Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Boothbay, Maine
Town of Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine. Town of Boothbay adopts its own zoning, so inside its limits Town of Boothbay’s rules apply, not the county’s. 15 rules below are quoted from official sources and independently re-checked, most recently on October 29, 2026. Rules for unincorporated land are on the Lincoln County page.
Answers from the rulebook for Town of Boothbay
Town of Boothbay’s own rules
Building permitRequired
Plumbing installations inside Boothbay town (homeowner-installed or licensed).
Homeowners may install their own plumbing, but multi-unit, rental and commercial plumbing must be done by a Maine state licensed master plumber (FAQ).
The FAQ does not state the permit fee amount.
“for all plumbing installations, a permit issued by the code enforcement office is required.”
One more reviewed finding on this topic
Required — Construction, repair, relocation, removal or demolition of any building or structure inside Boothbay town.
“you need a building permit for all construction that involves the construction, repair, movement to another site, removal, or demolition of any building or structure.”
Building code adoptedNot adopted
Construction inside Boothbay town limits; the town has no adopted building code.
The town's FAQ names NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) as the standard it follows for some construction aspects.
Status 'permitted' only means no town building code restricts construction; it does not waive state or other applicable codes.
“not specifically. the town of boothbay follows the nfpa 101 life safety code, which incorporates some aspects of construction, but is not a building code.”
Certificate of occupancyLimited
Specific projects in Boothbay town where the zoning ordinance ties a certificate of occupancy to a condition (for example, nonresidential buffers and affordable housing developments).
Section 10.1.2.5 requires buffers to be inspected by the code enforcement officer before a certificate of occupancy issues for the project.
Section 11.22.6 requires a recorded restrictive covenant before a certificate of occupancy for an affordable housing dwelling unit.
“the buffer shall be created in accordance with these provisions and inspected by the code enforcement officer prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the project.”
Local zoningPresent (with conditions)
All land inside Boothbay town limits; the town administers its own Zoning Ordinance.
Uses are allowed only as shown in the Table of Land Uses (section 7.6) and the district standards for the applicable district.
Shoreland overlay, wellhead, water reservoir, and watershed overlay districts add separate requirements that were not analyzed here.
“zoning ordinance of the town of boothbay adopted november 3, 2020 amended may 6, 2024”
Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)
Zoning districts, maps and standards for land inside Boothbay town.
The table of contents lists the district standards for the R, R-C, village, RMU, commercial, manufacturing, marine, water-protection and shoreland districts.
The zoning maps are referenced in section 7.2 but were not opened.
“section 7. zoning districts, zoning maps, and standards”
Minimum lot sizeSpecified
Single-family and other new lots in the Residential (R) district inside Boothbay town.
Minimum net developable lot area per dwelling unit is also 40,000 sf in the R district (section 7.5.1.3.2).
Lot width minimums in the R district are 150 feet in the shoreland overlay zone; lots within 100 feet of a resource are 150 feet residential tidal and 200 feet residential non-tidal.
Lots in the shoreland overlay or watershed districts face additional requirements not analyzed here.
minimum developable lot area: >= 40000 sq ft
“7.5.1.3.1 minimum developable lot area 40,000 sf”
SetbacksSpecified
Principal structures on lots in the Residential (R) district inside Boothbay town (side and rear property line setbacks).
Side setback 20 feet and rear setback 20 feet per the R district space and bulk standards.
Road setback and shoreland setback figures for the R district are garbled in the extracted text and were not relied on here; the private way road setback is 8 feet from the edge of the right-of-way.
minimum side property line setback: >= 20 feet · minimum rear property line setback: >= 20 feet
“7.5.1.3.6 minimum side property line setback 20 feet 7.5.1.3.7 minimum rear property line setback 20 feet”
Lot coverageSpecified
Residential (R) district lots inside Boothbay town; the cap is on non-vegetated surface area, not building footprint alone.
The R district space and bulk standards list a maximum non-vegetated surface area of 30%.
The opened text cuts off after 'within shoreland ov', so whether the 30% figure differs inside the shoreland overlay district was not confirmed.
maximum non-vegetated surface area: <= 30 percent of lot area (may differ within shoreland overlay district (not confirmed))
“maximum building height 34 feet maximum non-vegetated surface area 30% within shoreland overlay zone 20%”
Building heightSpecified
Principal buildings in the Residential (R) district inside Boothbay town.
Maximum building height 34 feet per the R district space and bulk standards.
maximum building height: <= 34 feet
“7.5.1.3.8 maximum building height 34 feet”
Manufactured homesLimited
Mobile home park developments inside Boothbay town.
Mobile home parks require Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer review under section 5.7; the opened table of contents does not state the substantive standards.
Placing a single manufactured home on an individual lot was not addressed in the opened text.
“the planning board is authorized to review and act on all applications for mobile home park review.”
Accessory dwellingsLimited
An accessory dwelling unit on a lot with a single-family dwelling inside Boothbay town.
An accessory dwelling unit must meet the performance standards of section 11.1, which were not opened.
Section 11.21 separately allows multiple principal dwelling units on lots where housing is allowed, up to four units on a lot without an existing dwelling in a designated growth area and up to two units elsewhere, subject to minimum lot size.
“one accessory dwelling unit shall be permitted by the code enforcement officer on a lot having a one or two family residential dwelling.”
Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)
Creating new lots through subdivision inside Boothbay town.
Subdivision review procedures and standards are in section 5.6 of the Zoning Ordinance; the body text was not opened.
Open space subdivisions under section 11.8 allow no minimum lot size subject to listed limits, including a 20,000 sq ft threshold for single-family lots that must meet state minimum lot size law.
“any proposal to divide land that creates a subdivision as defined in section 2 shall be reviewed in accordance with the general review procedures of section 5.3 and the subdivision review procedures and approval criteria of section 5.6.”
Permit feesVariable (with conditions)
Building permit fees inside Boothbay town.
The fee is calculated from construction cost according to the FAQ; the fee schedule itself was not opened.
The FAQ points to a permits and applications page that was not opened.
“the price of the permit is calculated using the cost of the construction.”
Permit processPartial
Building and land-use permit process inside Boothbay town.
Work may not legally begin before a permit is obtained and on the work site.
The FAQ says the permits, applications and procedures are published online; the linked page was not opened, so step-by-step process is not verified.
“work on a project may not legally begin before a permit is obtained and on the work site.”
Still unanswered
We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Boothbay or Lincoln County directly.
Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder rules for building inside Boothbay town.
Inspections — Inspections for construction inside Boothbay town.
Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a dwelling inside Boothbay town.
Living in an RV — Living in a recreational vehicle on private land inside Boothbay town.
Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside Boothbay town.
10 more unanswered
Tiny homes
Septic permit
Septic inspection
Off-grid sanitation
Well permit
Mandatory utility hookup
Agricultural exemption
Driveway access
Building in a floodplain
Short-term rentals
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.
Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Town of Boothbay publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Lincoln County’s page lists the county offices to call.
Off-grid gear
Going off-grid in Town of Boothbay means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:
