Building near the water in Kennebunk, Maine (shoreland zoning)
Kennebunk's Shoreland Overlay District requires buildings, driveways and other hard surfaces to be set back 100, 50 or 25 ft from the water or wetland, depending on the water body category. Lot coverage in the shoreland part of a residential lot is capped at 20%. Older buildings already inside the setback can't be expanded toward the water by more than 30% over their lifetime. Tree clearing is tightly limited within 75 to 100 ft of the shore.
| Water setback | 100 ft, 50 ft or 25 ft depending on the water body category (Article 3) [1] |
| Setback exemptions | Piers, docks, retaining walls and other water-dependent uses [2] |
| Lot coverage (residential districts) | Max 20% of the shoreland portion of the lot [3] |
| Minimum shore frontage (new lots) | 200 ft [4] |
| Expanding a nonconforming building | No more than 30% of floor area or volume toward the nonconformity, over its lifetime [5] |
| Buffer clearing | No cleared opening over 250 sq ft; footpath up to 6 ft wide [6] |
| Total clearing | Max 25% of the shoreland lot area or 10,000 sq ft, whichever is greater [7] |
Setbacks from the water
The Shoreland Overlay District sits on top of your base zoning district, and whichever rule is stricter applies. Setbacks from the normal high-water line or wetland edge are 100 ft, 50 ft or 25 ft, depending on the water body category defined in Article 3, Section 3.B [1]. In some areas that overlay business and mixed-use districts (such as Downtown Business and Lower Village Business), the setback drops to 25 ft. Setbacks apply to all buildings and structures, roads, driveways and parking areas. They don't apply to things that need direct water access, like piers, docks and retaining walls [2]. For a principal structure, the setback is measured from the top of a coastal bluff mapped as unstable. The state minimum is 100 ft from GPA great ponds and 75 ft from most other waters and wetlands; Kennebunk's 50 and 25 ft categories may cover locally designated areas (the ordinance mentions Priority 2 and 3 wetlands), so confirm which category applies to your lot.
Lot coverage and frontage
Structures, driveways and other non-vegetated surfaces can't cover more than 20% of the shoreland part of the lot in residential districts. Business districts allow 70% [3]. New lots need 200 ft of shore frontage [4].
Expanding an existing home
If part of a building is closer to the water than the setback allows, it can't be expanded toward the nonconformity by more than 30% of its floor area or volume over its lifetime [5]. Article 5, Section 7 adds shoreland rules for relocating, rebuilding and changing the use of nonconforming structures. These may require Planning Board review and replanting of native vegetation. State shoreland rules now use footprint and height caps for these expansions instead of a 30% limit. Ask Code Enforcement which standard the town applies.
Trees and vegetation
Within 100 ft of a great pond, and 75 ft of other waters and wetlands, a buffer strip must be kept. No cleared opening can be larger than 250 sq ft, and one footpath up to 6 ft wide is allowed [6]. Trees can only be cut selectively, under a point system, and no more than 40% of tree volume may be removed in 10 years. Across the whole shoreland part of the lot, cleared openings can't total more than 25% or 10,000 sq ft, whichever is greater [7]. Filling or grading needs a permit from Code Enforcement.
Which areas are covered
Article 3, which we didn't review, defines the shoreland areas and water body categories. Check the town's zoning map.
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Next steps
- Check the zoning map with Code Enforcement (207-604-1303) to confirm whether your lot is in the Shoreland Overlay and which setback category (100, 50 or 25 ft) applies.
- Have a surveyor locate the normal high-water line or wetland edge and your existing structures.
- For additions to a building inside the setback, document its floor area and volume as of January 1, 1989 (Article 5, Section 7) and June 15, 1994 (Section 5.A) to show you're within the 30% limit.
- Plan any tree removal using the buffer point system, and get a permit before filling or grading.
Common questions
- How far must a building be from the water in Kennebunk, Maine?
- Setbacks are 100 ft, 50 ft or 25 ft from the water or wetland, depending on the water body category. Confirm which category applies to your lot with Code Enforcement. Piers, docks and retaining walls are exempt.
- How much of my lot can be covered in Kennebunk's Shoreland Overlay?
- In residential districts, structures, driveways and other non-vegetated surfaces can't cover more than 20% of the shoreland part of the lot.
- Can I expand a house that is too close to the water in Kennebunk, Maine?
