or location by any means, including words, letters, figures, design, symbols, fixtures, colors, illumination or projected images.[Amended 1/24/11; 7/24/17] 

1. A-Frame Sign: A portable sign composed of two surfaces of the same size and attached on one side so that the sign is hinged and can be easily placed or removed on the ground by one individual. [Adopted 5/26/09]
2. Off-premise Sign : A structure designed, intended or used for advertising a product, property, business, entertainment, service, amusement or the like, and not located where the matter advertised is available or occurs. . [Amended 7/24/17]
3. Directional Sign: A free standing or wall mounted traffic control sign located on private property intended to direct or regulate the movement of traffic to protect public safety. [Adopted 5/13/13, Amended 7/24/17]
4. Free Standing Sign: A sign supported by one (1) or more uprights or braces permanently affixed into the ground. [Amended 4/11/16; 7/24/17]
5. Fuel Pump Canopy Sign: A sign affixed to the vertical plane of a roof covering fuel pumps. [Adopted 5/13/13]
6. Marquee Sign: A sign affixed to a marquee. [Adopted 5/13/13]
7. Portable Sign: A sign not designed or intended to be permanently affixed into the ground or to a structure.
8. Projecting Sign– A sign that is wholly or partly dependent upon a building for support and whose sign faces are perpendicular to the wall on which it is mounted. [Adopted 5/13/13]
9. Roof Sign: A sign located upon or over a roof of a building.
10. Temporary Sign: A sign designed, intended to be displayed or displayed for a limited period of time.[Amended 1/24/11, 5/30/12]
11. Wall Sign: A sign attached to, supported by, or projecting from a building wall, awning, canopy or part thereof and for which the message is parallel to the wall on which it is attached. [Amended 1/24/11; 5/13/13; 7/24/17]

Effective on: 7/24/2017

Sign Area: The rectangular area of the sign containing all written and graphical content, measured as the smallest height and width dimensions that include all content and excluding any supporting structure such as a stone wall. (Applicable to property identification signs) [Adopted 1/24/11] repetitive with Sign Display Area

Effective on: 7/24/2017

Sign Display Area or Display Area: The total area of one face of a sign, excluding supporting structures and the area containing the street number or address.[Adopted 1/24/11][Amended 5/30/12; 7/24/17]

Effective on: 7/24/2017

Sign Refacing or Refacing: The replacement of the sign display area, or a portion thereof, such as a sign panel. [Adopted 1/24/11; amended 7/24/17]

Effective on: 7/24/2017

Sign Supporting Structure: The portion of a sign consisting of materials not included in the sign display area. [Adopted 1/24/11] [Amended 05/30/12;7/24/17]

Effective on: 7/24/2017

Site: An area of land in single or multiple ownership or leasehold upon which a multi-family , conservation subdivision, commercial development or other similar development is located or to be located. [Amended 12/22/05]

Effective on: 3/27/2017

Site Inventory and Analysis: The Site Analysis Sketch Plan, Site Analysis Narrative, and Existing Resources Site Analysis Plan and supporting data as set out in the Land Subdivision Ordinance that describe the site proposed to be subdivided and analyze the opportunities and constraints for open space preservation, subdivision, and development. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Skilled Nursing Facility: Skilled Nursing Facility” means an institution or a distinct part of an institution which is primarily engaged in providing skilled nursing care and related services for residents who require medical or nursing care or rehabilitation services on an inpatient basis and do not require acute level of care. [Adopted 10/13/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Story: That portion of a building contained between any floor and the floor or ceiling next above it, unless defined as an attic, cellar or half story.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Stream: A channel between defined banks created by the action of surface water, whether intermittent or perennial, and which has two (2) or more of the following characteristics.

1. It is depicted as a solid or broken blue line on the most recent edition of the U.S. Geological Survey seven-and-one-half (7.5) minute series topographic map or, if that is not available, a fifteen (15) minute series topographic map.
2. It contains, or is known to contain, flowing water continuously for a period of at least six (6) months of the year in most years.
3. The channel bed is primarily composed of mineral material such as sand and gravel, parent material, or bedrock that has been deposited or scoured by water.
4. The channel contains aquatic animals such as fish, aquatic insects, or mollusks in the water or, if no surface water is present, within the stream bed.
5. The channel contains aquatic vegetation and is essentially devoid of upland vegetation.

