CHAPTER 244
S.P. 331 - L.D. 991
An Act To Restore Municipal Authority To Review Development Using Flexible Standards
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A. Cluster development. "Cluster development" means a form of development that allows a subdivision design in which individual lot sizes and setbacks are reduced in exchange for the creation of common open space and recreation areas, the preservation of environmentally sensitive areas, agriculture and silviculture and the reduction in the size of road and utility systems.
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §4353, sub-§4-C, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 148, §2, is amended to read:
4-C. Variance from dimensional standards. A municipality may adopt an ordinance that permits the board to grant a variance from the dimensional standards of a zoning ordinance when strict application of the ordinance to the petitioner and the petitioner's property would cause a practical difficulty and when the following conditions exist:
A. The need for a variance is due to the unique circumstances of the property and not to the general condition of the neighborhood;
B. The granting of a variance will not produce an undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood and will not unreasonably detrimentally affect the use or market value of abutting properties;
C. The practical difficulty is not the result of action taken by the petitioner or a prior owner;
D. No other feasible alternative to a variance is available to the petitioner;
E. The granting of a variance will not unreasonably adversely affect the natural environment; and
F. The property is not located in whole or in part within shoreland areas as described in Title 38, section 435.
As used in this subsection, "dimensional standards" means and is limited to ordinance provisions relating to lot area, lot coverage, frontage and setback requirements.
As used in this subsection, "practical difficulty" means that the strict application of the ordinance to the property precludes the ability of the petitioner to pursue a use permitted in the zoning district in which the property is located and results in significant economic injury to the petitioner.
Under its home rule authority, a municipality may, in an ordinance adopted pursuant to this subsection, adopt additional limitations on the granting of a variance from the dimensional standards of a zoning ordinance. A zoning ordinance also may explicitly delegate to the municipal reviewing authority the ability to approve development proposals that do not meet the dimensional standards otherwise required, in order to promote cluster development, to accommodate lots with insufficient frontage or to provide for reduced setbacks for lots or buildings made nonconforming by municipal zoning. As long as the development falls within the parameters of such an ordinance, the approval is not considered the granting of a variance. This delegation of authority does not authorize the reduction of dimensional standards required under the mandatory shoreland zoning laws, Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 2-B.
Effective September 17, 2005.
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