Maine § 30-A §4452 Enforcement of land use laws and ordinances

Maine Statutes

§ 30-A §4452 — Enforcement of land use laws and ordinances

Maine·Title 30-A MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES·Part 2 MUNICIPALITIES·Ch. 187 PLANNING AND LAND USE REGULATION

1.Enforcement. A municipal official, such as a municipal code enforcement officer, local plumbing inspector or building official, who is designated by ordinance or law with the responsibility to enforce a particular law or ordinance set forth in subsection 5, 6 or 7, may: 1-A. Shoreland zoning violations; municipal authority. A municipality may take the following actions when an owner or occupant of land in the municipality violates a shoreland zoning ordinance adopted pursuant to Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 2‑B, including an ordinance or standard established or imposed by the State, as long as the municipality sends written notice to the last known address of the owner and occupant, if applicable, by certified mail, return receipt requested, demanding the owner or occupant

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1.
Enforcement.
A municipal official, such as a municipal code enforcement officer, local plumbing inspector or building official, who is designated by ordinance or law with the responsibility to enforce a particular law or ordinance set forth in subsection 5, 6 or 7, may:
1-A.
Shoreland zoning violations; municipal authority.
A municipality may take the following actions when an owner or occupant of land in the municipality violates a shoreland zoning ordinance adopted pursuant to Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 2‑B, including an ordinance or standard established or imposed by the State, as long as the municipality sends written notice to the last known address of the owner and occupant, if applicable, by certified mail, return receipt requested, demanding the owner or occupant remove, abate or otherwise correct the violation within 10 days and the violation is not removed, abated or otherwise corrected in that time period:
2.
Liability for violations.
Any person, including, but not limited to, a landowner, the landowner's agent or a contractor, who violates any of the laws or ordinances set forth in subsection 5 or 6 is liable for the penalties set forth in subsection 3.
3.
Civil penalties.
The following provisions apply to violations of the laws and ordinances set forth in subsection 5. Except for paragraph H, monetary penalties may be assessed on a per-day basis and are civil penalties.
4.
Proceedings brought for benefit of municipality.
All proceedings arising under locally administered laws and ordinances shall be brought in the name of the municipality. All fines resulting from those proceedings shall be paid to the municipality.
5.
Application.
This section applies to the enforcement of land use laws and ordinances or rules that are administered and enforced primarily at the local level, including:
6.
Septage and sludge permits issued by the Department of Environmental Protection.
A municipality, after notifying the Department of Environmental Protection, may enforce the terms and conditions of a septage land disposal or storage site permit or a sludge land application or storage site permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to Title 38, chapter 13, subchapter 1.
7.
Natural resources protection laws.
A code enforcement officer, authorized by a municipality to represent that municipality in District Court and certified by the former State Planning Office or the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of Community Development or the Department of Public Safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal under section 4453 as familiar with court procedures, may enforce the provisions of Title 38, section 420‑C, Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 5‑A and Title 38, chapter 13‑D by instituting injunctive proceedings or by seeking civil penalties in accordance with Title 38, section 349, subsection 2.

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Legislative History

PL 1989, c. 104, §§A45,C10 (NEW). PL 1989, c. 287, §§3,4 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 727, §1 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 548, §D6 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 732, §§1-4 (AMD). RR 1993, c. 1, §77 (COR). PL 1993, c. 23, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 58, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 704, §B1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 704, §C2 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 38, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 296, §8 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 794, §A1 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 127, §A46 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 370, §1 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 689, §B6 (REV). PL 2005, c. 148, §1 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 240, §§4-6 (AMD). RR 2007, c. 2, §§16-18 (COR). PL 2007, c. 92, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 112, §§4-6 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 568, §6 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 569, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 699, §18 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 699, §24 (REV). PL 2011, c. 228, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 613, §28 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 613, §29 (AFF). PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. FF, §9 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. FF, §16 (AFF). PL 2011, c. 682, §38 (REV). PL 2017, c. 409, Pt. C, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 40, §§2-4 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 517, §6 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 602, §2 (AMD).