Zoning › State preemptions › Maine

Maine Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act — 38 M.R.S. §§435-449 (ME)

Tracked preemption from the Maine overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1971-09-23
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:ME
Other Maine preemptions
Maine Short-Term Rental Framework — 30-A M.R.S. §4364 (2024 Amendments)Maine LD 2003 / 30-A M.R.S. §4364 — Statewide ADU MandateMaine LD 2003 / 30-A M.R.S. §4364-A — 2-4 Unit Middle Housing FloorMaine LD 2003 / 30-A M.R.S. §4358 — Affordable Housing 2.5x Density BonusMaine 30-A M.R.S. §4358(2) — Manufactured Housing ProtectionMaine Growth Management Act — Comprehensive Plan Consistency RequirementMaine 30-A M.R.S. §4326 — Growth / Rural / Transition Area Tripartite DesignationMaine Land Use Planning Commission — Unorganized Territory Zoning Authority

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

OR
  • parcel.in_shoreland_zone == True
  • parcel.distance_to_great_pond_ft ≤ 250
  • parcel.distance_to_river_ft ≤ 250
  • parcel.distance_to_coastal_wetland_ft ≤ 250
  • parcel.distance_to_freshwater_wetland_10ac_ft ≤ 250

Preempted fields

4 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
base_districts[*].setback_from_water_ftfloor_at7575-ft minimum structure setback from normal high-water line; 100 ft in Resource Protection subdistricts
base_districts[*].max_lot_coverage_pctcap_at2020% maximum nonvegetated surface coverage in most shoreland subdistricts
base_districts[*].vegetation_clearing_within_100ftoverridelimited_per_chapter_1000DEP Chapter 1000 vegetation-clearing limits within 100 ft of shoreline
base_districts[*].allowed_usesrestrictshoreland_subdistrict_tableUse must be permitted in the applicable shoreland subdistrict (RP, LR, SP, GD, C)

Citation

Authority source
38 M.R.S. §§435-449 (Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act); DEP Chapter 1000 (Guidelines for Municipal Shoreland Zoning Ordinances)
§ Title 38 §§435-449
https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/slz/

Research notes

All organized municipalities must adopt shoreland zoning ordinances at least as restrictive as the DEP Chapter 1000 model within 250 ft of great ponds, rivers, coastal wetlands, and freshwater wetlands >=10 acres, and within 75 ft of streams. DEP may impose state ordinance if municipality fails. Stacks with LD 2003 — ADU and middle-housing rights remain subject to shoreland setbacks. Federal conflict check enabled because shoreland zone often overlaps with USACE §404 wetland jurisdiction and FEMA SFHAs.