Maine Town Rules That May Conflict With State Law
Updated
Maine has passed several laws that limit what towns can require, from backyard hens to in-law apartments, and town ordinances don't always catch up right away. While building our town pages, we flagged every local rule that state law may override. We found them in 21 of the 25 towns we cover. A conflict doesn't void a local rule on its own, and some may already be amended, so treat each one as a question to ask your town.
The state laws involved
- Backyard hens (7 M.R.S. §219-D), since September 24, 2025: towns may not adopt an ordinance that prohibits keeping chickens on your own residential property. Mature roosters aren't covered, and towns appear to keep the power to regulate how hens are kept.
- ADUs (30-A M.R.S. §4364-B), now: towns must allow at least one ADU on a single-family lot anywhere homes are allowed. One per lot is exempt from density limits, no extra parking can be required, and towns can't ban ADUs in the shoreland zone outright. The state building codes board set a 160 sq ft minimum in 2025.
- ADUs, starting July 1, 2027: towns can't require the owner to live on the property, or require planning board approval for an ADU.
- Shoreland zoning (38 M.R.S. §435-449, DEP Chapter 1000): towns must be at least as strict as the state minimums, including a 75-foot setback from most waters, no expansion of an older building within 25 feet of the water, and a footprint cap within 75 feet.
- Open burning (12 M.R.S. §9325, DEP Chapter 102): burning trash is banned everywhere, and a campfire needs a permit when the ground isn't snow-covered.
- Family child care (30-A M.R.S. §4364-D), starting July 1, 2027: a permitted use in residential zones, under the same rules as a single-family home.
Backyard hens: zone, lot-size and housing-type limits
Read literally, each of these rules would keep hens off some residential property, and each town's page says the 2025 hen law may override it for hens.
- Brunswick: no chickens in multi-family complexes, including duplexes.
- Cumberland: no chickens in duplexes or multifamily complexes.
- Freeport: agriculture, which covers poultry, isn't a listed use in Village I.
- Gorham: farm animals aren't listed in some districts, such as Village Centers.
- Kennebunk: Village Residential limits agriculture to crops unless the parcel is 5+ acres.
- Mount Desert: poultry is prohibited in Village Residential 3, Resource Protection and Stream Protection.
- Ogunquit: noncommercial animal husbandry isn't permitted in One-Family Residential.
- Rockport: non-pet animals only on lots of 40,000 sq ft or more, which effectively prevents hens on smaller lots.
- Scarborough: the RFM district requires a contract zone for accessory agriculture.
- South Portland: only 20 new chicken permits a year, plus renewals; the cap may conflict if it effectively blocks a resident.
- Windham: hens are allowed in only four districts.
- Yarmouth: smaller Medium Density Residential lots need a special exception, and some districts don't allow farm animals.
- York: agriculture, including poultry, is expressly prohibited in RES-4, RES-5 and RES-6.
ADUs: parking, density and size rules in effect now
State law already bars extra ADU parking, exempts one ADU from density limits and requires towns to allow ADUs wherever homes are allowed, so it may override these rules.
- Camden: one parking space per accessory apartment, extra lot area in Village Extension without sewer, and no accessory apartments in some business districts that allow homes (our copy runs only through June 2022).
- Cumberland: a general table requiring 2.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit, if applied to ADUs.
- Kennebunk: a table requiring 2 spaces per dwelling unit, if the town applies it to ADUs.
- Kittery: one extra parking space per ADU (2022 text).
- Rockport: one space per ADU in the Traditional Village district, and ADUs not listed in Downtown, where single-family homes are allowed.
- Harpswell: in the shoreland zone, each extra dwelling unit must meet the 40,000 sq ft per-unit lot size.
- Freeport, Gorham, Mount Desert, Rockport, South Portland and York: a 190 sq ft minimum size, above the 160 sq ft minimum the state building codes board set in 2025.
ADUs: rules that end July 1, 2027
These are still allowed today. From July 1, 2027, state law bars owner-occupancy and planning board requirements for ADUs, so it may override them then.
- Gorham, Harpswell, Kennebunk, Kittery, North Yarmouth, Rockport and Scarborough: the owner must live in the main house or the ADU.
- Ogunquit: the main house must be owner-occupied, and every ADU needs Design Review approval.
- Mount Desert: Planning Board approval in the Shoreland Commercial and Conservation districts.
- South Portland: a Planning Board minor amendment on lots with an approved site plan.
Shoreland: setbacks and expansion rules
State minimums set a 75-foot setback for most waters and cap expansions of older buildings by footprint and height. Some towns still use an older test: no more than 30% added floor area or volume over a building's lifetime.
- South Portland: a 40-foot setback in residential districts, less than the 75-foot state minimum; state standards may control.
- Kennebunk: 50- and 25-foot setbacks for some water body categories, which may cover locally designated areas; confirm which applies to your lot.
- Boothbay Harbor, Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Kennebunk and North Yarmouth: the older 30% expansion test, which the state's current footprint and height caps may override.
Open burning: local rules looser than state law
- Bar Harbor: the ordinance lists trash among materials you can burn with a permit, but state rules ban burning trash everywhere.
- Cumberland: paper, cardboard and household accumulation may be burned in a screened receptacle; the state trash-burning ban may override this.
- Rockport: the fire department says campfires for cooking or heat need no permit; state law may override that for campfires on bare ground.
- Windham: small recreational fires need no town permit, but state law may still require one for a campfire on bare ground.
Home child care: rules that may change July 1, 2027
Once the family child care law applies, it may override these limits for family child care providers.
- Camden: home care for more than three preschool children counts as a day-care center.
- Gorham: day care homes need a home-occupation permit.
- Kennebunk: care for three or more non-resident children is a special exception in several residential districts.
- Ogunquit: day-care centers only in two business districts.
- Portland: a 12-child cap for family child care.
- Rockport: home day cares fall under the home-occupation limits.
How we checked
This list is based on the ordinances and town documents posted online when we reviewed each town page on October 2-3, 2026. We include a town only where its page says a local rule may conflict with state law. Some posted versions may be outdated: our copies of Camden's zoning and Kittery's land use code date from 2022. Whether state law overrides a rule can depend on how the town applies it and on court rulings that haven't happened yet. Confirm the current rule with your town before you act.
Common questions
- Can my Maine town still ban backyard chickens?
- Not outright. Since September 24, 2025, state law bars towns from prohibiting hens on your own residential property. Towns appear to keep the power to regulate flock size, coops and roosters, but older zone or lot-size limits may still be on the books.
- Can my town require me to live on the property to build an ADU?
- Until July 1, 2027, yes. From that date, state law bars towns from requiring ADU owners to live on the property. Eight of the towns we cover still have an owner-occupancy rule on the books.
- If a town rule conflicts with state law, can I ignore it?
- Don't assume so. State law may override it, but the town may have amended the rule, may apply it differently, or courts may not have settled the question. Ask your code enforcement office first.