A. The following criteria and standards shall be utilized by the Planning Board in reviewing applications for site plan review. These standards are intended to provide a guide for the applicant in the development of the site and building plans aw well as a method of review for the Board. The Planning Board may require an expert consultant or consultants to study and report as to compliance or noncompliance with these standards and to advise, if necessary, of procedures which will result in compliance. Such
consultants shall be fully qualified to provide the required information and shall be mutually acceptable to the Town and the applicant. Costs shall be borne by the applicant.
1) Landscaping
a. The purpose of landscaping is to define, soften or screen the appearance of off-street parking areas or other uses from the public right-or-way and abutting properties, to enhance the physical design of the building(s) and site, and to minimize the encroachment of the proposed use on neighboring land uses. Landscaping shall be provided as part of the overall site plan design and integrated into building arrangements, topography, parking and buffering requirements. Landscaping shall include trees, bushes, shrubs, ground cover, perennials, annuals, plants, grading and the use of building and paying materials in an imaginative manner.
The landscaping plan submitted with each application may, at the discretion of the Board, include major existing and proposed trees, shrubs, bushes, plant material, ground cover and natural features such boulders and rock outcroppings. It shall show present or proposed location and planting details. Applicant shall include in the plan proposed methods to protect existing trees and growth during and after construction. These may include fences, berms, curbing, tree walls and similar devices.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. The landscape shall be preserved in its natural state, insofar as practicable, by minimizing tree and soil removal, retaining existing vegetation where desirable, and keeping any grade changes in character with the general appearance of neighboring areas.
2. Landscaping should be provided in public areas, recreation sites and adjacent to buildings.
3. Wherever possible, existing large trees should be saved. Maximum effort should be made to save clumps of trees rather than individual one.
4. Parking lots should be landscaped to provide buffering for adjacent properties. Sight vision, safety and appearance should be considered in determining landscaping plans.
2) Buffers
a. Buffers are fences, landscaping, berms, rocks, boulders, mounds or combinations thereof designed to minimize any potential adverse impacts or nuisances on the site from adjacent areas. Extensive buffering will be required where intensive land uses (such as higher densities and potential conflicting uses) abut less intensive land uses.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. Existing natural vegetation shall be retained if they can appropriately act as suitable buffers.
2. Buffering (other than fences and walks) shall be located around the perimeter of the site at the property lines to minimize headlights of vehicles, noise, light from structures, the movement of people and to shield activities from adjacent properties when necessary.
3. Parking areas, garbage collection areas, utility buildings, loading and unloading areas, outdoor storage areas and similar accessory areas and structures shall be buffered.
4. Evergreens can be used as buffers if two or three rows of staggered plantings are proposed. The rows should be at least five feet apart.
3) Environmental Considerations
a. Environmental elements relating to prevention of soil erosion, preservation of trees, protection of watercourses and other natural resources, noise, topography, soil and animal life shall be reviewed and the design of the plan shall minimize any adverse impact on these elements.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. The design and layout of buildings and/or other development areas shall encourage safety and fire protection.
2. Proposed structure(s) shall relate harmoniously to the terrain and to existing building(s) in the vicinity which have a visual relationship to the proposed building(s). Special attention shall be paid to the scale of the proposed building(s), massing of the structure(s), and such natural features as slope, orientation, soil type and drainage courses.
3. Adequate provision shall be made for on-site surface drainage so that removal of vegetation will not adversely affect neighboring properties, down dream conditions, or a public storm drainage system. One-site absorption shall be utilized to minimize discharge whenever possible. All drainage calculation shall be based on a ten year storm of duration equal to the time of concentration for the area addressed.
4. The erosion and sedimentation plan shall be based the following principles, when applicable.
a. Stripping of vegetation, regarding or other development shall be done in such a way as to minimize erosion.
b. Development shall preserve salient natural features, keep cut-fill operations to a minimum and ensure conformity with topography so as to create the least erosion potential and adequately handle the volume and velocity of surface water run off.
c. Whenever feasible, natural vegetation shall be retained, protected and supplemented.
d. The disturbed area and the duration of exposure shall be kept to a practical minimum.
e. Disturbed soils shall be stabilized as quickly as practicable
f. Temporary vegetation or mulching shall be used to protect exposed critical areas during development.
g. The permanent (final) vegetation and mechanical erosion control measures shall be installed as soon as practical on the site. Ground cover planting shall be used, if appropriate.
h. Until the disturbed area is stabilized, sediment in the runoff water shall be trapped by the use of debris basins, sediment basins, silt traps or other acceptable methods.
i. Whenever sedimentation is caused by stripping vegetation, regarding or other development, it shall be the responsibility of the developer causing such sedimentation to remove it from all adjoining surfaces, drainage systems, and watercourses and to repair any damage at his expense as quickly as possible.