- It can't be expanded toward the nonconformity by more than 30% of its floor area or volume over its lifetime. State shoreland rules now use footprint and height caps instead, so ask Code Enforcement which standard the town applies.
- Can I cut trees near the shore in Kennebunk, Maine?
- Only selectively. No cleared opening can be larger than 250 sq ft, with one footpath up to 6 ft wide allowed, and no more than 40% of tree volume may be removed in 10 years.
Maine's shoreland zoning rules
Under the Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act (38 M.R.S. §435–449), every town must enforce shoreland zoning at least as strict as the DEP's minimum guidelines (Chapter 1000).
What's in the shoreland zone: land within 250 ft of a great pond, river, tidal water, coastal wetland or most freshwater wetlands, and within 75 ft of a stream.
State minimum standards:
- Setbacks for new buildings: 100 ft from great ponds classified GPA and from rivers that flow into them. 75 ft from other water bodies, tributary streams and wetlands.
- Lot coverage: non-vegetated surfaces (buildings, driveways, etc.) are capped at 20% of the shoreland part of the lot in most districts.
- Expanding an older building that sits too close to the water: no expansion of any part within 25 ft of the water. Within 75 ft, the total footprint is capped at 1,000 sq ft or 30% more than the footprint on Jan. 1, 1989, whichever is larger, and height at 20 ft or the existing height.
- Vegetation buffer (within 100 ft of GPA ponds, 75 ft of other waters): no cleared opening over 250 sq ft, except one winding footpath up to 6 ft wide. Selective tree cutting only, with no more than 40% of tree volume removed in 10 years.
- Total clearing: at most 25% of the shoreland lot area or 10,000 sq ft, whichever is larger, in most districts.
Work in or beside the water may also need a DEP permit.
What the ordinance says
- Article 8, Section 16.D(1) Minimum Setbacks, Zoning Article 8 Sect 16 - Shoreland Overlay District, p. 1
Minimum Setbacks: The minimum setbacks from normal high water line of a waterbody or upland edge of a wetland shall apply in the Shoreland Overlay Zone as follows: - areas described by Article 3, Section 3.B.1 100 feet - areas described by Article 3, Section 3.B.2 50 feet
- Article 8, Section 16.D(1), Zoning Article 8 Sect 16 - Shoreland Overlay District, p. 2
These Shoreland Zoning setbacks shall apply to all buildings and structures, roads, driveways, parking areas and other non-revegetated surfaces, except those which require direct access to the water as an operational necessity, such as piers, docks and retaining walls, bridges, and other functionally water- dependent uses.
- Article 8, Section 16.D(1) Lot Coverage, Zoning Article 8 Sect 16 - Shoreland Overlay District, p. 2
Lot Coverage: The total area of all structures, parking lots, roads, driveways and other non- revegetated surfaces, within the shoreland zone, shall not exceed twenty (20) percent of the lot or a portion, thereof, located within the shoreland zone, including land area previously developed;
- Article 8, Section 16.D(1) Minimum shore frontage, Zoning Article 8 Sect 16 - Shoreland Overlay District, p. 1
Minimum shore frontage: 200 feet measured in a straight line between the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the shoreline at the normal high water mark (6/14/2011)
- Article 5, Section 5.A(3), Zoning Ordinance Article 5 - Nonconformance, p. 3
if any portion of a structure is less than the required setback(s) specified in Article 8, Section 16.D., the structure shall not be expanded, during its lifetime, in the direction(s) of the nonconformity by more than thirty (30) percent of the structure's gross floor area or volume as of the effective date of this amendment.
- Article 10, Section 3.D(2)(a), Zoning Ordinance Article 10 - Performance Standards, p. 3
(a) There shall be no cleared opening greater that two hundred and fifty (250) square feet in the forest canopy (or other existing woody vegetation if a forest canopy is not present) as measured from the outer limits of the tree or shrub crown. However, a footpath not to exceed six (6) feet in width as measured between tree trunks and/or shrub stems is allowed, provided that a cleared line of sight to the water through the buffer strip is not created.
- Article 10, Section 3.D(3), Zoning Ordinance Article 10 - Performance Standards, p. 4
In no event shall cleared openings for any purpose, including but not limited to, principal and accessory structures, driveways, lawns and sewage disposal areas, exceed in the aggregate, twenty-five (25) percent of the lot area for that part of the lot area located in the shoreland zone, or ten thousand (10,000) square feet, whichever is greater, including land previously cleared.