The town is looking to fill vacancies on the Planning Board and the Historic District Commission before the Town Council begins an update of the Historic District ordinance in July.
“The Historic District ordinance, like a lot of our ordinances, has fallen way behind (with) boundaries that are set incorrectly and some lots that haven’t been added,” Town Manager Tim Pellerin told the Town Council at its May 14 meeting.
In response to an April 22 request from Liberty Street resident George Carpinone that the town make changes to the ordinance, the council sought guidance from town attorney Phil Saucier about whose jurisdiction that process would fall under.
The council has the authority to draft ordinance amendments, Saucier said, but he advised them to include the Historic District Commission in reviewing amendments and offering recommendations. The council said the Planning Board should also be part of the process.
The council agreed to hold workshops with members of both the Planning Board and the Historic District Commission to clarify and update the ordinance, and scheduled the first workshop for July 24 with the hope that vacancies on both boards would be filled by then.
