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

Town of Dayton’s own rules

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside Dayton town limits: the zoning ordinance names the Village, Mixed Use, Rural Fields, Rural Forest, Critical Rural, Commercial/Industrial, Shoreland Overlay, Resource Protection and Saco River Buffer districts.

  • The map is tied to the official zoning map and the dayton land use map referenced in the ordinance; the map itself was not opened.
  • Saco River Buffer district: all areas within 250 linear feet of the high water mark of the Saco River are under the jurisdiction of the Saco River Corridor Commission.

  “the village district is comprised of the land shown on the official zoning map of the town of dayton”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Accessory dwelling units only, inside Dayton town. No general minimum size for a principal dwelling was located in the opened text.

  • Minimum habitable living space of an accessory unit is 190 square feet.
  • An accessory unit may not exceed a stated percentage or maximum of the principal dwelling's living space; the cap text was truncated in the opened excerpt.

  minimum accessory dwelling living space: >= 190 sq ft (accessory dwelling units only)

  “the living space, habitable area, of an accessory unit shall be a minimum of 190 square feet”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Rural Forest district in Dayton town: the northwest portion of town north of Route 5, excluding the river buffer and critical rural districts. Applies inside Dayton town only.

  • Minimum lot size is 3.00 acres (130,680 sq. ft) of net area; maximum density is 3.00 acres (43,560 sq. ft) of net area per dwelling unit.
  • Saco River buffer and critical rural land within this area follow their own district rules.
  • Residential cluster development (section 7.17) may reduce minimum lot sizes; not applied here.

  minimum lot size: >= 130680 sq ft of net area (3.00 acres; residential cluster development section 7.17 may reduce lot sizes)

  “rural forest district: 3.00 acres (130,680 sq. ft) of net area 3.00 acres (43,560 sq. ft) of net area per dwelling unit 275 ft. (b) 75 ft. (c, d, e) 50 ft. (e) 50 ft. (e)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Village district in Dayton town (the district described as the village district on the official zoning map). Applies inside Dayton town only.

    “1.377 acres (60,000 sq. ft) of net area 1.377 acres (60,000 sq. ft) of net area per dwelling unit 125 ft. (b) 50 ft. (c, d, e) 30 ft. (e) 30 ft. (e)”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Rural Forest district in Dayton town. Applies inside Dayton town only.

  • Front setback 75 ft (the rural forest entry notes a front setback on the westerly side of Clarks Mills Road may be reduced to 60 ft, per the rural fields/forest table text); rear setback 50 ft; side setback 50 ft.
  • Footnotes (b), (c, d, e), (e) are referenced without captured text.
  • A 250 ft entry appears in the same row and is not identified in the opened text; treat as unresolved.

  front setback: >= 75 ft (front setback on westerly side of Clarks Mills Road may be reduced to 60 ft (table note)) · rear setback: >= 50 ft · side setback: >= 50 ft

  “275 ft. (b) 75 ft. (c, d, e) (note: front setback on westerly side of clarks mills road may be reduced to 60 ft.) 50 ft. (e) 50 ft. (e)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Village district in Dayton town. Applies inside Dayton town only.

    “125 ft. (b) 50 ft. (c, d, e) 30 ft. (e) 30 ft. (e) 150 feet from the high-water line of swan pond creek”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Village district in Dayton town (residential uses). Applies inside Dayton town only.

  • Residential maximum lot coverage 25%; non-residential 40%, as shown on the table row that follows the village entry.
  • Column alignment between the village and mixed use rows should be confirmed against the PDF.

  maximum lot coverage, residential: <= 25 percent · maximum lot coverage, non-residential: <= 40 percent

  “35 ft. not to exceed 3 stories (f) residential non-residential mixed use district: 25% 40%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural Forest district in Dayton town. Applies inside Dayton town only.

    “250 ft. 35 ft. not to exceed 3 stories (f) residential non-residential 25% 40%”

• Building heightSpecified

  Rural Forest district in Dayton town. Applies inside Dayton town only.

  • Maximum building height 35 ft, not to exceed 3 stories.

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft (not to exceed 3 stories)

  “250 ft. 35 ft. not to exceed 3 stories (f)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Village district in Dayton town. Applies inside Dayton town only.

    “35 ft. not to exceed 3 stories (f) residential non-residential mixed use district: 25% 40%”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Recreational vehicles placed on private land inside Dayton town (individual private campsites and RVs left on a lot).

