PARIS — A committee’s proposal to reduce minimum lot sizes in rural developments from two acres to a half acre faces public scrutiny Monday night. 

A hearing on the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Committee’s recommendation will be held 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, in the Paris Fire Station. 

The five-member committee was charged by selectmen to draft a recommendation for altering the town’s comprehensive plan, after an unsuccessful attempt to gather enough support for a new zoning law. 

Without a zoning ordinance, town rules are driven by the comprehensive plan, which outlines everything from land development to transportation policy. By rewriting the plan, changes can be made to the ordinance to reduce minimum lot sizes in areas designated “rural” from two acres to any size dictated by the committee. 

The minimum lot sizes have proven controversial because some landowners feel imposing restrictions on development will hurt businesses; others see the requirement as essential to maintaining the town’s rural, rustic nature and said the requirements are not intrusive. 

Town officials have already expressed concern that half-acre lot sizes are too small for adequate installation of septic tanks and wells, according to Town Manager Amy Bernard. 

Following a public hearing in February, selectmen debated whether to send the zoning ordinance to voters with a minimum lot size of two acres or create a committee to amend the town’s comprehensive plan to rework smaller lot sizes into the proposed law. 

They chose the latter. In May, selectmen voted to begin the amendment process, though work was delayed four months because there weren’t enough volunteers to fill the committee.