Gorham, Maine
Gorham, ME Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Rules
City Acceptance Rating: 8/10
Last Updated: 11.5.2024
Image source: Gorham Village Alliance Facebook
What You Need to Know
The property owner must live on the property (either in the main house or the accessory apartment) and the apartment must be no larger than 800 square feet with a maximum of two occupants. Additionally, the apartment must comply with local utility requirements, including being connected to public sewer or having an adequate septic system, and must meet zoning setbacks and access requirements.
Type of Permit Required
ADUs in Gorham are allowed in all zoning districts that allow single family homes.
ADU Rules
The property owner must reside in either the primary dwelling or the accessory apartment.
The apartment cannot exceed 800 square feet in size and must have at least 190 square feet of living space.
The number of occupants in the apartment is limited to two.
If public sewer is available, the accessory apartment must be connected to it. If not, the property must have a functioning septic system capable of handling the increased load.
For properties with private wells, proof of potable water is required.
The apartment must meet all zoning setbacks, including those in Shoreland areas, and provide proper access.
Only one accessory apartment is allowed per lot, and it will not be counted as an additional dwelling unit when calculating lot area per dwelling unit.
Resources:
https://www.gorham-me.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif4456/f/uploads/entire_searchable_ludc_07022024.pdf
Page 251 of PDF
Bath, Maine
Bath, ME Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Rules
City Acceptance Rating: 8/10
Last Updated: 10.15.2024
Image source: Maine Street Maine Association
What You Need to Know
Permits are issued by Code Enforcement Office if attached to the primary dwelling, or the Planning Board if detached. ADU’s may be attached, with in or stand alone buildings and may not be rented for less than 90 days at a time.
Type of Permit Required
ADUs require a permit from the Code Enforcement Office or the Planning Board.
ADU Rules
One ADU is permitted per property that currently contains a primary dwelling unit.
The ADU can be built attached to or within the preexisting primary dwelling or as its own freestanding structure.
ADUs may only be built on properties in which the primary dwelling unit is either a single-family home or a duplex.
The ADU must be clearly accessory to the primary dwelling.
An ADU may be no larger than 850 square feet or 80% of the square footage of the primary residence, whichever value is lower.
An ADU may have at maximum two bedrooms
Each ADU requires at least one on-site parking space additional to the required parking for the primary residence. This requirement can be waived in the instance of an established off-site parking agreement.
ADUs must consider the privacy of the ADU and neighboring residences in their design.
ADUs may not exceed the height of the primary dwelling.
ADUs may not be used as a rental property for leases less than 90 days.
All ADUs must receive permits before construction from the CodeEnforcement Office if attached to the primary dwelling, or the Planning Board if detached.
All ADUs must meet the minimum requirements for a dwelling in relation to other ordinances not specific to ADUs, and must provide basic facilities for living, sleeping, cooking and sanitation.
Resources:
https://www.cityofbathmaine.gov/media/Departments/Planning/ADU%20Guidebook.9.27_KS.pdf
Westbrook, Maine
Westbrook, Maine allows an attached ADUs on property with a maximum of 800 sq ft.
Westbrook, ME Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Rules
City Acceptance Rating: 8/10 (10 is most accepting)
Last updated: 8.6.2024
What You Need To Know
ADUs are allowed in Westbrook where the lot does not have available space to support a second unit. All ADUs must be approved by the Code Enforcement Office. They can be attached, detached, or built as an addition to an existing accessory structure on the property.
Type of ADU Permit Required
Each additional single family dwelling (ADU) is subject to site plan approval by the planning board. In Westbrook, building an ADUs requires a building permit and is approved by the Code Enforcement Office.
ADU Rules
ADUs can be constructed attached to the existing structure, detached, or in an existing accessory structure.
The owner of the principal swelling has to reside either in the ADU or the principal dwelling.
The size of the ADU is limited to a maximum of 800 square feet and minimum of 190 square feet of habitable floor area.
There is only one ADU permitted per lot.
All ADUs must have permanent foundations.
A detached ADU must share the same driveway as the principal dwelling and be constructed to be visually compatible with principal dwelling.
Resources:
https://www.westbrookmaine.com/DocumentCenter/View/4323/Accessory-dwelling-unit_Proposed-Language
North Yarmouth, Maine
North Yarmouth, Maine Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Rules
City Acceptance Rating:8/10
last updated 9/24/2020
What you need to know
North Yarmouth has excellent rules for accessory dwelling units with few restrictions.
The town does limit the ADU to 1 bedroom but also has a generous total living area allotment for average sized homes. This means there is likely flexibility in creating an ADU with multiple rooms and only labeling one a bedroom. A bedroom is usually defined by having a clothes closet.
North Yarmouth refers to “Accessory Dwelling Units” as “Accessory Apartments”.
Type of Permit Required:
All types of ADUs only require a building permit and approval by the Code Enforcement Officer.
ADU Rules in North Yarmouth:
The ADU cannot have more than 1 bedroom
The ADU’s living area must not be larger than 40% of the primary home’s homes living area (excluding the basement)
The lot must be in compliance with the minimum lot requirement for its zoning district OR in a subdivision which received approval for smaller lots (open space development)
The primary home or the ADU must be owner-occupied
Only one ADU can be added to a single-family lot
ADUs are exempt from the requirements detailed in section 3.3E Residential Growth Limitation
See the full text here: SECTION 11.1 ACCESSORY APARTMENTS
Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick, Maine Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Rules
City Acceptance Rating: 8/10
last updated 4/13/2020
What you need to know about Brunswick
Brunswick allows detached and attached accessory dwelling units by right in all residential districts! Like other towns across New England they refer to backyard homes as detached accessory apartments. Overall, Brunswick’s bylaw is very housing development friendly which means landowners have lots of flexibility with what they can do with their land creating. This means property owners have ample opportunity to create multiple backyard homes (tiny homes) for resale or to rent out.
However, Brunswick has over 30 different zoning districts, each with different rules about what and where you can build. ADUs bypass the density requirements (dwelling units per acre), but must abide by all other dimension rules such as building heights and setbacks.
Type of Permit Required:
Brunswick allows both attached and detached ADUs by right without a “development review”
Other Rules in Brunswick:
Backyard Homes (ADUs) can be built on single-family, two-family or commercial properties
Only one ADU is allowed is allowed per lot. (multiple backyard homes can be built in accordance with density rules)
The front of any building cannot be modified to build the ADU
The ADU cannot have more living area than 35% of the current home or 750SF, whichever is greater
The ADU must be secondary, incidental and subordinate to the properties primary use
See the full text here: Zoning Ordinance, Section: 3.4.2. (A) Accessory Apartments