The Ordinance Committee convened at the Gorham Municipal Center for its monthly meeting on April 13, with all members (Committee Chair Seven Siegel, Lou Simms, Kelly Dearborn) present.

Leading off the committee’s current business was the development of recommended updates to the town’s Mobile Home Park Ordinance to address rent stabilization of mobile home parks of 100+ units. Several members of the public were in attendance and were invited by the committee to speak on the topic. The committee discussed various models on which to base ordinance changes and agreed to gather more data to inform its decision, and will continue to advance this item at its next meeting, scheduled for May 11.

The committee passed a motion to send a requested review of an ordinance to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products back to the Town Council with a recommendation for no action; 2 Ayes, 1 Opposed (Siegel). The committee also discussed ordinances pertaining to vehicle idling standards, updated buffering requirements for industrial businesses, and standards for sidewalks.

The Capital Improvement Projects / Economic Development Committee held its monthly meeting on April 2, with all members (Committee Chair Lou Simms, Charles Hamblen, and David Willis) present.

The committee discussed parking issues around the high school and agreed to continue discussing temporary solutions and incentives for alternate parking before sending plans to the full Town Council. They also discussed the latest findings of the wayfinding signage project, which is ongoing, and agreed to send a recommendation to the full Council regarding the discontinuation of two town roads, Carll Lane and Bragdon Road.

Minutes of these and other committee meetings can be found via the town website at https://www.gorhammaine.gov/boards.