Stream does not mean a ditch or other drainage way constructed, or constructed and maintained, solely for the purpose of draining storm water or a grassy swale. [Adopted 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Street:  For the purposes of this Ordinance, the term street shall include:

1. A way established or maintained under public authority;
2. A way shown on a plan of a subdivision duly approved by the Planning Board and recorded in the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds;
3. A private way 50 feet wide subject to the requirements of Section 19-60.
4. The following existing private ways are hereby considered streets as a matter of right:

Pride Farm Road (Road 2) 
Rockaway Road (Road 1)
Hideaway Lane (Road 4) 
Shaw Road
Huston Road (Road 3)  
Stagecoach Road
Madokawando Road  
Sunset Road (Road 5)
Old Powerhouse Road  
Thornhurst Road
Lowell Farm Road (Road 6)

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Structure:  Any combination of materials covering more than 10 square feet constructed or erected above or below or upon the surface of the ground or water including a porch or deck. The term structure shall not include:

1. a boundary wall or fence;
2. an awning or tent for a specific event (limited to 6 days) for which a town permit has been issued;
3. an uncovered and unenclosed patio or terrace, except in the Shoreland Zone. [Amended 7/28/14] 
4. a retractable awning or shade used solely to screen a door or window;
5. a backyard tent used for sleeping; or
6. paving of driveways or parking lots, except in the Shoreland Zone.[Adopted 4/27/87]
7. essential services or any portion thereof which is  located underground.[Added 7/28/14]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Tasting Room: An establishment used for the on-premise consumption of alcoholic beverages that are produced on the premises, and which may include incidental retail sales of those alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption, and may include incidental off-site distribution. [3/9/26]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Tier I Personal Wireless Service Facility or Tier I Facility: As defined in the Personal Wireless Service Facilities Ordinance. (Town of Falmouth Code of Ordinances, Chapter 8, Art. II-8-10) [Adopted, 4/25/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Tier II Personal Wireless Service Facility or Tier II Facility: As defined in the Personal Wireless Service Facilities Ordinance. (Town of Falmouth Code of Ordinances, Chapter 8, II-8-10) [Adopted, 4/25/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Tier III Personal Wireless Service Facility or Tier III Facility: As defined in the Personal Wireless Service Facilities Ordinance. (Town of Falmouth Code of Ordinances, Chapter 8, Art. II-8-10) [Adopted, 4/25/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

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 (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Town: Municipality of Falmouth, Maine.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Tradesman's Office: The office of a self-employed craftsman or person in a skilled trade involving only the management of the business and including no exterior storage of vehicles, material or equipment. [Effective 1/25/88]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Transition Zone: The area between the edge of the property boundary abutting the Route One right of way and the sidewalk located within the Route One right of way. [Adopted 5/13/13]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Transmission Tower: Any free standing or guyed structure, except for amateur (ham) radio towers and municipally owned and operated towers, on which transmitting and/or receiving antennae and associated cable and supports are located. [Adopted, 4/23/90]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Unfragmented Habitat Block: An area with a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) acres of contiguous mature forest. [Adopted 12/22/05]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Upland Edge: The boundary between upland and wetland (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Variance: A relaxation of the provisions of this Ordinance imposing restrictions of height, lot coverage, lot size, or setback as permitted by Section 19-120 of this Ordinance.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Vertical Mixed-Use Building: A building consisting of two or more different land uses and where dwelling units are prohibited on the ground floor of the building. [3/9/26]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Veterinary Clinic: A premises used by veterinarians for the medical care and treatment of animals, and which may include the boarding of animals within an enclosed building as long as the boarding is limited to short-term care incidental to the treatment of the animals.  Animals shall not be kept outdoors unless under the supervision of staff for the purpose of evaluating, rehabilitating, or caring for the animals. [Adopted 4/24/2023]

