BIDDEFORD — The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to grant final approval for a contact zone for a septic system and renovations for overnight stays at Wood Island Lighthouse.

The septic system and renovations will allow for a summer keeper to oversee the lighthouse when it’s closed for tours, and will allow tourists to stay on the island overnight.

The council initially approved the contract zone on June 21, but some councilors took issue with the zone’s initial wording that the renovations would allow for overnight stays of “small groups of people.”

“What’s my definition of small vs. someone else’s definition of small? … With the descriptor of small, it’s less of a situation of trying to denote the exact number of people who are going to be there, but also for the people who are going to be doing this 40 years from now, (to know) what the intent is of today,” Councilor Marc Lessard said on June 21.

Initial approval of the contract zone was granted providing an amendment to a paragraph of the contract zone, which now reads that the lighthouse can offer overnight stays to “small numbers of guests, limited to the number that the house can accommodate in its current configuration, and limited to days when visitors can be supported by the numbers of volunteers (sic) staff necessary to manage such visitors.”

Previously, the language did not define the maximum number of people allowed to stay in the island’s house.

Brad Coupe, chair of the nonprofit Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, which manages the lighthouse and its tours, said in June that the house could potentially fit six people in its current configuration once it’s renovated to its historic glory.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or aben-