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

Town of Andover’s own rules

• InspectionsRequired

  Newly constructed, placed, relocated or expanded residential buildings inside Andover town before occupancy

  • Inspection is by the Code Enforcement Officer and is tied to a request for an occupancy permit.
  • The ordinance text is OCR-extracted; the quoted sentence is reproduced as extracted.
  • Construction and trade inspections other than this occupancy inspection were not verified.

  inspection deadline after occupancy permit request: <= 5 days

  “within five (5) days of the receipt of a request of an occupancy permit the code enforcement officer shall inspect the property”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Newly constructed, placed, relocated or expanded buildings intended for human habitation inside Andover town

  • An occupancy permit issued by the Code Enforcement Officer is required before occupancy.
  • The officer issues the permit only after the subsurface wastewater system is confirmed constructed, inspected and approved by the local plumbing inspector.
  • Adopted and effective by town meeting vote on March 6, 1999 (source reads 'march 6'h,1999'; OCR-extracted).
  • The PDF text is OCR-garbled; the quoted sentence is reproduced as extracted.

  “no newly constructed, placed, relocated or expansion of any an existing building, has intended for human habitation shall be occupied”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Placed or relocated mobile or modular homes occupied inside Andover town

  • A placed or relocated building may not be occupied until the Code Enforcement Officer issues an occupancy permit.
  • Where a mobile or modular home may be placed is governed by the Land Use Ordinance, whose text was not opened.

  “placement: the locating of a building such as but not limited to a mobile or modular home.”

• Septic permitRequired

  Subsurface wastewater (septic) systems serving buildings inside Andover town

  • Proof of valid permits for subsurface sewage disposal systems must be shown to the Code Enforcement Officer before an application is approved.
  • The state subsurface wastewater permit process was not verified in this run.

  “before approving any application the owner or the owner's authorized agent shall show proof to the code enforcement officer that valid permits have been obtained for all interior plumbing and subsurface sewage disposal systems.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Subsurface wastewater (septic) systems serving new or relocated habitable buildings inside Andover town

  • Inspection and approval by the local plumbing inspector is a precondition to the occupancy permit.
  • The ordinance text is OCR-extracted; the quoted sentence is reproduced as extracted.

  “and that the subsurface wastewater disposal local plumbing system has been constructed, inspected and approved by the inspector.”

• Permit processPartial

  Building permit process inside Andover town

  • The town page says the Code Enforcement Officer can approve some building permits outside Planning Board meetings, which are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays.
  • Contact is through the town office, by phone or by email [email protected]; the officer's name on the page may be out of date.
  • Full written procedure and forms were not verified beyond the listed application.

  “is able to approve some building permits outside the planning board meetings that are held on the 1st and 3rd monday’s of the month at the town hall, 6 p.m., excluding holiday’s.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builders constructing a home inside Andover town
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Andover town's limits: which building code, if any, the town adopts
• Zoning districts — Zoning district map and district list inside Andover town
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling floor area in the main single-family residential district inside Andover town
• Minimum lot size — Minimum lot size in the main single-family residential district inside Andover 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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Andover 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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