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

Town of Randolph’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Erection, alteration, rebuilding, enlargement or relocation of any building inside Randolph town, issued by the town code enforcement officer

  • Exempt work listed in the following claim (building repairs without structural elements, decorative changes, landscaping, and agricultural and forest operations) does not need the permit.
  • Permit is issued by the code enforcement officer (CEO) at the town office; a complete application is decided within three working days.
  • Permit application requires a site plan showing water and sewage disposal facilities, and an HHE-200 if a subsurface wastewater system will be used.

  “a. building permit: this permit is required for the erection, alteration, rebuilding, enlargement, or relocation of any building, except as provided below, and shall be obtained from the code enforcement officer.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — Certain work inside Randolph town that does not need the building, development or conditional use permit under the land use ordinance

    “none of the above-referenced permits shall be required for building repairs and/or maintenance not requiring structural elements, decorative changes in existing structures or buildings, landscaping, or the ordinary conduct of agricultural and forest operations.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Randolph town limits (Kennebec County, Maine). Randolph town adopts and administers its own Land Use and Development Ordinance (1999, updated Nov 2025 file), which divides the town into districts and sets permit levels and dimensional standards.

  • Shoreland zoning and floodplain management are separate ordinances the land use ordinance refers to; the shoreland zoning ordinance was not located on the town site during this research.
  • Permit levels and district rules are set by the district table in sections 6.4 and 6.5 of the land use ordinance.

  “the following land use districts are hereby established and are designated as follows: d = downtown district c = commercial district u = urban residential district r = residential district rc = resource conservation”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Randolph town zoning districts: downtown (d), commercial (c), urban residential (u), residential (r) and resource conservation (rc)

  • District boundaries are on the official land use map, which was not opened.
  • The district table cannot be parsed reliably from the extracted text.

  “the following land use districts are hereby established and are designated as follows: d = downtown district c = commercial district u = urban residential district r = residential district rc = resource conservation”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Dwelling units in Randolph town (1984 minimum standards of space and occupancy ordinance)

  • The 1984 ordinance remains on the town site; the 1999 land use ordinance repeals only the minimum lot size ordinance and the two-family and multi-family ordinance.
  • Rented dwelling units must contain at least 120 square feet of habitable space per occupant over age one.
  • Habitable rooms other than kitchens need at least 70 square feet and no dimension under 7 feet.
  • Nonconforming owner-occupied units may continue; rented nonconforming units must conform when re-rented to a new family.

  minimum habitable space per dwelling unit: >= 300 square feet · minimum ceiling height: >= 7 feet (sloping ceilings under 4 feet not counted)

  “no dwelling unit shall have less than 300 square feet of habitable space.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Accessory structures in Randolph town, side and rear lot lines; the ordinance wording on which districts apply is ambiguous

  • Setback equals one half of the height of the structure in the districts named by the ordinance text.
  • The residential (r) and commercial (c) districts are excluded from that sentence; a second sentence sets the same one-half-height rule for urban residential (u) and downtown (d) districts.

  accessory structure side and rear setback: 0.5 multiple of structure height (residential (r) and commercial (c) districts and resource conservation district excluded from first sentence)

  “2. in the urban residential (ur) and downtown (d) districts, the minimum setback for accessory structures from side and rear property lines shall be a distance equal to one half (1/2) the height of the structure.”

• Agricultural exemptionAvailable (with conditions)

  Ordinary conduct of agricultural and forest operations in Randolph town, exempt from the building, development and conditional use permits

  • Exemption is limited to the ordinary conduct of agricultural and forest operations; it does not exempt a new dwelling or structure, which still needs a building permit.
  • Not a farm-specific tax or land-use exemption.

  “none of the above-referenced permits shall be required for building repairs and/or maintenance not requiring structural elements, decorative changes in existing structures or buildings, landscaping, or the ordinary conduct of agricultural and forest operations.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Division of land in Randolph town into lots

  • Subdivision is reviewed under the town subdivision regulations or ordinance, which was not opened; the land use table marks subdivision review as a separate ordinance step.
  • Planning Board reviews development applications, including subdivisions, per the town site.

  “subdivision: a division of land as defined and reviewed under the town of randolph subdivision regulations or ordinance.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Uses permitted in the Randolph town downtown district (d), which must also comply with the town floodplain management ordinance

  • The floodplain management ordinance itself was not opened; its permit and elevation rules are not confirmed.
  • Building permit applications must state whether the lot is in the floodplain (section 3.2).

  “all uses designated and permitted in this district shall also be subject to provisions of the town of randolph floodplain management ordinance.”

• Permit processPublished

  Building permit process in Randolph town through the code enforcement officer at the town office

  • Application must be written, on town forms, and include the site plan, HHE-200 if applicable, dimensions and flood status.
  • An appeal of the CEO decision goes to the Board of Appeals within 30 days of the decision.

  decision time after complete application: <= 3 working days

  “upon determining that a complete application has been submitted, the ceo shall approve or deny the application and issue the permit, if approved, within three (3) working days.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption in Randolph town
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted by Randolph town
• Inspections — Building inspections in Randolph town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy in Randolph town
• Living in an RV — Living in a recreational vehicle on private land in Randolph town

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.