Costs and property rights are among the issues that still need to be explored in the plan to launch clam farming.

A Town Council vote has put a proposed clam-farming amendment to Freeport’s shellfish ordinance in the hands of the Ordinance Committee, which, at this point, is in a state of flux.

At least one member, outgoing Town Councilor Andy Wellen, has sat in on his last committee meeting. The Town Council, which met Oct. 20, next convenes on Nov. 10, after the elections, in an organizational meeting, during which the council will elect new officers and determine the makeup of committees, normally named by the chairman. Chairwoman Melanie Sachs is up for re-election on Nov. 3.

Sarah Tracy, the Ordinance Committee chairwoman, said Friday that the new committee should meet with the Shellfish Conservation Commission, conduct a joint workshop, and work with town attorney Phillip Saucier, who last month issued an opinion that could put the brakes on town-leased clam flats. Saucier has informed the town that by statute, the Department of Marine Resources requires permission from the riparian land owner before granting an aquaculture lease under the state’s authority.

“Although the corresponding municipal statute does not contain the same explicit requirement, it does contain a provision that notes that municipalities may grant aquaculture leases consistent with the rights of the property owner,” Saucier wrote in a letter to Town Manager Peter Joseph. “Under Maine law there is a specific right to fishing in the intertidal zone, and the state and the municipality have the right to regulate.”

Though the state’s courts have yet ruled on the issue of aquaculture in the intertidal zone, Saucier concluded, permission is needed before leasing a portion of the intertidal zone for aquaculture.

Tracy said that further legal review could be more comprehensive.

“There are additional issues that need to be flushed out before the council can vote on it,” Tracy said. “There are different kinds of landowner rights.”

The Shellfish Conservation Commission’s ordinance amendment, passed on Oct. 8, would allow any holder of a Freeport commercial shellfish license to apply for a municipal aquaculture permit in a designated area. The permit would be for five years or less, and subject to renewal for subsequent five-year terms. The clammer could seed his designated area with baby clams and maintain the habitat, likely by fencing off the area to protect the clams from predatory green crabs.

The total number of acres leased under the municipal aquaculture plan would not exceed one-quarter of the entire municipal intertidal zone that is open to the taking of shellfish.

Commission Chairman Doug Leland forwarded the final 10-page document to Joseph shortly after the Oct. 8 meeting, and also sent a copy to the Department of Marine Resources for review.

The Town Council voted on Oct. 20 to refer the amendment to the Ordinance Committee. Sachs said it is important to make sure processes are well understood on property permission and riparian rights.

“Clearly, property ownership needs to be figured out,” she said.

Wellen said that enforcement of town-leased clam flats could lead to added costs for the town.

“You have a lot of clammers who don’t like the idea, so that could lead to some conflicts,” he said. “We need to look at the cost up front.”

Councilors Bill Rixon and Jim Hendricks expressed some support for the ordinance amendment.

“I’m in favor of it going forward,” Rixon said. “I was impressed with what the commissioners said prior to the vote at their last meeting.”

Hendricks said it is a promising program, whereby mud flats that have not been fruitful would be leased to clam harvesters.

“I just see it as an opportunity for some to branch out,” he said.

Sachs said she wouldn’t want the Ordinance Committee to spend “an inordinate amount of time” on the proposal without further legal opinion. One of the concerns, she said, is the taking of public land with public access and turning it over to private use.