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

Town of Hanover’s own rules

• Building permitLimited

  Activities, uses, structures, and expansions in Hanover's shoreland zoning districts where the ordinance's land-use table requires a permit.

  • A permit is not required for specified replacement culverts or qualifying archaeological excavations.
  • The ordinance's required permit is in addition to permits required by other law or ordinance.

  “After the effective date of this Ordinance no person shall, without first obtaining a permit, engage in any activity or use of land or structure requiring a permit in the district in which such activity or use would occur; or expand, change, or replace an existing use or structure; or renew a discontinued nonconforming use.”

• InspectionsLimited

  Projects submitted on Hanover's building-permit application.

  • The published form says building permits do not include plumbing, septic, or commercial electrical work.
  • Building permits are valid for one year.

  “Signing this application authorizes inspections necessary to issue the permit and assure compliance with regulation.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Hanover town's shoreland zone.

  • The ordinance applies within 250 feet of specified waters and wetlands and within 75 feet of specified streams.

  “This Ordinance applies to all land areas within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of any great pond or river, or upland edge of a freshwater wetland, and all land areas within 75 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of a stream.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Hanover's shoreland zoning ordinance.

  • District location is determined by the Official Shoreland Zoning Map.

  districts: Resource Protection; Limited Residential; Limited Commercial; General Development I; Stream Protection (shoreland zoning)

  “The areas to which this Ordinance is applicable are hereby divided into the following districts as shown on the Official Shoreland Zoning Map(s) which is (are) made a part of this Ordinance: (1) Resource Protection (2) Limited Residential (3) Limited Commercial (4) General Development I (5) Stream Protection”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Individual private campsites in Hanover's shoreland zone.

  • Only one recreational vehicle is allowed on a campsite.
  • It may not be on a permanent foundation except a gravel pad, and no structure except a canopy may attach to it.
  • If placed on-site more than 120 days per year, residential-structure and compliant subsurface-sewage requirements apply unless served by public sewage.

  recreational vehicles per campsite: 1 · on-site duration threshold: > 120 days per year (residential-structure requirements then apply)

  “Only one recreational vehicle shall be allowed on a campsite. The recreational vehicle shall not be located on any type of permanent foundation except for a gravel pad, and no structure except a canopy shall be attached to the recreational vehicle.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Individual private campsites in Hanover's shoreland zone.

  • Campsite placement has specified shoreland setbacks.
  • A written sewage-disposal plan approved by the Local Plumbing Inspector is required.
  • More than 120 days per year triggers residential-structure requirements.

  campsite density: one campsite per existing lot or 30,000 square feet of shoreland-zone lot area, whichever is less

  “One campsite per lot existing on the effective date of this Ordinance, or thirty thousand (30,000) square feet of lot area within the shoreland zone, whichever is less, may be permitted.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Placement of manufactured homes within Hanover's designated special flood-hazard areas.

  • A Flood Hazard Development Permit is required before construction or development begins.
  • The flood permit is additional to other town-code and ordinance permits.

  “including the placement of manufactured homes”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Individual private campsites in Hanover's shoreland zone.

  • Each campsite needs a written sewage-disposal plan approved by the Local Plumbing Inspector.
  • For off-site disposal, written authorization from the receiving facility or landowner is required.
  • When a recreational vehicle, tent, or similar shelter remains on-site more than 120 days per year, residential-structure requirements apply, including a compliant subsurface system unless served by public sewage.

  on-site duration threshold: > 120 days per year (then residential-structure and sewage-system requirements apply)

  “A written sewage disposal plan describing the proposed method and location of sewage disposal shall be required for each campsite and shall be approved by the Local Plumbing Inspector. Where disposal is off-site, written authorization from the receiving facility or land owner is required.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision review inside Hanover town.

  • The town's regulations page publishes a subdivision ordinance and subdivision-review application; detailed standards were not extractable from the linked PDF.

  “Subdivision Ordinance Download PDF Subdivision Review Application Application for Subdivision Review Download PDF”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Construction or other development in Hanover's designated special flood-hazard areas.

  • The permit is obtained from the Code Enforcement Officer.
  • The flood permit is additional to other required town permits.

  “a Flood Hazard Development Permit shall be obtained”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Flood Hazard Development Permit applications in Hanover's special flood-hazard areas.

  • An additional expert fee may be charged where assistance is needed.
  • The applicant must pay an expert bill within 10 days; failure is a violation and grounds for a stop-work order.
  • The town cannot hire an expert at the applicant's expense without written consent or opportunity to be heard.

  minor-development application fee: 25 USD · new-construction or substantial-improvement application fee: 50 USD

  “A non-refundable application fee of $25 for all minor development and $50 for all new construction or substantial improvements shall be paid to the Town Clerk and a copy of a receipt for the same shall accompany the application.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Shoreland-ordinance permit applications inside Hanover town.

  • Applicant must submit a written application and scaled site plan on a municipal form.
  • The applicant must sign and certify completeness and correctness.
  • The decision period changes if the Planning Board has a waiting list.
  • Approval requires findings listed in §16(D), including adequate wastewater disposal and conformance with land-use standards.

  completeness notice: <= 35 days (after written application receipt) · decision period: <= 35 days (after completed application receipt, subject to Planning Board waiting-list language)

  “Within 35 days of the date of receiving a written application, the Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer, as indicated in Section 14, shall notify the applicant in writing either that the application is a complete application, or, if the application is incomplete, that specified additional material is needed to make the application complete.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Hanover

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

• Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Lots or portions of lots in Hanover's shoreland zone.

  • The 70 percent maximum applies to the General Development District adjacent to rivers that do not flow to great ponds classified GPA.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 20 percent (general shoreland-zone standard) · maximum lot coverage: <= 70 percent (General Development District adjacent to qualifying rivers)

  “The total footprint area of all structures, parking lots and other non-vegetated surfaces, within the shoreland zone shall not exceed twenty (20) percent of the lot or a portion thereof, located within the shoreland zone, including land area previously developed, except in the General Development District adjacent to rivers that do not flow to great ponds classified GPA, where lot coverage shall not exceed seventy (70) percent.”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Principal or accessory structures in Hanover's Resource Protection, Limited Residential, Limited Commercial, and Stream Protection shoreland districts.

  • The rule excludes transmission towers, windmills, antennas, and similar structures with no floor area.

  maximum height: <= 35 feet (specified shoreland districts)

  “Principal or accessory structures and expansions of existing structures which are permitted in the Resource Protection, Limited Residential, Limited Commercial, and Stream Protection Districts, shall not exceed thirty-five (35) feet in height.”

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Subsurface wastewater systems inside Hanover town.

  • State law requires a permit for installation of a subsurface wastewater disposal system or components.
  • Hanover's shoreland ordinance requires a valid subsurface wastewater permit or completed application approved by the Plumbing Inspector when a proposed structure or use requires a system.

  “The plumbing inspector shall issue any permit under this section”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside Hanover town.
• Building code adopted — Building-code enforcement inside Hanover town.
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of structures inside Hanover town.
• Minimum dwelling size — Dwellings inside Hanover town.
• Tiny homes — Tiny-home occupancy inside Hanover 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 Hanover 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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