4) Site Conditions
a. During construction. During construction, the site shall be maintained and left each day in a safe and sanitary manner, and any condition which could lead to personal injury or property damage shall be immediately corrected by the developer upon an order by the Code Enforcement Officer or other authorized personnel.
b. Disposal of dead trees, litter, building materials. Developed areas shall be cleared of all stumps, litter, rubbish, brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, roots and debris, and excess or scrap building materials shall be removed or destroyed immediately upon the request of and to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer prior to issuing an occupancy permit.
c. Changes in elevation. No change shall be made in the elevation or contour of any lot or site by the removal of earth to another lot or site other than as shown on an approved site plan.
d. Temporary improvements. Prior to or during construction, the Code Enforcement Officer may require the installation or construction of improvements to prevent or correct temporary conditions on the site which could cause personal injury, damage to property or constitute a health hazard. These conditions may result from erosion and landslide, flooding, heavy construction traffic creation of steep grades and pollution. Improvements may include berms, mulching, sediment traps, detention and retention basins, grading, plantings, retaining walls, culverts, pipes, guardrails, temporary roads and others appropriate to the specific condition. All temporary improvements shall remain in place and in operation until otherwise directed by the Code Enforcement
Officer.
5) Vehicular Access
a. The proposed site layout shall ensure that vehicular and pedestrian traffic conditions shall not exceed reasonable limits for the neighborhood. Special consideration shall be given to the location, number and control of access points, adequacy of adjacent streets, traffic flow, sight distances, turning lanes, existing or proposed traffic signalization and pedestrian vehicular contacts. The Planning Board has the authority to determine the type of surface to be used on interior driveways and shall consider location and intensity of use when making its decision.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. No access drive or driveway or other means of ingress and egress hall be located in any residential area to provide access to uses other than those permitted in such residential area.
2. All entrance and exit driveways shall be located and designed in profile and grading to afford safety to traffic, provide for safe and convenient ingress and egress to and from the site and to minimize conflict with the flow of traffic.
3. The dimensions of driveways shall be designed to adequately accommodate the volume and character of vehicles anticipated to be attracted daily onto the land development for which a site plan is prepared.
4. Provision shall be made for convenient and safe emergency vehicle access to all buildings and structures at all times.
5. Any exit driveway or driveway lane shall be so designed in profile and grading and so located as to provide the following minimum sight distance measured in each direction. The measurements shall be from the driver’s seat of a vehicle standing on that portion of the exit driveway with the front of the vehicle a minimum of ten (10) feet behind the curbline or edge of shoulder, with the height of the eye tree and seventy-five hundredths (3.75) feet to the top of an object four and five-tenths (4.5) feet above the pavement.
Allowable Speed (miles per hour) |
Required Sight Distance (feet) |
25 |
160 |
40 |
275 |
45 |
325 |
50 |
350 |
55 |
425 |
6. Where a site occupies a corner of two (2) intersecting roads, no driveway entrance or exit shall be located within fifty (50) feet of the point of tangency of the existing or proposed curb radius of that site.
7. No part of any driveway shall be located within a minimum
of ten (10) feet of a side property line. However, the Planning Board may permit a driveway serving two (2) or more adjacent sites to be located on or within ten (10) feet of a side property line between the adjacent sites.
8. Where two (2) or more two-way driveways connect a single site to any one (1) road, a minimum clear distance of one hundred (100) feet measured along the right-of-way line shall separate the closest edges of any two (2) such driveways. If one driveway is two-way and one is a one-way driveway, the minimum distance shall be seventy-five (75) feet.
9. Angles
1. Two-way operation. Driveways used for two-way
operation shall intersect the road at an angle of as near ninety degrees (90°) as site conditions will permit and in no case less than sixty degrees (60°).
2. One-way operation. Driveways used by vehicles in one (1) direction of travel (right turn only) shall not form an angle smaller than forty-five degrees (45°) with a road unless acceleration and deceleration lanes are provided.
10. Dimensions. The dimensions of driveways shall be designed to accommodate adequately the volume and character of vehicles anticipated to be attracted daily onto the land development for which a site plan is prepared. The required maximum and minimum dimensions for driveways are indicated below. Driveways serving large volumes of daily traffic or traffic of over fifteen percent (15%) truck traffic shall be required to utilize high to maximum dimensions.
|
One-Way Operation Driveways-*Width (feet) |
Two-Way Operation Driveways-*Width (feet) |
3 to 10 Dwelling Units |
10-15 |
15-25 |
10 Dwelling Units or Over |
15-25 |
20-35 |
Commercial and Industrial |
15-30 |
25-35 |
* All driveways shall be five (5) feet wider at the curbline, and this additional width shall be maintained for a distance of twenty (20) feet into the site.
