Plain-English answers to common homeowner questions, taken from Ogunquit's published ordinances, with every rule linked to the section it comes from.
Last reviewed
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) Yes. Under the 2023 rewrite of Ogunquit's ADU section, you can add one accessory dwelling unit, attached or freestanding, to a single-family home. It must be 190 to 700 sq ft, the main house must be owner-occupied, and you need Design Review approval and a certificate of occupancy before anyone moves in.Allowed with board review
Backyard Chickens It depends on your zone. Ogunquit's zoning treats keeping animals or fowl for noncommercial purposes as animal husbandry. It needs a Code Enforcement Officer permit in the Residential and Rural Residential districts and isn't permitted in the One-Family Residential district. Coops, pens and yards must be at least 100 feet from any neighbor's house.Depends on your zone
Short-Term Rentals (Airbnb / VRBO) You can rent your whole home to one family for stays of at least seven days (Ogunquit calls this a TA-1 weekly private home rental), but nightly or weekend rentals of a house aren't allowed. Weekly rentals don't need a zoning permit in most districts, but the town requires you to register the rental as a business with the Town Clerk. Accessory dwelling units can't be used as short-term rentals.Restricted
Fences You need a Code Enforcement Officer permit for any new, altered or relocated fence in Ogunquit. In the residential districts fences can be up to 6 feet tall. In any shoreland zone, including Resource Protection, the limit is 4 feet, and the fence can't block views of the water from a public way.Allowed with a permit
Sheds & Accessory Buildings Yes. Ogunquit requires a Code Enforcement Officer permit to build any structure, including a small shed, and there is no size exemption. A shed must meet the same setbacks as the house: in the One-Family Residential and Residential districts that is 20 feet from the front line and 15 feet from side and rear lines.Allowed with a permit
Burn Permits & Backyard Fires The Ogunquit ordinances we reviewed don't regulate brush burning, backyard fires or fire pits, and we found no local burning ordinance. Burning in Ogunquit falls under Maine's statewide burn permit system, through the Maine Forest Service online permit system or the local fire warden.Not specifically regulated
Home-Based Businesses Yes. In Ogunquit's residential districts a home occupation is allowed with a permit from the Code Enforcement Officer, as long as it stays inside the house or an accessory building, has no more than two non-resident employees, uses at most a 2-square-foot sign, and generates no more than 20 vehicle trips a day.Allowed with a permit
Swimming Pools Yes, with a permit from the Code Enforcement Officer. Ogunquit treats above-ground and in-ground pools as accessory structures, so a pool must meet the house setbacks (20 feet front and 15 feet side and rear in the One-Family Residential and Residential districts), and the permit application needs a survey. The zoning ordinance we reviewed has no pool fence or barrier rule of its own.Allowed with a permit
Building Near the Water (Shoreland Zoning) Within 250 feet of the ocean, tidal areas, rivers and wetlands (75 feet of a stream) you are in Ogunquit's shoreland zone. New buildings must be at least 75 feet from the water in most districts (50 feet in Ogunquit Beach and Perkins Cove), and in the SLR, SLC, SG1 and SG2 districts non-vegetated surfaces are capped at 20% of the shoreland part of the lot. Clearing vegetation and most building work need a Code Enforcement Officer permit.Allowed with a permit
Docks, Piers & Floats Possibly. In Ogunquit's shoreland districts, a pier, dock, wharf or float (temporary or permanent) needs Planning Board site plan review, and you're limited to one per lot unless you have at least twice the minimum shore frontage. Docks aren't permitted at all in the SG3 (Ogunquit Playhouse) district, and permanent structures also need a state DEP permit and possibly an Army Corps permit.Allowed with board review