WINDHAM — The Planning Board will review the Cobbetts Pond Watershed Protection Ordinance in the coming months with an eye toward bringing an amended version to voters in the spring.
Possible changes to the ordinance include provisions for fast-tracking permits in emergencies such as failed septic systems or structures that need to be demolished.
Community development director Laura Scott said she had to sign off on septic and building permits in emergency situations this year without fulfilling the ordinance's requirements.
These included the time-consuming process of getting a variance from the Zoning Board and approval from the Planning Board.
Ultimately, Scott said, the review's purpose is "cleaning up the inconsistencies" in the ordinance.
"We are not doing a major rewrite," she said.
Planning Board members and staff will host workshops and at least one public hearing for their review.
Cobbetts Pond Improvement Association members Kathleen DiFruscia and Derek Monson will be at the workshops and hearing, helping with the review.
Their goal is to improve the ordinance through constructive cooperation, DiFruscia said.
Scott said she had hoped the board would host the workshops before the ordinance was proposed to voters.
Cobbetts Pond officials ended up bringing the ordinance to voters as a petitioned warrant article.
It was endorsed by the Planning Board and voters approved the measure in March at Town Meeting.
Scott said the Planning Board must complete its review of the ordinance in the next five months to have a proposal ready for Town Meeting in March.
If an amended version is approved by voters, then it would take effect.
If it fails, the original ordinance will remain in effect.
The board's review is slated to start in October, Scott said.
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