9. Grades. Driveways shall not have a grade in excess of fifteen percent (15%) over the entire length. On arterials the grade shall no be more than five percent (5%) for the first twenty-five (25) feet from the road unless otherwise approved by the Planning Board. Driveways shall not be located where visibility is limited because of curves or topography.
6) Parking and Circulation
a. The layout and design of all means of vehicular and pedestrian circulation, including walkways, interior drives and parking areas, shall be safe and convenient and shall not detract from the proposed building(s) and neighboring properties. General interior circulation, separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, service traffic, parking and loading areas shall be reviewed.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. Parking areas hall be landscaped to minimize noise, glare and other nuisances and to enhance the site and surrounding area.
2. Sidewalks and other pedestrian linkages may be required to provide safe conditions.
3. Adequate off-street parking spaces shall be provided according to the following schedule:
a. Restaurants:
1 space for each 150 sq. ft. of floor space
(b) Office & Commercial:
1 space for each 400 sq. ft. of floor space
(c) Residential:
1 space per dwelling unit
(d) Warehouse/Manufacturing:
1 space per 1000 sq. ft. of floor space
(i) Parking areas shall have suitable drainage facilities
(ii) Lighting shall be shielded so it will not create a hazard or nuisance to adjoining properties or to the traveling public.
(iii)Spaces, drives and aisles shall be clearly marked.
4. No off-street parking or loading area shall be located in a minimum required setback.
5. The number of off-street loading bays required by the site plan shall be determined by the Planning Board. Each loading space shall be no less than twelve feet in width, fifty feet in length and fourteen feet in height.
7) Lighting
a. Adequate lighting shall be provided to ensure safe movement
of persons and vehicles and for security purposes. Lighting standards shall be of a type approved by the Planning Board.
a. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. Directional or display lighting shall be arranged so as to minimize glare and reflection on adjacent properties and the traveling public.
2. Lights all be shielding away from residences and roads. All light be shielded to restrict the maximum apex angle of the cone of illumination to one hundred fifty degrees.
3. Direct or indirect light from the source shall not cause illumination in excess of 0.5 footcandles when measured in a residential district.
4. The maximum height of freestanding lighting shall be the same as the principal building or not exceed thirty-five feet.
5. Lighting shall be located along streets, parking areas, at intersections and crosswalks and where various types of circulation systems merge, intersect or split.
8) Signs
a. The size, location, design, color, texture, lighting and materials of all exterior signs and outdoor advertising structures or features shall not detract from the design of proposed buildings and structures and the surrounding properties and shall not constitute hazards to vehicles and pedestrians.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. From a safety point of view, signs shall be located so as not to create a hazard, particularly at intersections. The locations shall be selected in terms of visibility.
2) Utilities
a. All utilities included in the site plan shall be reviewed as to their adequacy, safety and impact on surrounding properties. Storm drainage, sanitary waste disposal, solid waste collection and disposal, water supply, electricity and telephone services shall be reviewed.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. Emphasis shall be placed on the protection of floodplains; reservation of stream corridors; establishment of drainage right of way and the adequacy of the existing system; the need for improvements, both on site and off-site, to adequately control the rate, volume and velocity of storm drainage; provide for treatment of effluent, and maintain an adequate supply of potable water at sufficient pressure.
2. Whenever feasible, utility lines shall be installed underground.
3. Any utility installations above ground shall be located so as to have a harmonious relationship with neighboring properties and the site.
3) Industrial and Commercial Environmental Performance Standards
a. The following industrial and commercial performance standards are designed to control industrial and commercial uses in Sebago so that potential nuisances may be assessed factually and objectively and the community protected from hazards and nuisances. Because residential uses may also be located in an area where industrial and commercial uses are permitted, specifications are designed to result in a nuisance free performance.
b. The following criteria shall be followed:
1. Air pollution. All air pollution control shall comply with minimum Federal, State and local requirements.
a. Smoke. Emission of smoke from any chimney, stack, vent, opening or combination process shall not exceed a density or equivalent capacity of Ringelmann No. 1. (Ringelmann Chart published by the Bureau of Mines.)
b. Particulate matter. Particulate matter shall be defined as combustion products made up of smoke, soot, flyash, etc., and industrial dust from foundries, paint spraying and rock crushing. Allowed particulate emissions shall not exceed 0.10 grams per standard cubic foot emitted from a stack.
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