A proposed ordinance change to limit access of new residential homes onto major roads in Gorham fell by the wayside this week.

Gorham Town Council Chairman Burleigh Loveitt declared the item “dead” on Tuesday when council members failed to make a motion in support of the amendment, after a group of landowners criticized the affect it would have on land values.

The proposal would have allowed only one access for existing lots to major arterials and a web of roads that connect to them. Under the proposal, a landowner would have had to construct a private way or new town road to build a new home.

The road access restriction stemmed from a residential growth study conducted several years ago. It was aimed at eliminating additional traffic problems on Gorham’s streets.

Resident David Kent of Fort Hill Road opposed restricting access to roads for Gorham landowners as a solution to solving traffic problems. He said commuters from surrounding communities with population growth cause 75 percent of the traffic congestion in Gorham.

Kent felt the restrictions would negatively impact landowners financially. “This is a classic example of government regulation getting into people’s pocketbooks,” he said. “I don’t support this, and I hope you don’t.”

One resident worried about the future if access restrictions were placed on his property. “This was our retirement. I’m over 65,” said Dan Aceto of Waterhouse Road.

Abbott Mosher, who owns 100 acres on Route 237, said there’s no question that traffic has increased in recent years and advocated a large road to handle transient traffic. He said restricting access would place “serious economic burdens” on landowners.

Like Kent and Aceto, Mosher was also concerned about the financial effect the regulatins might have on landowners. “We need to be careful of how quickly we go down this road,” Mosher said.

Roger St. Pierre, who owns 20 acres and 2,000 feet of frontage on Longfellow and New Portland roads, said the proposal was a form of zoning and cutting growth. He said the language of the proposal had nothing about commercial or industrial access. ‘I don’t want people to take my rights away,” St. Pierre said.

Another Longfellow Road landowner, Robert Oliver, wondered if the road restrictions would lead to the town letting anyone build anywhere. “I oppose this if it encourages development on Longfellow Road,” said Oliver, a resident for 35 years.

N.A. Martin of Mill Pond Road also spoke in opposition. Pointing to a list of roads, he said that if the change were approved some landowners would be treated differently than others. “You’re not treating everyone equally,” Martin said.

Martin, son of the late Gorham dairy farmer Norman Martin, said Planning Board approval would be required for a new homeowner to build a private way, and he said that the traffic burden is everyone’s problem. “I don’t see how it accomplishes what it’s intended to do,” he said.

In other business, the Town Council authorized Town Manager David Cole to spend up to $5,000 in a study of traffic problems on William Henry Drive, Solomon Drive, Adeline Drive and Teran Street.

The action came after residents from the four streets petitioned for raised traffic tables to alleviate traffic violations of commuters cutting through their neighborhood. Commuters use the residential neighborhood streets to dodge rush hour traffic congestion in Gorham Village.

“We are the current Gorham Bypass,” said Arthur Bolles of William Henry Drive.

In addition to authorizing money for a study, the council referred the neighborhood concerns to the town’s Capital Improvement/Economic Development Committee.