Commercial mowing & cleanups in New Gloucester, Maine.

Section 5.1.5 of the zoning ordinance requires a natural visual screen of at least 50 feet where a nonresidential use abuts a residential one, unless the Planning Board waives it, and planted screens where no natural buffer exists. Buffers are also required around parking, loading and trash areas.

The same section puts upkeep on the owner: landscaped buffers must be kept healthy, neat and attractive, with watering, weeding, pruning and trimming, and any plant that dies must be replaced within one growing season in keeping with the approved design. A commercial mowing program here is also how an owner stays in compliance with site plan conditions.

Parts of town fall in the Groundwater Protection Overlay District, which restricts de-icing to sand with no more than 10% salt and aims to keep contaminants out of the aquifer. For turf, that argues for mowing high, leaving clippings, and fertilizing only when a soil test calls for it. The town requires pesticide applications to follow state Department of Agriculture standards.

Retention and detention areas built under the town's stormwater standards also need periodic mowing to keep woody growth out, and fit into the same program.