Off-street parking and loading spaces for nonresidential uses, where not enclosed within a building, shall be effectively screened along exterior lot lines by a continuous landscaped area not less than six feet in width containing evergreen or deciduous shrubs, trees, ornamental fences, walls or any combination thereof, forming a visual break not less than six feet in height along exterior lot lines except for the lot line that abuts a public or private street which will provide access to the parking or loading area. Access, visibility and sight distance for vehicles and pedestrians entering and leaving shall be provided such that the landscaped area along this street-abutting lot line may be limited to a minimum of one tree for shade or ornament, at the Planning Board's discretion except as noted below. Native trees and shrubs shall be planted whenever possible; at minimum, all species shall be noninvasive, and preferably drought- and salt-tolerant.

A minimum of 10% of any parking area consisting of 10 or more parking spaces shall be landscaped with trees and landscaped islands. The Planning Board may require submission of a landscaping plan developed by a licensed landscape architect. If parking is to be placed in front of the building, the Board may require the placement of additional trees and landscaped islands (beyond the 10% minimum) for screening.

Where shade trees currently exist within a proposed parking area, these trees should be preserved and protected during construction to the maximum extent in accordance with the standards above. If existing trees do not survive, the Planning Board may require additional trees be planted to meet the 10% requirement or to meet the landscaping requirements previously established and approved for the site.

The Board may require the planting of street trees or the placement of a berm to more effectively buffer or screen the site.

If mulch is used on landscaped areas and islands, it shall be composed of natural materials in naturally occurring colors (no orange or red dyed mulches).

Consider pervious pavement infiltration systems which employ techniques or components allowing transmission of surface stormwater into the ground, e.g., porous travel surface over temporary water storage media, in nonresidential parking lots and expansions in areas which do not have high truck circulation patterns.

It is demonstrated that the total spaces provided by the facility are not less than the sum of the spaces required for each use individually; or

It can be clearly demonstrated to the Board that the proposed facility would substantially meet the intent of this section by reason of the variation in peak-hour usage.

The design, layout, size, area, construction, screening and landscaping standards of § 140-24J shall be met.

Parking spaces shall be provided to conform to the number required in the following schedule:

No sign shall be erected adjacent to any public way in such a manner as to obstruct clear and free vision or where, by reason of its position, shape, color, illumination or wording, the sign may interfere with, obstruct the view of or be confused with any authorized sign, signal or device or otherwise constitute a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

Roof-mounted signs are prohibited. Signs shall not project above the eave lines or parapet walls of buildings to which they are attached. Flat-roofed buildings, with or without artifice to look like a gable roof from the front, are prohibited from using roof-mounted signs.

Any sign that uses movement or a change of lighting to depict action or create a special effect or scene is prohibited. A sign or portion thereof with characters, letters or illustrations that can be changed electronically without altering the face or surface of the sign and on which the message changes more than once per day is regulated as an animated sign and is therefore prohibited. A sign on which the only changes are electronic or mechanical indication of time or temperature is allowed if it complies with all other sign-related provisions.

No sign shall be located within 10 feet of a street line or other lot line except in the B1 District where no setback shall apply.

All signs shall relate to goods and services available on the premises on which the sign is located.

Light sources shall utilize energy-efficient fixtures to the greatest extent practicable. Sign illumination shall be selected and positioned to achieve the desired brightness of the sign with the minimum possible wattage.

Sign illumination light levels shall be deemed acceptable if they do not exceed a factor of three above the ambient light intensity at any point on the ground when measured with an incident light meter and using the following procedure at least one hour after sunset:

All illuminated signs must be hooded or shielded or otherwise designed so that the lighting is confined to the area of the sign in order to prevent direct light from spilling onto traveled ways or neighboring properties.

No sign or portion of a sign structure shall exceed eight feet in height, measured from the adjacent road surface.

Only one freestanding sign, no larger than six square feet in area on each side, shall be erected per building. Only one wall sign, not exceeding eight square feet in area and no higher than the peak of the roof, is permitted in addition to the freestanding sign.

Internally illuminated signs are prohibited. Signs shall be externally illuminated only with steady, stationary shielded light sources directed solely onto the sign without causing glare.