  • Only one recreational vehicle is allowed on an individual private campsite.
  • An RV counts as a vehicle rather than a structure only if it keeps its tires on the ground and is registered with a state division of motor vehicles.
  • If an RV, tent or similar shelter is on site more than 120 days per year, residential dimensional requirements must be met, including a subsurface sewage system under state rules; the RV is still not a dwelling unit.
  • The RV must be set back 75 feet from the normal high-water line of a water body, tributary stream or the upland edge of a wetland; no RV sites are permitted in the resource protection zone.
  • A written sewage disposal plan approved by the local plumbing inspector is required for each campsite.

  days on site before residential requirements: > 120 days per year (per the individual private campsite standard) · campsite setback from water body: >= 75 ft (normal high-water line of a water body, tributary stream or upland edge of a wetland)

  “when a recreational vehicle, tent or similar shelter is placed on-site for more than 120 days per year, all dimensional requirements for residential structures shall be met”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Tent and recreational vehicle camping in Dayton town, on individual private campsites and in campgrounds.

  • A campground must be constructed on at least 10 acres of land; campsites must be at least 200 feet from any residence (except the owners' residences).
  • Campground and tenting ground season is April 15 to October 15.
  • Campsite placement on any lot must be set back 75 feet from the normal high-water line; only one RV is allowed per campsite.
  • A campground must provide water and sewerage systems in accordance with state wastewater disposal rules; each RV site must have water hook-ups.
  • Within the shoreland zone, individual private campsites are subject to the ordinance's shoreland limits; the lot-size threshold is in the individual private campsite standards.

  campground minimum land area: >= 10 acres · campsite distance from residences: >= 200 ft (except residences belonging to the campground owners) · campsite setback from water body: >= 75 ft

  “a campground must be constructed on at least 10 acres of land, and all camping units or structures shall be located at least 200 feet from any residence”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured housing units placed on a lot in Dayton town.

  • Manufactured housing units must have been manufactured after June 5, 1976; the planning board regulates and enforces this rule.
  • Mobile home parks are separately regulated by the ordinance; this claim covers single lots only.
  • Under the ordinance's dwelling-unit definition, mobile homes are included in dwelling unit; trailers and recreational vehicles are not.

  manufacture date after: > 1976-06-05 date

  “all manufactured housing units to be located on a lot within the town of dayton shall be manufactured after june 5, 1976, and the planning board shall regulate and enforce this ordinance.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Accessory dwelling units attached to or detached from an owner-occupied single-family dwelling, inside Dayton town.

  • The code enforcement officer may issue a permit for an accessory dwelling unit only if it adheres to the standards in section 7.18.
  • The owner must reside in the principal structure or the accessory unit; principal structure and ADU must be in the same ownership.
  • One occupant must be an immediate family member of the owner and a resident of the single-family dwelling; the number of occupants is limited to two.
  • Neither the ADU nor the single-family dwelling may be rented as a short-term rental for less than three consecutive months in a 12-month period.
  • ADU parking: no additional motor vehicle parking beyond the parking required for the single-family dwelling (section 6.9).

  maximum occupants of accessory unit: <= 2 persons

  “the code enforcement officer may issue a permit for the construction on an accessory dwelling unit only it adheres to the following standards”

• Septic permitRequired

  New home construction in Dayton town that needs an on-site septic system.

  • Town page: a plumbing permit application is needed for a new home, along with an HHE-200 form completed by a licensed soil engineer covering the septic system.
  • The ordinance requires a subsurface sewage system in compliance with state subsurface wastewater disposal rules for certain RV and tent placements.
  • Construction may proceed after the permit is issued.

  HHE-200 form: licensed soil engineer

  “if you are building a new home, you will also need a plumbing permit application. you will need to have a hhe-200 form filled out by a licensed soil engineer.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land divisions inside Dayton town. Town subdivision regulations are referenced by the zoning ordinance.

  • The zoning ordinance refers to the town's subdivision regulations for road intersection design.
  • The subdivision regulations document (adopted 01-14-2020 per its title) was not opened; its lot-creation thresholds are not reported here.

  “in the towns subdivision regulations shall be observed in designing all intersections”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Residential dwelling units and accessory dwelling units in Dayton town.

  • The ordinance defines a short term rental as a rental of less than ninety consecutive calendar days in a 12-month period.
  • For accessory dwelling units, the ADU standard bars short-term rental for less than three consecutive months in a 12-month period; the two thresholds are not reconciled in the opened text.

  short-term rental definition threshold: < 90 consecutive days (per 12-month period)

  “short term rental: a rental of any residential dwelling unit or accessory dwelling unit for less than ninety (90) consecutive calendar days during a twelve (12) month period.”

• Permit processPartial

  Building and plumbing permit applications in Dayton town.

  • Building permit applications may be obtained online or at the town office.
  • The page does not describe review steps, timelines, or fees; the process is only partly published.

  “building permit applications may be obtained on line, or at the town office.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — General building permit requirement in Dayton town
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for Dayton town
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption for Dayton town
• Inspections — Building and plumbing inspection in Dayton town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy in Dayton 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 Dayton 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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