With a newly elected Legislative Council in its second official meeting on December 17, the council made moves to continue consideration of three ordinances by the Ordinance Subcommittee, which had members reappointed to it at the same meeting.

The Ordinance Subcommittee is now comprised of Jordana Bloom, Chris Eide, Eric Paradis, Lily Mac Hugh, Ben Ruben, and Steven Stolfi. Subcommittee members must be re-appointed each new term.

The three ordinances to be considered by the subcommittee’s new membership are ordinances on soliciting, traffic control cameras, and tax relief for veterans. A fourth ordinance, on preservation of historic streets, was not sent to the ordinance subcommittee, but council members expressed interest in revisiting it at a later date.

The soliciting ordinance came at the request of members of the public. While the town does have an ordinance regarding solicitation, in September then-Chairman Keith Alexander noted that the council had heard “quite a bit of concern over the solicitation ordinance” as well as “finger pointing between the first selectman’s office and the police department” over the handling of the ordinance.

The ordinance subcommittee in the last term spent considerable time discussing a new ordinance, according to Councilman Jordana Bloom, and is looking to make it a priority in the new session.

Bloom noted that it is already illegal to go door to door selling items, but soliciting for businesses, such as a plumbing business or solar panels, is currently allowed by permit in town. Bloom said that the Borough of Newtown was also looking at the issue of soliciting, and it is more susceptible to it due to many homes being closer together. However, the borough felt that a town-wide ordinance would be better. Bloom wanted to work with the borough on the ordinance.

“I feel strongly that we should finish [the soliciting ordinance], it was driven by the public,” said Bloom.

Councilman Arnie Berman said that soliciting was a nuisance even in rural parts of the town.

“Soliciting is a constant annoyance,” said Berman.

Council Chairman Laura Miller said that Ridgefield had recently put in an ordinance banning soliciting altogether, and suggested that was the route the council was looking to go in.

Bloom said a ban was the easiest ordinance to enforce, but there still needed to be carve-outs for religious freedom of speech and political freedom of speech.

The council approved sending the soliciting ordinance to the ordinance subcommittee unanimously.

The speed camera ordinance was met with some opposition among the council members as several raised privacy concerns. The council also hoped to hear from the Police Commission about a possible ordinance.

Miller said that if the ordinance were approved, it would mean that the town would be entering into a contract with a company recommended by the Police Department, and would include cameras on “three or four roads,” not roads all over town. She also said the cameras, once a location was decided on, could not be moved. The company would install the cameras.

Alexander said that other nearby towns have been having concerns with speed camera systems and how much information gathered by the cameras gets shared with outside agencies.

Berman said that was an issue only with Flock Cameras that are used to monitor roads and can be used to locate vehicles, not with speed cameras. Berman also noted that speeding was one of the top concerns he heard from residents while campaigning for office.

Councilman Ben Ruben questioned where Berman was getting his information from and said he had heard “plenty of concerns” with license reading technology.

Miller noted that if the councilman voted to send it to the ordinance subcommittee, it did not preclude the council from later voting against the ordinance; and if the council voted against sending it to the ordinance subcommittee, it did not preclude the council from taking the issue back up later.

Councilman Chris Gardner noted that people asked the council to look at speeding issues, and that the council “should at least explore” speed cameras.

The council voted to send the ordinance to the ordinance subcommittee on a 7-5 vote, with Ruben, Stolfi, Miller, Berman, Gardner, Michelle Embree Ku, and Donna Rahtelli voting for, and Eide, Paradis, Mac Hugh, Bloom, and Alexander voting against.

The veteran’s tax relief ordinance will look at a number of things, such as doubling the base relief from $10,000 to $20,000; expanding disability enhancements; providing additional relief for land value up to two acres instead of one; expanding the program to moderate income veterans, improved clarity and understanding of state programs; and local support for more vulnerable veterans.

The veteran’s tax relief ordinance was sent to the ordinance subcommittee unanimously.

The fourth ordinance, concerning preservation of historic roads, was a “heavy lift” according to Bloom, where most of the guidance the previous subcommittee had received said that it was a “big task for lay people” with “lots of information needed from the state.”

“This is not unimportant but may be beyond the scope of what we can accomplish in the short term,” said Bloom.

The ordinance was put on the table for six months, to give the ordinance subcommittee time to work on other priority ordinances.

Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.