The Gorham Town Council took steps Tuesday toward protecting the town’s centuries-old historic heritage.

Councilors unanimously approved developing a historic preservation ordinance and ordered that its Historic Preservation Committee produce an initial draft. Town Councilor Bruce Roullard, chairman of the committee, sponsored this week’s Town Council action.

The board set an example by authorizing a deed restriction on a historic property the town is selling.

Noah Miner of Green Street, a committee member and former councilor, endorsed the proposal from the public podium.

“I want to show my support for this ordinance,” Miner said.

The Town Council established the Historic Preservation Committee in 2014. It has inventoried Gorham’s historic sites. Roullard said Tuesday it has identified 168 properties on a spread sheet it produced. The list includes private homes, First Parish Congregational Church, Babb’s Bridge, Baxter Museum, and several buildings on the University of Southern Maine campus.

Roullard noted that Gorham has three historic districts: South Street; School Street and College Avenue area; and the University of Southern Maine campus. It’s unclear at this stage whether an ordinance would apply to properties in the historic districts or town-wide.

Town Councilor Michael Phinney had concerns about an ordinance placing restrictions on property owners.Town Council Chairman Matthew Robinson said a proposed ordinance would be reviewed by the Planning Board and the measure would return to the Town Council for the board’s consideration.

Town Councilor Marla Stelk, also a historic committee member, said the committee is interested in helping preserve historical integrity in the town, which was incorporated in 1764.

In a step in that direction, the council authorized Town Manager David Cole to sell the McLellan/Sampson House that the town owns at 77 South St., in the heart of the South Historic District. But the Town Council authorized a deed restriction that the house could not be razed except in the case of being extensively damaged by castrophe like a fire or earthquake.

The McLellan/Sampson House was built in 1803 and is now in need of extensive repairs. Cole said the town acquired the house in the 1940s. It once served as the school superintendent’s office and in recent years has been leased to the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust.

While reserving final approval for a sale price and conditions, the Town Council authorized Cole to list the property with Realtor Paul Willis to sell.

Historic preservation became a public issue in Gorham two years ago when vintage siding was stripped in a renovation of the University of Southern Maine’s art gallery, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The university, after a public outcry, reversed its plans to install vinyl siding and opted for wooden clapboards. But, architectural changes to the art gallery prompted a review last fall by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

As a result of the art gallery issue, a university official, Dahlia Lynn, was named to the town’s Historic Preservation Committee. That panel will develop language for an ordinance with assistance from town staff and the Greater Portland Council of Governments. Gorham’s historic committee held two public hearings last year about proposing an ordinance.

“Public feedback has been very positive,” Roullard said.

“We need something so people know what we have in town,” Miner said.

In other action, the Town Council unanimously approved a measure to divide the town’s Ward 1 into two districts with the boundary between the districts as Queen Street and Gordon Farm Road. Voters residing north of the those locations will vote at the Little Falls Activity Center on Acorn Street. Other Ward 1 voters will continue to vote at Gorham Middle School on Weeks Road.

Deputy Town Clerk Laurie Nordfors said Wednesday the Ward 1 polling change will start in June.

The town of Gorham is selling the historic McLellan/Sampson House in the South Street Historic District, but the sale comes with some new restrictions.

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