Dixmont, ME Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

The posted Dixmont ordinances contain no rule on chickens or other fowl, and no animal control ordinance is posted. The one livestock standard is Section 15(N)(5) of the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, adopted March 19, 2016, which applies only within 250 feet of the normal high-water line of great ponds, within 250 feet of the upland edge of a freshwater wetland, and within 75 feet of the normal high-water line of a stream. The town has no general zoning ordinance, so animals kept elsewhere in Dixmont are outside this section.

Within the shoreland zone, newly established livestock grazing areas are not permitted within 100 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of a great pond. The setback is 75 feet from other water bodies and 25 feet from tributary streams and freshwater wetlands. Livestock grazing associated with ongoing farm activities that does not conform to those setbacks can continue, provided the grazing is conducted in accordance with a Conservation Plan filed with the Planning Board.

Table 1, item 11, lists agriculture as yes in the Stream Protection district, PB in the Resource Protection district and yes in the Limited Residential district. In Resource Protection, then, a Planning Board permit comes first. Section 15(N)(2) adds that manure cannot be stored or stockpiled within 100 feet of a great pond or within 75 feet of other water bodies, tributary streams or wetlands. Section 15(N)(3) requires a Conservation Plan for tillage of more than 40,000 square feet, and the printed note points applicants to the local Soil and Water Conservation District office for help preparing one.