A. Minor Site Plan Review
Minor site development is reviewed and approved administratively by staff of the Department of Planning located on the 4th floor, in City Hall (874-8719).
Guidelines to qualify for minor site review:
Applications must be submitted to the
Inspections Services Office, 3rd floor, room 315, City Hall with
nine (9) sets of a complete site plan. Under normal conditions,
administrative review takes approximately 2 to 6 weeks. Once
you receive approval and all conditions are met, a performance
guarantee, in the form of a letter of credit or an escrow
account, must be posted for the cost of improvements required
in the public right-of-way in order to be issued a building
permit.
Development
Review Fee Schedule
Engineering review fee will be assessed to cover City costs.
Inspection fee of 2 % of performance guarantee.
B. Major Site Plan Review
Major site plans are reviewed and approved by the Planning Board. The Planning Board is appointed by the Portland City Council to review major site plans, subdivisions, some types of conditional uses, zone changes, as well as street vacations and discontinuances. Planning Board workshops and public hearings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Submissions are required a minimum of three weeks in advance to the Department of Planning.
Guidelines for Major Site Plan Review
Applications must be submitted to the Inspections Services Office, 3rd floor, room 315, City Hall with nine (9) complete sets of site plans. The Planning Department reviews and processes the applications for submission and scheduling of a Planning Board workshop and a public hearing. A performance guarantee is required.
Note: Residents and property owners within 500 feet
of a proposed development are notified, and a legal
advertisement is placed in the local newspaper at the
applicant’s expense. If a proposed development is located
within an industrial zone, notices are then sent to residents
within 1,000 feet of the project.
Development
Review Fee Schedule
Engineering review fee will be assessed to cover City costs.
Inspection fee of 2 % of performance guarantee.
A subdivision is the separation of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into three (3) or more lots, including lots of forty (40) acres or more, within any five-year period whether accomplished by sale, lease, development, or building. Subdivisions also include the division of a new structure or structures on a tract or parcel of land into three (3) or more dwelling units within a 5-year period.
Subdivisions are reviewed by the Planning Board according to the subdivision standards, similar to major site plan development.
New Subdivisions
Effective January 1, 1998, the City of Portland requests that developers of new subdivisions submit information regarding the origin of the name of any new street(s) created within the City limits. This information shall be submitted to the Planning Division with all other related application materials.
In 1997, Portland residents, Norman and Althea Green, presented the City of Portland with a compilation of research which documents the origins of all street names existing in the City as of 1995. The person, event, location, or subject for which each street was named is now recorded for posterity, constituting an important public record for all those interested in the development of Portland. This compilation is on file at the Portland Public Library, the Maine Historical Society, and the library of the Portland Newspapers, as well as in the City Clerk's Office at Portland City Hall.
It is the intent of the City of Portland to continue this documentation for all streets created in the City. As part of the subdivision review process, applicants are required to submit information regarding the person or subject for which all new streets are being named. In the case of a person, the full name should be submitted, as well as their vocation, relationship to the developer or the area, or other pertinent information. Once the street is formally accepted by the City Council, the information will be placed on file at the City Clerk's office and copies will be sent to the other three Portland repositories.
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance is reviewed by the State Fire Marshall’s Office. New development or any alteration over $100,000 must also comply with the State of Maine Human Rights requirements. For further information, call (207) 287-FIRE.