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Kennebunk climate panel says fire code needs rewriting; EV ordinance work underway
Summary
The Kennebunk Climate Action Committee agreed on March 16 that the town's fire ordinance is out of date and likely requires a new draft after feedback from Chief Cooper; members also reported progress on a separate electric-vehicle ordinance and discussed technical compliance issues.
The Kennebunk Climate Action Committee met on March 16 and concluded the town's fire ordinance needs substantial revision, with members saying Chief Cooper's feedback shows the existing code lacks specific provisions now expected by the fire department.
Committee member David Lounsbury said he has received "a lot of feedback from Chief Cooper who asked for more specific details," and that the changes requested are substantial enough that "we'll have to write a new ordinance because he is requesting many updates that the changes warrant writing a new one." Lounsbury added that carbon monoxide provisions are not included in the current ordinance and that combustible-gas compliance might require a second, separate ordinance.
The concern that smoke-detector regulations in the town code are not streamlined also arose during the discussion. Lee Jay Feldman, the committee's staff liaison, said enforcement tied to permit issuance could be one practical mechanism to implement updated requirements.
Josh Tabor reported separate progress on an electric-vehicle ordinance, saying the committee's annual report is complete and that he is "working on the EV ordinance." Committee members did not adopt final language or take a formal vote to advance either draft at this meeting; instead, participants discussed scope and drafting strategy for review by the Select Board.
Tom Wellman urged a drafting approach to help town reviewers: when preparing replacement language, "cross out what you're trying to replace and then have the new information that is replacing it within one document" so Select Board members can more easily compare old and new text.
The committee did record one procedural action during the meeting: the March 2 minutes were approved (motion by Josh Tabor, second by Mike McAtamney). The committee scheduled follow-up drafting work and will return to ordinance discussions at a future meeting.
Next procedural steps: committee members indicated they will continue drafting the ordinance text and coordinate with town reviewers; the committee's next meeting is April 6, when additional items and a presentation are slated to be discussed.
