PARIS — Proposed changes to an ordinance governing weight restrictions on town roads are expected to receive a public hearing before being acted on by selectmen.

The adjustments to the town’s Traffic Ordinance Restricting Weight on Posted Ways are intended to clarify vehicles’ allowed tonnage and reference state law that allows exceptions for residents with heavy vehicles who live on posted roads.

Traffic ordinances, unlike most other town ordinances, do not need to be approved by voters, and selectmen can enact or change them by a vote.

A date for the public hearing has not been set, but selectmen, at a workshop on the ordinance Monday, said they would further review the document and decide on a date at the their meeting next week.

Paris, like many towns in Maine, prohibits heavy trucks and other vehicles from traveling over some town-maintained roads during the spring thaw, when the road base is soft and particularly vulnerable to damage.

The town posts 39 roads from early March until mid-May. Changes to the ordinance drafted by Town Manager Amy Bernard would omit unclear language about heavy vehicles and clarify that vehicles weighing 23,000 pounds or more would be prohibited from traveling on the posted roads.

At Monday’s workshop, Selectman Sam Elliot suggested editing the ordinance further to omit terms such as “heavily-laden vehicles” that could be confusing to some readers.

“‘Heavily-laden’ doesn’t mean anything to me,” Elliot said. “It sounds like something out of ‘(The) Canterbury Tales.'”

Changes in the ordinance also seek to clarify which vehicles would be exempt from the posted road restrictions.

The ordinance caused a minor controversy in 2012, when Selectmen Sam Elliot and Gerald Kilgore expressed concern that it would ban residents who owned and regularly operated heavy vehicles from driving on posted roads that led to their own homes.

Bernard, at Monday’s meeting, said Maine law allows an exemption for such situations and covers other issues, such as agricultural transportation, that are exempt from the weight restrictions.

Drivers who want to travel on posted roads for non-exempt reasons can apply for a special permit with the town office, Bernard said.

State regulations on restricted heavy loads will be added as an addendum to the ordinance and Bernard said she will provide Selectmen with a draft application at its meeting next Monday. 

Selectmen decided not to tackle proposed changes to the town’s traffic ordinance on Monday, deciding instead to review the 16-page document and return to it at a future workshop. One of the controversial issues of the ordinance, passed in 1993, is its prohibition of commercial vehicle travel on Western Avenue and Oxford Street, a point made by Selectman Elliot.

Bernard said that provision of the ordinance is not being enforced.

Selectmen also agreed to changes in the town’s personnel policy that codify its recently adopted extended sick leave policy and changes an out-of-date provision that required the town office and departments to close for a full day for an annual review of the town’s emergency management plan.

Instead, Bernard changed the policy so that department heads will receive the review from the town’s emergency management director, then disseminate the information to their employees in different trainings, Bernard said.

Other changes to the document, made by the town’s attorney, update some provisions to be in line with state law, a process that should continue, Bernard said.

“You should be updating this every year,” she told selectmen.

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