HAMPDEN – Letters went out this week to residents and owners of the two trailer parks in town, telling them about a meeting Monday to discuss a proposed trailer park ordinance.

It will be the second such meeting in a week.

A meeting by the Town Council’s ordinance committee Monday drew more than 40 park residents, most if not all from the Hampden Trailer Park.

Committee officials opted to continue the discussion at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23, in the council chambers.

The letters to about 100 residents were sent out on Thursday, said Town Planner Bob Osborne.

In developing the ordinance, town officials and committee members sought to draft something that everyone could live with, Osborne said.

“You don’t want a document that’s vague and at the same time you don’t want a document that’s so unyieldingly specific that there’s no room for adjustments,” Osborne said Friday.

The proposed ordinance lays out provisions for standards for mobile homes, the parks and for the licensing of the parks.

But while town officials see the provisions as adding increased safety standards, residents and park owners see added costs for those who can least afford them. They also fear the standards hamper the ability of the parks to bring in better units.

For example, one provision would require 20 feet between mobile homes. Although existing mobile homes are grandfathered, if they are replaced, the new home must comply or can’t be located any closer than the home it was replacing.

That’s a problem for owners of the Hampden Trailer Park, who have said they want to replace older mobile homes with newer, wider ones, something that would be prohibited unless they reduced the number of lots.

But clearly there are safety concerns that prompted the inclusion of some of the provisions, including the minimum separation distance. Town officials have said that fires have a reduced chance of spreading if the trailer homes are farther apart.

The ordinance also would require egress windows in bedrooms that don’t have an exterior exit door, another effort to improve safety.