SUMNER – A public hearing is scheduled Feb. 28 to discuss three proposed ordinances that the Board of Selectmen want residents to vote on at the annual town meeting in August.
The hearing, which will be in the town office, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
The three proposals are: a dog-control ordinance, an adult-only business ordinance, and an ordinance to regulate political message signs in the town.
Board Chairman Tom Standard said Wednesday that the dog control ordinance should “draw the most interest” because the town tried unsuccessfully last year to pass one that said dogs must be under control by their owners at all times.
That ordinance was drafted after some residents complained about a group of loud hunting dogs in the town.
“We couldn’t do anything with the existing ordinance. The animal control officer said the existing ordinance wasn’t adequate,” Standard said. “We tried to pass a new one; we thought it was very reasonable.”
However, that proposed ordinance was defeated when local hunters objected, saying they could not always have their dogs under control when the dogs were chasing or retrieving wildlife.
The new proposal to be discussed at the hearing closely resembles the state dog-control ordinance and makes it clear that hunting is an exception regarding dog control, Standard said.
Standard said there are no current applicants for an adult-only business, but selectmen want to ensure that if such a business were to open in Sumner, the board would have some control over the location and other factors.
That is why an ordinance on the issue has been drafted, he said. “We can’t stop someone from putting one in town, but we can surely control it,” he said. “We can control the signage, outside lighting, how far it is from churches and residences.”
He added that Sumner, a town of about 850 people, does not want an adult-only business. “I hope it doesn’t give anyone any ideas,” he said. “There are old-timers in town who don’t want any new ordinances; they want to let sleeping dogs lie. But that leaves us wide-open to anything that anyone wants to do in town.”
The political-sign ordinance would mandate that all election-related signs be removed after an election and that a sign could not be placed in a yard without the homeowner’s permission.
The proposed ordinances are available for viewing in the town office.
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