Excavation and land clearing in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Site work in Cape Elizabeth tends to meet bedrock early or water early. NRCS soil data for the town places shallow Lyman and moderately deep Tunbridge soils across the rocky upland neighborhoods, with Tunbridge reaching bedrock at roughly 20 to 40 inches. The flatter interior carries Scantic silt loam and other poorly drained soils that the town's zoning ordinance lists as hydric, the kind that can place a piece of ground in a Resource Protection district.
Those facts shape an excavation plan from the first test pit. Ledge can stop a foundation hole or drainage trench short of design depth, and wet silt can make part of a site regulated wetland before any machine arrives.
Permits that follow the soil
Removing 30 or more cubic yards of rock, sand, gravel, topsoil or similar material from a lot within 12 months requires an Earth Materials Permit from the Planning Board, unless the removal is tied to an issued building permit, an approved road, normal landscaping of a residential property, or farming. In the Resource Protection 1 district and its buffer, the comprehensive plan notes that no new road or driveway construction is allowed.
Where clearing falls in the shoreland district, cleared openings for every purpose, including the house, driveway and septic area, are capped at 25 percent of the lot area inside the district or 10,000 square feet, whichever is greater. Beyond 75 feet from the water, selective cutting is held to 40 percent of tree volume in any 10-year period.
Erosion control and hauling on Cape sites
Permitted filling, grading or excavation in the shoreland district needs a written erosion and sedimentation control plan covering mulch, silt fence or hay bales, and permanent stabilization, and drainage ways must be built to carry a 25-year storm. In the Great Pond watershed, silt fencing and hay bale barriers to Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District standards are required on all construction, single-family homes included.
We run our own excavation equipment, so land clearing, foundation and site excavation, drainage trenching and rough grading stay with one crew. Stumps are hauled off-site with the rest of the debris, since the town Recycling Center does not take them. The center accepts rocks, dirt and sand from residents but not from private contractors, so spoil from a job is either reused on site for grading or trucked elsewhere.
Land Clearing · Site Work · Trenching
How we handle excavation & land clearing
We run our own excavation equipment, which means one crew takes your project from raw ground to ready: land clearing, foundation and site excavation, drainage trenching, and retention pond mowing and trenching for commercial properties.
See the full excavation & land clearing service page or everything we do in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
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Free Estimates
Excavation & Land Clearing in Cape Elizabeth? Let's talk.
Tell us about your property and we will walk it with you — free estimates, straight answers, stonework guaranteed to hold its lines.
Mon–Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm · Based in Cumberland, Maine