One freestanding sign up to 12 feet in height and 12 feet in area as measured on one display side, or one projecting sign projecting not more than five feet from the wall up to 10 square feet in size as measured on one display side, plus one of the following:

Where a wall sign is part of the architectural design of a building, the area of the sign shall be considered to be that of the smallest rectangle or other regular geometric shape which encompasses all of the letters or symbols.

All wall signs must be located below the cornice line or second story window sill, whichever is lower.

Where a number of signs are proposed as part of a unified complex, the maximum sign area permitted is 18 square feet for the sign bearing the name of the building or complex and two square feet for the name of each business located there. If a complex has over 300 feet of frontage, it will be allowed two freestanding signs.

The following signs are exempt from the above provisions: memorial tablets, public notices, public safety signs, emergency or temporary construction-related signs, on-premises real estate signs, flags and insignia except when displayed in connection with a commercial promotion, religious symbols or insignia, historical plaques, house numbers, political signs, temporary special event (30 days or less) banners, signs on vending machines or newspaper racks and interior signs.

There shall be no more than one sign allowed per business park entity.

The sign area shall not exceed 100 square feet in total.

Two-sided signs must reflect mirror images and not exceed 100 square feet per side.

Individual business tenant signs shall not exceed two square feet.

Sign height shall not exceed 18 feet.

An individual business or service, upon application, may be assigned OBD signs. An OBDS shall be designed and located as to not conflict with other signs and minimize impact on the scenic and historical environment through the following standards:

No new OBD signs shall be located in the downtown area as defined on the accompanying map[2] and as follows:

All OBD signs located within the area described above in Subsection F(2) shall be considered lawfully nonconforming at the effective date of adoption.

Sounds emanating from construction activities between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Sounds emanating from safety signals, warning devices and emergency pressure relief valves and any other emergency activity.

Sounds emanating from traffic or public transportation facilities.

All new construction and development, whether or not served by a stormwater collection and transportation system, shall be designed to reflect or resemble, as nearly as possible, natural runoff conditions in terms of quantity, quality, velocity and location. If runoff after development would exceed predevelopment natural runoff conditions, the off-site impact must be evaluated in terms of potential soil erosion and sedimentation, drainage capacity and land use/land cover characteristics. Appropriate methods of reducing off-site impact shall be employed. Stormwater management evaluations and designs shall be based on a twenty-four-hour, twenty-five-year recurrence interval storm.

When methods of reducing stormwater impact are necessary or desirable, stormwater runoff control plans shall include:

Stormwater runoff systems should be designed to facilitate aquifer recharge when it is advantageous to compensate for groundwater withdrawals. Conversely, designs should avoid recharge where groundwater effects might be harmful. Design of permanent storage facilities should consider the safety, appearance, recreational use and cost effectiveness of maintenance operations, in addition to the primary storage function. Natural overland flows and open drainage channel and swale locations should be the preferred alignments for major components, such as underground piping, and should be minimized where the existing natural systems are able to accommodate storm runoff. Energy dissipaters (to reduce high flow velocities) and other forms of outfall protection shall be employed where enclosed drains discharge onto erodible soils.

For other guidelines regarding stormwater management and low-impact development, reference is made to the "Low Impact Development Guidance Manual for Maine Communities," dated September 25, 2006, for the Maine Coastal Program of the State Planning Office. Reference to this document is for guideline purposes only and is not considered to be part of this chapter.

All development plans shall define maintenance requirements and identify parties responsible for maintenance of the stormwater control system. Provisions of the Town of South Berwick’s Chapter 108, Post-Construction Stormwater Management, must be followed for infrastructure that remains privately owned, including annual certification of maintenance of stormwater management facilities, and payment of their certification review fee.

Fences, berms or walls.

Trees, shrubs, or hedges, evergreen and deciduous.

Naturally occurring woodland.

Except for clearing necessary to provide utilities and access to the site, no clearing shall be permitted within 50 feet of the dedicated right-of-way of the public road. In cases where this buffer area has previously been substantially disturbed, a plan demonstrating revegetation with native trees, shrubs and grasses by a licensed landscape architect shall be submitted to the Planning Board for approval.

