Waterboro v. Lessard

In Waterboro v. Lessard, 287 A.2d 126 (Me. 1972), the Court held that "location of buildings, size and open spaces of real estate... and setback of structures along ways, are matters which our court has interpreted as dealing with the establishment of building lines... These areas have consistently been the subject of zoning legislation and are not found within the so called 'police power' ordinance." Id. at 129. The 'police power' ordinance, which the Court referred to, was section 30 M.R.S.A. 2151, which has since been repealed. That section, however, provided that a municipality could enact police power ordinances for buildings, structures, trailers, and equipment involving design, construction, and additions, etc. Today, as the court has noted, the municipality has broad "home-rule" to adopt ordinances.