The  Wiscasset Historic Preservation Commission plans to spare no projects in the historic district from its review. The rules voters passed last spring let the panel exempt properties that it declares “non-contributing,” because they don’t contribute to the district’s historic value.

But panel members on Dec. 3 made their intentions clear: They don’t want to find any properties non-contributing; doing it would risk projects that clash with the district’s look, members maintained in their second meeting.

Members expressed those same concerns when they met for the first time, in November. Thursday night’s meeting took the conversation further.

Town Planner Jamel Torres told the panel that projects exempt from the commission’s review would still face planning board review. That’s because the historic district is made up of two village districts and a waterfront one, which all have standards under other local rules.

“There are standards that would make sure something crazy was not built,” he said.

However, members remained concerned about some types of projects, including changes to buildings and a scenario that member Gordon Kontrath raised: An existing 1930 building might not contribute to an 1800s historic appearance, but if the property is exempt, a steel and glass building could go up in its place, he said.

Member Susan Blagden, who has long served on the town’s appeals board, said the ordinance’s wording backs up the preservation panel on the issue. The panel has not found any properties to be non-contributing, so everything is contributing. “The way the ordinance is written, is the way the ordinance is written,” she said.

Regarding all properties in the district being contributing, Blagden said, “I would hope that we would keep it that way.”

“Let’s keep it that way,” fellow member Jib Fowles said. Fowles wasn’t in the municipal building meeting room. He took part via Skype on an open laptop computer that faced the panel.

The panel mulled ideas to educate property owners and real estate agents about the ordinance, with mailings and possibly a speaker sharing points to keep in mind about care of properties in a historic district.

Members predicted the ordinance will lead to higher property values.

Also Dec. 2, Torres presented Maine Municipal Association’s opinion that Wiscasset’s ordinance is likely too vague to withstand a legal challenge on the topic of hardships. The ordinance should be changed to give it more teeth, Chairman John Reinhardt said.

It needs fangs, Blagden said.

Any changes the panel wants to propose to the ordinance would need to go through the town’s ordinance review committee, planning board, selectmen and then on to voters, Torres said.

In a 5-0 vote Thursday night, the panel gave Torres its appreciation for getting the ordinance on the books. Torres has resigned as planner effective Dec. 18. He thanked commission members and advised them that, if the job hasn’t been filled before the next meeting Jan. 7, they should check with the town office to make sure the door to the meeting room will be unlocked.

Torres is compiling a list of work items for the next planner; he’s calling it a recipe to be awesome, he said. Reinhardt asked Torres to send it to commission members; then they, too, can be awesome, Reinhardt said. Torres said he would.