9358-R3_LGP_MechanicFalls_2024AnnualReport

Code Enforcement Officer Hello all!

Another rotation around the sun, another year of big things happening here in the Falls! Thomas Moore here, your Town CEO in the know! Let’s begin with some great stuff (depending on how you define that term) coming down from Augusta! The hot topic of the year is going to be LD 1829 which is sighted as “An act to build housing for Maine families and attract workers to Maine businesses by amending the laws governing housing density.” Essentially, what this LD is going to do is allow smaller lots to have homes on them. Some of the key points to this are that the allowances are within the “Designated Growth Area” outlined in our Town’s Comprehensive Plan, or any area that is serviced by both Town water and sewer. If you have questions about this, feel free to give me a call or you can go to the Town website and look up the first few minutes of the Council Meeting on 2/2/2026 where I go over what this LD is and the steps the Planning Board will be suggesting to the Council to make us compliant with the State.

Now for some fun facts from the ordinances. 1) 100 Square feet is the magic number. If you are doing something on your property that is 100 square feet or more, you need a permit. 2) If you are hiring a plumber or even doing some plumbing work yourself on a property you still need to get a permit from the Town (me) to make sure that all things are done by the code. To go a step further, you as the homeowner can work on your own plumbing SO LONG AS this is your primary residence AND it is a single-family home. Otherwise, you need a licensed plumber. 3) More than two unregistered and/or uninspected vehicles on your property constitute an automobile junkyard/graveyard by both Town and State definitions and these are prohibited EVERYWHERE in Town. Please take note of this so I don’t have to send you warnings and violation notices because no one wants that in their mailbox.

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