Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Town of Cape Elizabeth’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, structural alteration, enlargement, or relocation of a building or structure inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • Site-plan approval may be required before a building permit for certain commercial and multiplex-residential construction.
  • The proposal must comply with the ordinance, Board of Appeals decisions, and Planning Board approvals.
  • A valid plumbing permit is required before a building permit for work involving plumbing facilities.

  “No building, structure, or part thereof shall be constructed, structurally altered, enlarged, or moved until a Building Permit for such action has been issued by the Code Enforcement Officer.”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Buildings or activities enumerated in §19-3-4 inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • Applies to a building or portion for which a building permit issued and to the listed changes of use, dwelling-unit increases, vacant-land occupancy, and Planning Board site-plan activities.
  • A temporary certificate may be issued for up to six months during construction or alteration; for a site-plan project, a financial guarantee is required for uncompleted improvements.

  temporary certificate duration: <= 6 months (During construction or alteration; site-plan projects require the stated financial guarantee.)

  “None of the following activities shall occur and no building, structure, or portion thereof for which a building permit was issued shall be occupied until after the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy by the Code Enforcement Officer.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • District-specific regulations apply.

  “Zoning ordinance: The Cape Elizabeth Zoning Ordinance that divides the Town of Cape Elizabeth into districts and that prescribes and reasonably applies different regulations in each district. (Effective August 13, 2025)”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts within Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • The ordinance also creates the Resource Protection 1 buffer, Shoreland Performance, and Great Pond Watershed overlay districts.
  • District locations are defined by the official Zoning Map.

  “For the purpose of this Ordinance the Town is hereby divided into districts as follows: Residence A District (RA) Residence B District (RB) Residence C District (RC) Town Center District (TC) Business District A (BA) Business District B (BB) Business District C (BC) Fort Williams Park District (FWP) Resource Protection Districts”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  Use of a travel trailer, motor home, or recreational camping vehicle as a temporary or permanent dwelling or short-term rental in all Cape Elizabeth zoning districts.

  • An owner may use such a vehicle occasionally for temporary occupancy, meaning no more than three nights in any 30-day period.
  • The ordinance separately permits parking or storage of an unoccupied vehicle on the owner's lot.

  occasional owner occupancy: <= 3 nights per 30 days (Lot-owner temporary occupancy only.)

  “the use of a travel trailer, motor home, or other recreational camping vehicle as a temporary or permanent dwelling, or a short term rental is prohibited in all districts.”

• Accessory dwellingsAllowed (with conditions)

  Accessory dwelling units on a lot where a single-family dwelling is the principal structure inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • The unit may be within an existing dwelling, attached, or a new/conversion accessory structure.
  • It is subject to the stated setback, parking, size, ownership, and short-term-rental restrictions.
  • It may not be operated as a short-term rental.

  minimum ADU size: 190 square feet (A different minimum standard adopted by the Technical Building Codes and Standards Board applies instead.) · maximum ADU size: <= 1200 square feet (A conversion of an accessory structure existing January 1, 2023 is exempt from the maximum.)

  “an accessory dwelling unit shall be allowed on any lot where a single family dwelling is the principal structure, including nonconforming lots where a single family dwelling may be constructed.”

• Septic permitRequired

  A private sewage-disposal proposal associated with a building-permit application inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • The Local Plumbing Inspector must approve the private sewage-disposal proposal and plans before the building permit issues.

  “Approval by the Local Plumbing Inspector of any private sewage disposal system proposal for the building, together with the plans for the approved system.”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Short-term rentals inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • A short-term-rental permit is required before advertisement, rental, or operation.
  • The permit is valid for the calendar year issued.
  • The applicant must be the property owner; lessees may not operate the rental.
  • Initial permits require inspection; renewals require Code Enforcement Officer inspection at least once every five years.

  late application deadline: > 30 days after January 2 (Application is considered late.) · renewal inspection interval: <= 5 years (Code Enforcement Officer inspection no less than once every five years.)

  “Permit required. No Short Term Rental shall be advertised, rented or operated without first obtaining a Short Term Rental Permit. A Short Term Rental permit shall be valid for the calendar year in which the permit is issued.”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Town permits inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • Town Council establishes the fees and the schedule is available from the Code Enforcement Officer.
  • Late applications carry the required late fee unless the stated emergency waiver applies.

  “the town council shall establish fees for all permits. a copy of the fee schedule shall be available from the code enforcement officer.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building-permit applications inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • Application is written on Code Enforcement Office forms.
  • It requires the prescribed site plan and other listed materials.
  • The Code Enforcement Officer must approve, deny, or refer a single-family application within seven working days and other uses within 15 working days.

  single-family decision period: <= 7 working days (From filing of the application.) · other-use decision period: <= 15 working days (From filing of the application.)

  “within seven (7) working days of the filing of an application for a building permit involving a single family residence of fifteen (15) working days for permits involving other uses, the code enforcement officer shall approve, deny, or refer such application to the appropriate body.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Cape Elizabeth

Town of Cape Elizabeth does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Residence A District; other housing uses, including a single-family dwelling, except where a more specific listed standard applies.

  • Multifamily, eldercare, golf-course, boat-repair, and wind-energy uses have separately listed standards.
  • Open-space-zoning subdivision density rules also apply where applicable.

  minimum lot area: 80000 square feet (Other uses in Residence A.)

  “(5) wind energy systems 20,000 sq. ft. (eff. october 8, 2008) (6) other uses 80,000 sq. ft.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Residence A District, all uses unless a specific exception applies.

  • Side and rear setbacks may be reduced for developed nonconforming lots under §19-4-3.A.2.
  • For nonarterial roads, the front setback may be reduced to the average of two nearby principal structures but may not be less than 20 feet from the right-of-way.

  side yard setback: 30 feet (Unless otherwise specified.) · rear yard setback: 30 feet (Unless otherwise specified.) · front setback arterial street: 50 feet · front setback collector/rural connector/feeder: 40 feet · front setback local/private street: 30 feet

  “-- arterial street 50 ft. -- collector, rural connector, and feeder streets 40 ft. -- local and private streets 30 ft.”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Agricultural buildings in the site-plan-review context inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.

  • The exemption is from site-plan approval, not from all zoning, building, plumbing, or other approvals.
  • Temporary agricultural buildings may remain no more than three months in a 12-month period.
  • Barns, greenhouses, and storage sheds must not exceed 3,000 square feet; housing other than a single-family home requires site-plan review.

  maximum agricultural building footprint: <= 3000 square feet (Barn, greenhouse, or storage shed.)

  “the following activities shall not require site plan approval (certain of these activities may, however, require the owner to obtain a building permit, plumbing permit, or other state and local approvals):”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Cape Elizabeth or Cumberland County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Residential construction inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.
• Inspections — Building construction inside Cape Elizabeth town limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Principal single-family dwellings in the Residence A District.
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside Cape Elizabeth town limits, apart from recreational-vehicle occupancy.

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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Cape Elizabeth means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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