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Sep 244 min read

What exactly IS Shoreland Zoning?

Lynn Geiger

7 Lakes Alliance


If you live on a lake, you have probably run across the term Shoreland Zoning.  Maybe you were thinking about sprucing up your property and had to redraft your plans after talking with the Code Enforcement Officer. Or maybe your neighbor has installed a new, questionable monstrosity, and you want to know if it is allowed.  What really is Shoreland Zoning, and why are there regulations in the first place?

 

The Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act was passed by the Maine Legislature in 1971 “to protect water quality, wildlife habitat, wetlands, archaeological sites and historic resources, and commercial fishing and maritime industries”[1]. It was decided that each town would be responsible for their own shoreland zone (SLZ). The state would have oversight, but the towns themselves would be the regulatory authority. Towns had the option to adopt the state guidelines or write their own. The guidelines written by the state are updated as our understanding of natural resource protection grows. Since there are 7 towns with shoreland in the Belgrade region, the information here is based on the state SLZ guidelines, rather than specific towns. Your town may have stricter definitions.

 

The shoreland zone is defined as the area within 250 feet of the normal high-water line of lakes, rivers, and wetlands, and within 75 feet of streams. “Normal high-water” is the highest the water gets on an average year, not during a flood. For example, normal high water may occur in the spring when the dams are full, or rivers are surging after the snowmelt. Most of the time there are clear markers on the shore: like a line of discoloration on stones or a height below which land plants, like grass, don’t grow. (A quick note: the SLZ and all setbacks are calculated using the “horizontal distance”, in other words, what you would measure on a map, versus laying a tape measure on the ground.)

 

The shoreland zone is broken down into different districts that have slightly different regulations. By default, most shorefront property belongs to a Limited Residential District, with the standard 100-foot setbacks, but certain areas may be more or less restricted. For example, Belgrade Village is considered a Limited Commercial District, since it was already heavily developed when the Shoreland Zoning Act was passed.

 

The ordinances are written to prevent more damage from being done to the environment. If an infraction had already occurred, they have no authority. If you have a gigantic lawn all the way down to the lake, it can stay there. However, if the lawn isn’t maintained and reverts back to shrubs and trees, it is subject to SLZ regulations.  A “use it or lose it” kind of regulation.

 

It may seem like there are a lot of dos and don’ts around the lake, but for the most part it is pretty simple: in general, no new structures within 100 feet of the lake and keep the land natural. What do I mean by natural? It boils down to Buffers and Infiltration, the proverbial “living lightly on the land”.

 

Buffers are swaths of vegetation protecting water resources from areas of human activity (lawns and buildings). We want to keep buffers intact for several reasons. They provide wildlife habitat, protect shorelines from erosion, filter pollutants from runoff, enhance landowner privacy, and more. You are allowed to make a path to access the water (6 feet wide from trunk to trunk), and even build steps to the lake if your property is too steep for any alternative (Don’t Forget to get a permit from your Code Enforcement Officer before building steps).  You can trim the bottom 1/3 of limbs off trees to maintain your view of the water, but you need to leave brush less than 3 feet tall in place to keep the soil stable. A healthy buffer needs a canopy to intercept raindrops and dissipate that energy, so openings in the canopy are capped at 250 square feet. 

 

As for infiltration, the state requires no more than 20% impervious cover in the SLZ. Impervious cover includes things like buildings, driveways, and patios. Limiting impervious cover lets the ground absorb more rainfall, instead of concentrating it into stormwater run-off, which causes erosion and delivers pollutants into the lake.

 

The regulations were written to protect buildings and infrastructure as well. For example, The SLZ regulations require the lowest level of a building to be at least 1 foot above the elevation of a 100-year flood, so houses don’t get flooded when we have storms like this past year. Certain areas shouldn’t be built on at all, like flood plains, wetlands, and steep slopes. In these areas, also called “Resource Protection Districts”, the setback is increased to 250 feet. Not only do these setbacks protect the environment, but they protect consumers from developers purchasing tracts of land and reselling unstable homes. It may seem idyllic to have a house built on a cliff overlooking the water, but sinking thousands or millions to keep it out of the water as the shoreline erodes certainly isn’t. Or having to constantly fight damp and mold, only to have your house swept away because it was built on a flood plain.

 

The SLZ ordinances were not made to keep us from enjoying the lake, just to encourage us to do it in a safe and healthy manner. Septic tanks and leach fields need to be on suitable soils and set back properly, so human waste doesn’t seep into the lake and make people sick. Everyone in the SLZ is responsible for keeping erosion and nutrients out of the lakes, so we don’t have harmful algal blooms. In the end, it’s all about preserving the lakes and natural resources for future generations.

 

You can read more about Shoreland Zoning on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Website: https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/slz


If you have questions about SLZ regulation in your town or are concerned about a potential SLZ violation, contact your town’s Code Enforcement Officer:


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