WESTBROOK – The saga of the Westbrook sprinkler ordinance is threatening to become a longer story than the entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, with more twists and turns than the Hobbit-filled saga could have ever dreamed of.

Just a month after the City Council amended the ordinance to exempt renovation projects from having to install sprinkler systems if the scope of the project did not exceed 75 percent of the floor area, the council’s Public Safety Committee recommended another change on Monday that would expand the exemptions.

The committee voted 6-0 (Council President Brendan Rielly absent) to send a proposal to the City Council made by Councilor John O’Hara to exempt all single-family and two-unit properties from the ordinance. The change would include both existing properties and any new properties to be built in the future.

The change was spurred by Councilor Mike Sanphy, who voted against the original amendment to the ordinance last month. At the time of the vote, Sanphy asked that the Public Safety Committee take up the discussion of broader changes to the ordinance.

Sanphy said he wasn’t against having sprinklers in homes, but he did object to their mandatory installation.

“(Sprinklers) do serve a purpose,” he said. “My concern is forcing them on people who can’t afford them. When you compel people to do this, it kind of oversteps our bounds (as a City Council). I think people need to make their own choices in their own private homes.”

Councilor Mike Foley, whose position last month was that he would not support exempting existing homes from the ordinance because he felt the 75 percent trigger was sufficient, said that he changed his mind after hearing from residents. He said they told him that the sprinkler requirement was preventing them from remodeling their existing homes, or building a new home in the city.

“I feel we may have possibly hindered some growth in the time which we’ve had this ordinance,” Foley said. “I am in favor of safety, (but) I think our sprinkler ordinance is one more burden that we have on the members of our community.”

Code Enforcement Officer Rick Gouzie said that he also believes that the sprinkler requirement has hindered growth in Westbrook.

“I feel that it’s hampered some building in Westbrook over the last couple of years,” he said.

The proposed changes would be good for the city, he said, adding, “I think our (building) permits will pick up.”

O’Hara said he decided to propose a wider scope of changes to the ordinance because while the original ordinance was “the right thing to do at the time,” he believed time has shown that the ordinance puts an unfair burden on homeowners.

“Looking back now, in hindsight, maybe we were a little overzealous,” O’Hara said. “I now believe it’s time to rescind this. I do not believe the ordinance is working the way it was designed to and it’s a hindrance, not a help.”

The council will vote on the proposed changes at its next meeting, scheduled for Monday, July 2, at 7 p.m. in room 114 of Westbrook High School.