Maine has no statewide WUI (wildland-urban interface) defensible-space mandate comparable to California PRC 4291, and Cumberland County does not impose a brush-clearance ordinance. Vegetation management is voluntary except where Shoreland Zoning (38 MRS § 435) applies — within 250 feet of great ponds, rivers, freshwater wetlands, and tidal waters, vegetation removal is strictly limited.
Cumberland County has no county code requiring property owners to clear brush, grass, or vegetation around structures for wildfire defense. Maine generally relies on voluntary FireWise USA principles distributed by the Maine Forest Service rather than a mandatory defensible-space statute. The key constraint runs the opposite direction: under the mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act (38 MRS § 435 et seq.), every Cumberland County municipality enforces a 250-foot shoreland zone around Casco Bay, the Presumpscot River, Sebago Lake, and other protected waters where vegetation clearing is strictly limited — typically allowing no more than a 25% canopy removal in any 10-year period and requiring retention of a vegetated buffer. Property owners who want to clear brush for fire safety inside the shoreland zone usually need a shoreland-zoning permit from the municipal code enforcement officer. Outside the shoreland zone, brush removal is at the owner's discretion subject to any local ordinance and to 12 MRS § 9324 permit rules if the cleared material is to be burned.
There is no county brush-clearance violation. Improper vegetation removal within the 250-ft shoreland zone is a civil violation under 38 MRS § 441 with penalties of $100–$2,500 per day plus restoration orders. Burning the cleared brush without a permit is a separate violation under 12 MRS § 9324.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Cumberland County, ME
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See how Cumberland County's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
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