BYRON – Many of the 35 to 40 people at Thursday night’s public hearing on a variety of proposed special town meeting articles came to speak their minds. Much discussion regarding two proposed campground ordinance changes included raised voices.

Still, most everyone agreed they wanted to preserve the town’s status quo by enacting ordinances to govern development rather than allow Byron to become a breeding ground for large-scale development.

Vigorous debate was raised on each article.

Up for talk were a second 10-year extension and second renewal term with Mexico-based Med-Care Ambulance Service, and five ordinances dealing with a wind power moratorium, altering the town’s campground rule, banning new or expansion of existing commercial campgrounds, and creating a Board of Appeals for the Planning Board.

Regarding the wind facility moratorium, it would enact a 180-day moratorium on wind turbine development with the possibility of extending that for another 180 days. That would give planners a chance to prepare appropriate municipal ordinances to better regulate wind turbine development.

However, argued Anne Simmons-Edmunds, at town meeting, voters overwhelmingly rejected an ordinance change that would have allowed wind towers to be built on Byron ridges by increasing the maximum allowed heights.

“This, to me, is like a moot point,” she said. “How can you have a moratorium on something we don’t have?”

Others argued that a moratorium is needed.

Thirty minutes later, Selectman Bruce Simmons moved on to the next ordinance. This would change the way the Planning Board is run.

Currently, planners are appointed by selectmen. The proposed ordinance would allow planners to be elected instead. It also would allow the board to boot members if they miss three consecutive regular meetings and give the chairman the ability to appoint a replacement.

The ordinance also seeks to prevent a selectman or other municipal board member from being a town planner and states that no two members of an immediate family can serve on either the Planning Board or Appeals Board.

“I’m not opposed to this, but this would eliminate one person,” planner Dave Duguay said.

“Three,” corrected Simmons-Edmunds.

Others raised issues with booting a planner from the board if they were absent three times.

Discussion next shifted to amending the commercial campground rule by removing the requirement that commercial campground owners must hire a professional engineer or certified Maine inspector to then expand their lots and banning future campground development.

Campground owners Roger and Judy Boucher both argued that that particular rule, which was passed last year, was aimed directly at them, because they bought land across Route 17 from their business, intending to add 12 sites to it.

“It will cost us from $18,000 to $25,000 for an engineer to design our expansion to an existing campground. That’s ridiculous,” Judy Boucher said. “That’s not feasible for us to get a return for our money. We’d like to see them changed. If you vote against us, we’ll probably go bankrupt. If we can’t get some return on that land, there’s not going to be a campground.”

Others stood up and spoke on behalf of the Bouchers, while some said if they change the rule for one person, they’ll have to change if for everyone else who comes along.

The Bouchers and others also objected to the proposal to ban future campgrounds or expand existing ones, even though Robert Susbury Jr. said it’s aimed not at them but future developers.

“Who would want to own a campground in this town with what you put us through?” Judy Boucher asked.

Selectman Simmons stifled further comment and moved on to the next proposal.