Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Farmington, Maine

Town of Farmington’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Farmington town's limits (Franklin County, Maine). The town administers its own Zoning Ordinance, which sets district dimensional standards and a zoning table of uses.

  • Opened the Zoning Ordinance 03/27/23 PDF on the town site. A 12/12/23 zoning ordinance PDF is also posted; it was not opened, so confirm which text is current.
  • Shoreland-zone lots are governed by the separate shoreland zoning provisions, which were excluded from the dimensional table quoted here.
  • Dimensional quote applies outside the shoreland zoning district.

  “e. dimensional requirements: lots in all zoning districts outside the shoreland zoning district shall meet or exceed the following requirements: general residential”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts of Farmington town (general residential, village districts, light commercial, farm and forest and related districts) as named in the zoning table of uses.

  • District list was seen only in the extracted table header, so the full district names were not confirmed.
  • Village business historic district is a sub-district of the village business district.

  “general residential village village village village residential purpose light comm. business business residential district district comm. district district historic district farm & forest district district”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Lots in the General Residential district inside Farmington town's limits (outside the shoreland zoning district); the district label is an inference from column order.

  • Minimum lot area is 40,000 sq ft with public sewer and 60,000 sq ft without public sewer, per the first numeric column of the dimensional table.
  • The column-to-district mapping was read from text-extracted headers (general residential is listed first); verify against the PDF table before relying on it.
  • Backlots with 50 to the minimum frontage may be built if structures are set back 250 feet (footnote d).
  • Lots outside the shoreland zoning district only.

  minimum lot area, with public sewer: >= 40000 sq ft (general residential district (column alignment inferred)) · minimum lot area, without public sewer: >= 60000 sq ft (general residential district (column alignment inferred))

  “(a) minimum lot area sf (b) with public sewer 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 450 15,000 40,000 40,000 without public sewer 60,000 60,000 50,000 50,000 n/a 25,000 50,000 50,000”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Type B new HUD-certified mobile homes inside Farmington town's limits.

  • Type B mobile homes are allowed in any mobile home park, or on individual lots in any district where allowed in the zoning table of uses.
  • Type A modular homes follow residential standards and the subdivision ordinance.
  • Type C used mobile homes were not confirmed because the rule text was truncated in extraction; re-check the zoning ordinance manufactured housing section.

  “b. type b - mobile homes: type b mobile homes are allowed in any mobile home development or park, or on their own individual lots in any district where allowed in the zoning table of uses.”

• Who permits septicLocal (with conditions)

  Private wastewater disposal systems inside Farmington town's limits.

  • The town's sewer use ordinance assigns inspection of private systems to the local plumbing inspector.
  • State subsurface wastewater rules (Maine DEP) may also apply; the sewer ordinance cross-references DEP licensing, but the state rule text was not opened in this run.

  “section 3.2 - permit requried. before commencement of construction of a private wastewater disposal system, the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by plumbing inspector for the town of farmington.”

• Septic permitRequired

  New or replaced private wastewater disposal systems inside Farmington town's limits.

  • The permit heading in the sewer ordinance is 'permit required'; the full section 3.2 text was not opened.
  • A permit is needed before the system becomes effective; the permit fee was not identified.

  “before commencement of construction of a private wastewater disposal system, the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by plumbing inspector for the town of farmington.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Private wastewater disposal systems inside Farmington town's limits.

  • The local plumbing inspector may inspect at any stage of construction.
  • The applicant must notify the local plumbing inspector when the work is ready for final inspection and before underground portions are covered.

  “he shall be allowed to inspect the work at any stage of construction and, in any event, the applicant for the permit shall notify the local plumbing inspector when the work is ready for final inspection, and before any underground portions are covered.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Homes served by a private wastewater system on a property where the town later extends public sewer.

  • Direct connection to public sewer is required only when the town elects to require it; the town may instead allow continued use of the private system for its useful life.
  • Owner pays the capital cost of the sewer extension under section 6.8 and a connection fee under section 4.3 (fees not opened).
  • Water connection rules were not found in this run.

  “section 3.5 - connection to public sewer required. at such time as a public sewer is extended to a property served by a private wastewater disposal system, the town may require a direct connection be made to the public sewer, or the town may allow the continued use of the private system for the duration of its useful life.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Divisions of land inside Farmington town's limits into three or more lots.

  • Subdivision is defined as three or more lots under the Town of Farmington Subdivision Ordinance and applicable state statutes.
  • The subdivision ordinance text was not opened.

  minimum lots that make a subdivision: >= 3 lots

  “subdivision: the division of a tract or parcel of land into three (3) or more lots as defined in the "town of farmington subdivision ordinance" and applicable state statutes.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for homes inside Farmington town's limits.
• Building code adopted — Building code applicable inside Farmington town's limits.
• Inspections — Building inspection inside Farmington town's limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Farmington town's limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Farmington town's 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.