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Volume of a Structure: The volume of all portions of a structure enclosed by roof and fixed exterior walls as measured from the exterior faces of these walls and roof (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Warehouse: A structure or building used primarily for the storage of articles, goods or materials. [Adopted, 4/27/87]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Waterbody: Highland Lake, the Presumpscot and Piscataqua Rivers, tidal areas, and any designated stream (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Section II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Water crossing: Any project extending from one bank to the opposite bank of a river or stream, whether under, through, or over the water course. Such projects include but may not be limited to roads, fords, bridges, culverts, water lines, sewer lines, and cables, as well as maintenance work on these crossings (applies to Shoreland Zoning, Div. II-19-1-7). [Adopted, 5/27/92]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wetlands: See wetland, coastal; wetland, forested; wetland, freshwater; wetland, inland; and wetland of special significance. [Adopted, 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wetland, Coastal: All tidal and subtidal land; an area with vegetation present that is tolerant of salt water and occurs primarily in a salt water or estuarine habitat; or any swamp, marsh, bog, beach, flat, or other contiguous lowland that is subject to tidal action during the highest tide level for the year in which an activity is proposed as identified in tide tables, published by the National Ocean Service. A coastal wetland may include portions of a coastal sand dune. [Amended 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wetland, Forested: A freshwater wetland dominated by woody vegetation that is twenty (20) feet tall or taller (applies to Div. II-19-1-7 Shoreland Zoning). [Adopted, 5/27/92; amended 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wetland, Freshwater: A swamp, marsh, bog, and similar area that is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and for a duration sufficient to support, and which under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of wetland vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils; and is not considered part of a great pond, coastal wetland, or stream.[Adopted 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wetland, Inland: Areas enclosed by the normal high water mark of inland water and areas otherwise identified on the basis of soils, vegetation, or other criteria as inland wetlands including but not limited to swamps, marshes or bogs.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wetland of Special Significance: All coastal wetlands and great ponds are considered wetlands of special significance. In addition, a freshwater wetland which has one (1) or more of the following characteristics is considered a wetland of special significance.

1. Critically imperiled or imperiled community. The freshwater wetland contains a natural community that is critically imperiled or imperiled, as defined by the Maine Natural Areas Program.
2. Significant wildlife habitat. The freshwater wetland contains significant wildlife habitat.
3. Location near a coastal wetland. The freshwater wetland is located within two hundred fifty (250) feet of a coastal wetland.
4. Location near a great pond. The freshwater wetland is located within two hundred fifty (250) feet of the normal high water line and within the same watershed of any lake or pond classified as a great pond.
5. Aquatic vegetation, emergent marsh vegetation, or open water. The freshwater wetland contains, under normal circumstances, at least twenty thousand (20,000) square feet of aquatic vegetation, emergent marsh vegetation, or open water, unless the twenty thousand (20,000) or more square foot area is the result of an artificial pond or impoundment.
6. Wetland subject to flooding. The freshwater wetland area is inundated with floodwater during a one hundred (100) year flood event based on flood insurance maps produced by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency or other site- specific information.
7. Peatland. The freshwater wetland is or contains peatlands, except those that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection determines as previously mined peatland, or portion thereof, is not a wetland of special significance.
8. Stream. The freshwater wetland area is located within twenty-five (25) feet of a stream, whether or not it is immediately adjacent. [Adopted 5/26/09]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wetland, Structure: Piers, docks, wharves, breakwaters, causeways, uses projecting into water bodies:

1. Temporary Wetland Structure: A structure which remains in the water for less than seven (7) months in any period of twelve (12) consecutive months.
2. Permanent Wetland Structure: A structure which remains in the water for seven (7) months or more in any period of twelve consecutive months.

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wholesale Establishment: A business establishment engaged in the bulk sale of goods or materials, not manufactured or processed on the premises, for resale. [Adopted, 4/27/87]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Wholly Enclosed Place of Assembly, Amusement, Recreation, Culture, and Government: An establishment providing a) indoor recreation facilities such as a bowling alley, skating rink, swimming pool, tennis or racquet ball courts but not including a mechanical, electronic, video or computer game arcade; b) mechanical, electronic, video or computer games if such games are accessory to a principal use which conforms to the provisions of this Ordinance or (c) presentation of the performing arts and cinematography. In the Tidewater Master Planned Development District, such facilities are limited to public gatherings and activities related to approved uses of the Master Plan [Amended, 5/27/93; 4/4/05; 11/26/12]

Effective on: 12/9/2013

Zero Lot Line: The location of a building on a lot in such a manner that one or more of the building's sides rests directly on a lot line. [Adopted, 3/27/89]

Effective on: 12/9/2013