By TAMMY WELLS

Senior Staff Writer

WATERBORO — Two years after the quest began to re-write a 1970s driveway ordinance, there’s one in effect.

Selectmen made two minor changes to a revised document Tuesday, and then approved the measure, with four voting in favor and the fifth selectman, Dwayne Woodsome, elected June 9, abstaining because he hadn’t been a selectmen during the period when the ordinance was in the planning and revision stages.

The highway entrance ordinance sets standards for new driveways on town-owned roads and any state highway within the urban compact zone.

An earlier version of the new ordinance was revised after a public hearing earlier this year drew a number of objections and concerns.

The ordinance addresses new driveways, and changes of use to existing driveways only under certain circumstances.

Some folks were concerned that the town wanted control over an entire driveway, when the standards address the first 15 feet, so that was clarified, said Board of Selectmen Chairman Tammy-Jo Girard.

The revised ordinance also includes a special appeals board ”“ an aspect of the new ordinance that at least one resident wasn’t comfortable with. Andy Cote sad the make up of the appeals board includes Public Safety Committee members and others whom he said might not be neutral when making decisions about driveway placement.

Otherwise, Cote said he was pleased with some of the changes made following the last public hearing.

Selectman Jon Gale said he had some issues with a clause that states that an engineer will “ensure” that a driveway would not result in an unsafe situation.

“I don’t know how any engineer can sign off on that,” Gale said. He suggested that be modified to say “reduce probability” rather than “ensure.”

Selectman Dennis Abbott pointed out the ordinance had come a long way since the beginning revisions. As the discussion continued, he advocated for some wordsmithing.

“I’m not saying we should do something stupid, but I think it’s time to move on,” he said. He also said that if it turns out there are flaws in the ordinance, it can be amended.

The selectmen made a couple of minor revisions, removing the phrase “any other manner,” which makes rules for driveway reconfigurations more specific. They also took Gale’s advice and changed “ensure” to “does not pose a significant hazard to the public” as well.

Girard thanked the Road Review Committee and the Planning Board for their work on the ordinance.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.