Along all property lines abutting a residential zone or use, setbacks shall be left in their existing vegetated state. The purpose of this buffer area is to minimize the visual impacts of any kind of potential use, such as loading and unloading operations, outdoor storage areas, vehicle parking, mineral extraction, waste collection and disposal areas. If the existing vegetation is not sufficient to provide such a buffer, as determined by the Planning Board, one or more of the landscaping options provided in Subsection A above may be required within the setback area to provide the necessary buffer. The Planning Board may, where site constraints exist, allow landscaped buffers of lesser width. The buffer areas shall be maintained and dead, diseased or dying vegetation replaced as necessary within one growing season to ensure continuous year-round screening.

Where a potential safety hazard to children would exist, barriers or fences shall also be used to deter entry to such premises.

An additional buffer of 200 feet abutting Great Works Land Trust, State of Maine, and Town of Eliot-owned property shall be left in its existing vegetated state. If the existing vegetation is not sufficient to provide a buffer, as determined by the Planning Board, one or more of the landscaping options provided in Subsection A above may be required within the two-hundred-foot area.

All commercial buildings or uses in or abutting a residential district or use shall provide a landscaped buffer to visually screen the use(s) as described in Subsection A except as noted below:

The Planning Board may, where site constraints exist, allow landscaped buffers of lesser width. The screening shall be sufficient to minimize the visual impacts of any kind of potential use, such as loading and unloading operations, outdoor storage areas, vehicle parking, waste collection and disposal areas as determined by the Planning Board. The buffer areas shall be maintained and dead, diseased or dying vegetation replaced as necessary within one growing season to ensure continuous year-round screening.

Where a potential safety hazard to small children would exist, barriers or fences shall also be used to deter entry to such premises.

Outdoor activity areas and parking lots associated with public or private schools, colleges, churches, fraternal organization and not-for-profit clubs, when located within 200 feet of residences, must provide an adequately landscaped buffer as determined by the Planning Board. Applicants may be required to submit landscaping plans created by a licensed landscape architect.

Water from roof downspouts, foundation drains or areaway drains or any other sources of surface runoff or groundwater, nor discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial or commercial process waters, except into storm drains.

Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel, oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.

Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, as determined by the Sewer District, either singularly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance or create any hazard in the receiving waters of any wastewater treatment plant now or in the future to be treating wastewater from the city, including but not limited to those defined in standards issued from time to time under Section 307(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, Public Law 92-500.

Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable or causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the wastewater works, such as but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, including disposable diapers, wood, unground garbage, any whole or ground seafood shells, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshing, entrails, and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground.

In the case of a major contributing industry, containing an incompatible pollutant in an amount of concentration in excess of that allowed under standards or guidelines issued from time to time pursuant to Sections 304, 306 and/or 307 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, Public Law 92-500.

Any hexavalent chromium, aluminum, iron, tin, fluorides, arsenic phenols, chlorides or sulfates. In addition those metals specified in (4 CFR 433.17) shall not exceed the concentration therein listed.

Any reducing substances having immediate chlorine demand exceeding 30.0 milligrams per liter.

Any radioactive wastes greater than allowable releases as specified by current United States Bureau of Standards handbooks dealing with the handling and release of radioactivity.

Any waters or wastes containing any combination of solids, liquids or gases listed in this section but at concentrations not prohibited when such commingled water or wastes shall yield a concentration of contamination which the Sewer District deems detrimental to the wastewater treatment processes.

Any waters or wastes which cause corrosive structural damage to the sewers or treatment works, including but not limited to any waste having a concentration of caustic alkalinity exceeding 1,000 milligrams per liter of all wastes with a pH lower than 5.0.

Any liquid or vapor other than water having a temperature higher than 150° F., 65° Celsius.

Any waters or wastes containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 milligrams per liter or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32° F. and 150° F. (0° C. and 65° C.).

Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids exceeding a concentration of 400 milligrams per liter or dissolved solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials at the wastewater treatment plant or in the public wastewater works.

Any waters or wastes having any color which is not removable in the existing wastewater treatment plant processes.

Any waters or wastes having an average BOD in excess of 400 milligrams per liter.

Any waters or wastes having an average COD in excess of 600 milligrams per liter.

Reject the wastes; or

Require the pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewer; or

Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge (flow equalization); and/or

Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes.