This page contains links to ordinances in effect in the Town of Blue Hill. Under each category, there is a brief description of each ordinance, together with a link to a document with the full text of the ordinance (and any subsequent amendments).
Users should not rely on the category name or the brief descriptions in assessing whether an ordinance applies to their circumstance; only the full text of each ordinance as provided in the linked documents.
General Ordinances
Control of Barking Dogs
Identifies the responsibility of dog owners/custodians to manage barking and other noises, together with penalties for failure to comply.
Harbor
Provides for management of Blue Hill’s tidal waters, including harbors, anchorages, moorings, and Town facilities.
Mobile Vending
Regulates use of Town-owned property, including parking space, for mobile vending activities. Certain activities require a permit; others are prohibited.
Retention or Disposition of Tax-Acquired Properties
Defines the process by which the Select Board manages tax-acquired properties, including a decision to retain a property and the procedures for disposing of a property.
Sewer Use
Regulates the use of the Town-owned sewer system as well as certain aspects of private subsurface wastewater disposal (septic) systems.
Shellfish Conservation
Establishes a shellfish conservation program, including licensing requirements and harvesting limits. Establishes a Shellfish Conservation Committee, a sub-committee of the Town’s Marine Resource Committee.
Special Amusement
Regulates, including via the issuance of permits, music, dancing and entertainment in facilities licensed to sell liquor.
Land Use Ordinances
911 Addressing Ordinance
Regulates the assignment of road names and address numbers to enhance the rapid location of properties by emergency services personnel.
Commercial Site Plan Review
Governs commercial activity, broadly defined (including land use by businesses, non-profits and other organizations) in Blue Hill.
Floodplain Management
Requires that a permit is required before construction or development activity within certain areas of special flood hazard.
Notice of Intent to Alter or Construct Buildings
Provides that notice be given to the Town’s Assessors (or their designated agent, the Code Enforcement Officer) prior to making any improvements to a parcel of land which increase the value of the parcel by $250 or more.
Planning Board
Describes the composition, duties and certain practices of the Town’s Planning Board.
Shoreland Zoning
Regulates land use activities in the “shoreland zone,” i.e., near tidal waters, freshwater ponds, streams, etc.
Subdivision
Generally requires approval of any Subdivision (as defined in state law–a very broad definition) of a parcel of land, a building, or similar activity.
Telecommunications Tower
Regulates the development of telecommunications towers (cell towers) within Blue Hill’s boundaries.
Wind Energy Systems
Regulates the placement and construction of wind energy systems (such as wind turbines) within Blue Hill.
Health/Welfare Ordinances
Expanded Polystyrene Foam Food Service Containers
Generally prohibits the use of polystyrene (Styrofoam) food service containers in the Town of Blue Hill.
Heathy Ecosystem (pesticide/pest management)
Regulates pest management activities in Blue Hill by identifying certain permitted and prohibited activities and substances involving pesticides, herbicides and associated pest management actions.
Local Food and Community Self-Governance
Provides exemptions from state or federal regulations for certain local food production and consumption activities, together with a statement of self-governance to bolster these exemptions.
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
Establishes a “PACE” program, allowing Blue Hill property owners to access financing for qualifying clean energy investments.
Single-Use Plastic Bag
Bans the distribution and use of single-use plastic bags in the Town of Blue Hill.
Tobacco-Free Zone
Establishes the Town Park and the Town Athletic Fields as “tobacco-free zones.”
Unencapsulated Polystyrene
Prohibits, subject to certain phase-in provisions for existing facilities, the use of unencapsulated polystyrene (Styrofoam) in the waters of Blue Hill.
Traffic/Parking Ordinances
Restricting Vehicle Weight on Posted Ways
Provides that, to protect the traveling public and prevent abuse of the highways, the Blue Hill Select Board can restrict the gross registered weight of vehicles on Town ways and bridges.