PARIS — Without land-use ordinances in place, the former home of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin on top of Paris Hill could be torn down tomorrow, even though it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Town officials are grappling with whether to pursue townwide zoning after receipt of a petition signed by 12 people, including five from Paris Hill. Robin Stancampiano, certified local government coordinator for the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, said residents of Paris Hill could have further protections without a townwide zoning plan.

“With Maine’s Home Rule, (towns) can set up pretty much what they want to as long as they comply with federal and state laws,” Stancampiano said.

The Board of Selectmen and Planning Board agreed Tuesday night to place a nonbinding question before voters at the Nov. 2 general election to gauge their reactions to studying and possibly implementing zoning in the town. Townwide zoning could create commercial, industrial and residential areas that both boards hope would provide an enforcement mechanism for the town’s two-year-old comprehensive plan that in part seeks to protect water, historical and other resources in the town.

If that avenue is not pursued, Stancampiano said there are other ways to protect the town’s only historic district.

Stancampiano said the only comprehensive protection for historic properties is through local land-use ordinances. And in Maine, she said, current ordinances vary widely and may require either voluntary or mandatory participation by property owners.

Examples of ordinances which provide protection for historic properties include stand-alone historic preservation ordinances, chapters or sections of zoning or general resource protection ordinances, or demolition delay ordinances, Stancampiano said in an e-mail this week. Design review ordinances, overlay or village review zones, and other methods can vary widely in purpose, scope and authority depending on the community’s goals and local politics, she said.

In about 10 towns certified local governments have been established, such as in Lewiston. Those towns set up local historic preservation commissions and formal review processes for protecting historic properties. They can also apply annually for federal funds available for historic property preservation, Stancampiano said.

Each of the certified local government towns have locally designated historic properties in their historic preservation ordinances (usually a chapter within their zoning ordinance), as lists of individual buildings, local historic districts, historic preservation overlay zones and so forth, she said.

For example, she said, in Kennebunk only a section of the town has been designated as the historic overlay zone.

Stancampiano said that in 2007, a Paris Planning Board member asked the Maine Preservation Commission for technical assistance.

“We sent them a copy of the (historic) ordinances for Hallowell, Bath and Augusta,” she said. “At that time, it seemed that Hallowell’s ordinance may have been the most applicable. Hallowell’s Planning Board reviews proposed construction projects that may impact its locally designated historic properties and issues ‘certification of Planning Board approval’ certificates before building permits can be issued.”

Regardless of whether Paris enacts townwide zoning, which could include protection for the historic district, or specific protection for the Paris Hill National Historic District, it would need a vote of the entire town, officials said.

“I believe the historic district does need to be protected; but so does the street down across from the courthouse, between the square and Ripley and Fletcher, need to be kept looking attractive; and business development going north on Route 26 needs wise planning; etc. Plus there are other historic structures not on Paris Hill but in the town of Paris that need protection,” said Paris Hill resident Kathy Richardson, who said she spearheaded the petition for townwide zoning.

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