Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Van Buren, Maine

Town of Van Buren’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, alteration, enlargement, moving, or change of use of land or buildings inside Van Buren town limits (the town's land use permit)

  • The permit is a town land use permit issued by the Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) after the required fees are paid and the CEO finds the work conforms to the ordinance and other applicable laws.
  • Construction may proceed only after the permit is issued; the permit is not a prohibition.
  • Fee amounts were not opened (see permit_fees claim).

  “b. no land use permit or certificate of occupancy shall be issued for the construction, alteration, enlargement, moving, use, or change of use of any land or building unless the required fees are paid and the ceo determines that all of the requirements have been met”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Use or change of use of land or buildings inside Van Buren town limits

  • The quoted clause makes a certificate of occupancy a precondition to issuing a land use permit and to the use or change of use of a building; it does not state a separate occupancy inspection step.
  • The code enforcement page lists a certificate of occupancy application among its forms.

  “issuing building permits and certificates of occupancy”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Van Buren town limits (Maine) under the town's own Land Use Ordinance

  • The posted Land Use Ordinance text is dated 1998 on its cover; the town's code enforcement page lists it alongside the zoning maps and dimensional requirements table, but no later adoption or amendment date was opened.
  • Shoreland zoning is a separate town ordinance on the same municipal ordinance list and is not analyzed here.

  “the purpose of the land use ordinance is to regulate the location and use of real estate for industrial, commercial, residential and other uses in the town of van buren”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Van Buren town limits; districts defined by the town's Land Use Ordinance

  • Text in section 2 names a village district (V), residential-1 (R-1, single-family dwellings), residential-2 (R-2, single and/or multi-family), farm and forest (F-F, very low-density rural housing), commercial (C) and others.
  • District boundaries are shown on the zoning maps, which the code enforcement page lists as a separate document; the maps were not opened.

  “3. establishment of zoning districts a. for the purposes of this ordinance, the town is hereby divided into the following zoning districts”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Recreational vehicles or campers used as a dwelling on private land inside Van Buren town limits

  • An RV or camper may not be used as a mobile home.
  • An RV used as a temporary dwelling may be stationed only where the ordinance permits it; the district-by-district use table (the land use chart) was not opened to identify those areas.
  • Campground and RV-park rules are a separate provision (see temporary_camping).

  “e. a recreational vehicle or camper shall in no case be used as a mobile home and any recreational vehicle in use as a temporary dwelling shall be stationed only in an area where permitted”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Campgrounds and RV parks (tent and RV sites) inside Van Buren town limits

  • Campground and RV park sites must be laid out and screened so none are within view from public roads, navigable rivers, or existing residences.
  • Density limits per acre and setbacks from property lines apply (the table of density figures was not fully extracted).
  • Permanent or long-term dwellings are prohibited in campgrounds and RV parks.

  “permanent or long-term dwellings or shelter devices are specifically prohibited.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes used for residential purposes on private land inside Van Buren town limits

  • Outside an authorized mobile home park, a mobile home needs a mobile home permit issued under the ordinance.
  • A mobile home moved within town must be on a permanent foundation with residential siding and a pitched roof, unless it was legally sited before 1976 (per the moved-home rule).
  • Standards for homes built before June 15, 1976, or not built to the federal HUD standard apply separately (Section 10.2 in the 1998 text).

  “b. it shall be unlawful to locate any mobile home for any residential purpose anywhere in the town, except in an authorized mobile home park, unless a mobile home permit has been issued in conformity with this ordinance”

• Who permits septicLocal (with conditions)

  Subsurface wastewater disposal systems on private land inside Van Buren town limits

  • The town's Wastewater Ordinance governs siting, design, construction and inspection; the town's code enforcement office lists a subsurface wastewater application and names a local plumbing inspector.
  • Maine's state subsurface wastewater rules (10-144 CMR 241) also apply; they were not opened in this research.
  • Municipal ordinance text was described on the town's list page; the ordinance itself was not opened.

  “this ordinance governs the siting, design, construction and inspection of subsurface wastewater disposal systems in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of van buren.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Division of land into lots inside Van Buren town limits

  • The 1998 Land Use Ordinance has a subdivision ordinance (Section 4) with a planning board review procedure, preliminary and final plan stages, and review criteria.
  • Multi-family, cluster and mobile home park developments require subdivision review.

  “subdivision review, in conformity with the procedures, criteria, and standards of this section, shall be required for all development that meets the definition of "subdivision"”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Town land use permit and certificate of occupancy fees inside Van Buren town limits

  • The code enforcement page lists a 'schedule of fees' document; the fee amounts were not opened.
  • The 1998 text has a schedule of fees at Section 17 and after-the-fact permits cost double the initial fee under Section 14.1.c.

  “dimensional requirements table document seq 0.00 schedule of fees document seq 0.00”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Land use permit and certificate of occupancy applications inside Van Buren town limits

  • An application must include any necessary fees, a copy of the deed, a scaled site plan, and a general narrative of the intended work.
  • The permit is issued by the Code Enforcement Officer after review against the ordinance and other laws.
  • Application timelines (CEO action periods) were not verified.

  “a. no application for a land use permit or certificate of occupancy shall be accepted unless accompanied by any necessary fees, a copy of the deed to the property in question, a scaled site plan, and a general narrative of intended work”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Van Buren or Aroostook County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built homes inside Van Buren town limits
• Building code adopted — Building construction inside Van Buren town limits
• Inspections — Construction inside Van Buren town limits
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area of a dwelling inside Van Buren town limits
• Minimum lot size — Single-family lots in the residential-1 (R-1) district inside Van Buren town limits

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.