PARIS – A lawyer who presented a revised subdivision ordinance to the town on behalf of petitioners said Tuesday that a copy of the ordinance will be presented to the town 10 days before a referendum.

The announcement by attorney Dana Hanley caused a stir among attendees of the final public hearing on the revised ordinance presented by Hanley in December. The document will go to a referendum June 9 and, if approved, will replace the subdivision ordinance that passed in a 487-468 vote in June 2007.

“This is a living document,” Hanley said. “It’s going to be amended. It can be amended.”

Hanley, who was asked by petitioners to look at the revised document from a legal standpoint, said the current ordinance was approved to go to vote in 2007 with the stipulation that it could be amended. He said that has not happened to date.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Raymond Glover said only the revised ordinance presented in December will go to a vote. In March, Glover refused to accept an amended document, which addressed comments made on the revised ordinance by senior planner John Maloney of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. Hanley presented the amendments at the second public hearing on the revised ordinance.

Hanley said the petitioned document will be easier to amend than the current ordinance, and that the decision to not accept amendments could be contested.

“That’s not a definitive choice that can’t be overruled by the Superior Court,” Hanley said.

Resident Jack Richardson said the town should not vote on any document presented 10 days prior to the vote because it will not have gone to any public hearings.

Glover said the referendum vote will continue to be on the ordinance as petitioned.

“Whatever he brings in, unless there’s a petition attached to it, the town will not recognize it,” Glover said.

He said any amendments presented in March would have had to be approved by affidavits of all the original petitioners or accompanied by a new petition, which could have put two subdivision ordinances on the ballot. He said he was advised on the protocol by the Maine Municipal Association and town attorney Geoffrey Hole.

The revised ordinance includes several changes to the existing document, including consolidating the application process into one method instead of having separate ones for major and minor subdivisions; allowing subdivision roads to be gravel rather than paved; easing fire protection requirements; and allowing appeals to go before the Board of Appeals rather than the Superior Court.

The Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board have recommended that the petitioned ordinance not be accepted.

Robert Kirchherr, vice chairman of the Planning Board, said the ordinance would be “difficult, if not impossible, to put into practice.” He said parts of the ordinance violate Maine law or compromise public safety.

Kirchherr also said the ordinance “limits Paris citizens’ ability to promote managed growth, protect private property and manage public resources.”

Glover said he believes the ordinance’s main purpose is “lowering costs for developers,” citing such changes as eliminating a requirement to pave roads and reducing a fee in lieu of open space in subdivisions. He said other areas, including changes to fire protection standards and the allowance of more entrances onto roads, presented safety hazards.

A working group consisting of two selectmen, two Planning Board members and two residents is meeting regularly with the goal of recommending changes to the subdivision ordinance.