Kittery adopts long-awaited ordinance to protect vulnerable shorelines

KITTERY — The Kittery Town Council voted unanimously Monday to adopt a long-anticipated amendment to the town's floodplain management ordinance, marking the first of 29 strategies laid out in Kittery's climate action plan to move from policy to law.

The new rules establish coastal hazard overlay zones — areas deemed especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change — and fold additional building requirements into the town's existing flood hazard area map, which is identified by federal disaster authorities. A publicly available map showing the new overlay zones has been posted on the town's website.

Cameron Wake, chair of the town's Climate Action Committee, framed the ordinance in broad terms at Monday's meeting.

"It's all about protecting our economy, our homes, our waterfront and our quality of life," Wake said, adding that the rules are essential to ensure future generations can continue living in Kittery.

The ordinance directs new development toward areas with existing infrastructure and low flood risk, while still permitting new construction within the hazard zone under strict conditions. Homes built in those zones must now sit one foot higher than the area's base flood elevation requires under federal standards. In practical terms, a property that previously needed 1 foot of elevation now needs 2.

Properties that fall within both the federal flood hazard area and the new coastal hazard map must meet the stricter of the two elevation standards. Existing structures in the overlay zones will also be subject to the new requirements, with the exception of water-dependent facilities such as marinas and boat ramps.

Wake said the amendment has roots that stretch back years, originally conceived as part of the state's broader climate commitments. Its adoption was delayed first by the parallel development of Kittery's climate action plan and then by the need for updated federal floodplain maps, elevation data and storm surge modeling, all of which were required before the town could responsibly write the new rules.

Maine's statewide climate action plan has urged communities to plan for 1.5 feet of sea level rise by 2050 and nearly 4 feet by 2100, projections that have shaped the urgency behind local efforts like Kittery's. Wake said the amendment is intended to help residents remain in their homes longer and to ready the town for more powerful storms and other worsening climate conditions.

The vote Monday puts Kittery among the first municipalities in the region to put the first strategy of its climate action plan into enforceable code, though officials say work on the remaining 28 strategies continues.