BELGRADE — Officials are considering a ban on tree cutting, lawn mowing, the use of certain fertilizers and more near the town’s lakes as their water quality continues to decline.

Belgrade’s Planning Board met last week to continue discussing 12 ordinances proposed by the town’s Lakes and Natural Resources Committee that aim to restore water quality in the Belgrade Lakes Watershed.

The Belgrade Lakes Watershed is comprised of seven lakes and ponds, all of which are listed as either “threatened” or “impaired” by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The proposals aim to establish a “no mow” zone around the lakes where tree cutting, phosphorous fertilizers and most lawn mowing is prohibited, as well as enforcing more stringent inspections of septic systems in properties near the shoreline.

Properties in the shoreland zone will have to have their septic systems inspected every three years or whenever a property’s title is transferred if the ordinances are adopted. Septic systems that fail inspection will need to be replaced or repaired within a year of the test.

The proposals were met with skepticism by some members of the Planning Board, who questioned if the town has the authority to carry out some of the proposed ordinances and said others were too similar to some already in place.

The proposals seek to improve the Belgrade Lakes’ water quality by reducing erosion and pollution caused by nearby human development according to Chris Bradley, who sits on the Lakes and Natural Resources Committee.

“(We’re) looking at how we can keep the water quality in the lakes as good as we can and enforcing the ordinance is a community effort,” Bradley said at the Planning Board’s Dec. 5 meeting.

Water quality in all seven bodies of water that comprise the Belgrade Lakes has declined in recent years, due in large part to human development and activity in the area according to the 7 Lakes Alliance, a local organization created to conserve the region’s natural resources.

North Pond, McGrath Pond, Messalonskee Lake and Salmon Lake are listed as “threatened” by the Maine DEP, while Great Pond, East Pond and Long Pond are “impaired.”

“Declining water quality is likely due to increased runoff, extreme rain events and development, highlighting the need to minimize erosion,” the 7 Lakes Alliance reported earlier this year.

Erosion, runoff and pollution can be stemmed by establishing the “no mow” zone around the lake, according to Lynn Geiger, who oversees erosion control policy for the 7 Lakes Alliance.

Phosphorous pollution is a significant factor in the Belgrade Lakes’ declining water quality, Geiger says. The chemical is present in “everything from fertilizer to dog poop,” she says, and when it accumulates at high levels in bodies of water it can fuel algae blooms and decrease water clarity.

Increased human activity and development in the region has led to more phosphorous in the environment. It’s been steadily accumulating at the bottom of the Belgrade Lakes for decades, Geiger says, and the decline in water quality is evidence.

Plants along the shoreline can help absorb the phosphorous and prevent it from entering the water, which is why Belgrade already prohibits most tree cutting in a buffer zone around its lakes. The proposed ordinances, Geiger says, would expand the size of the buffer zone and extend its protection to natural grasses.

“The buffer zone is an important last line of defense for the lake,” Geiger said. “It’s not necessarily banning lawn mowing, it’s just that if you don’t have a lawn, you can’t make a lawn, and building a buffer for the lake.”

Many of the proposed ordinances would also create tighter inspections of septic systems in shoreline properties, as Geiger says aging and often uninspected septic systems can leak phosphorous and other waste into the nearby lakes without the homeowner being aware of it.

The town may not have the authority to enforce some of the ordinances around septic system inspections due to a lack of authority and the cost of actually doing that work, Planning Board member George Seel said at a November meeting.

Seel also said banning phosphorus fertilizers would likely be an overreach from the town’s government.

“We’re asking landowners across the board, just because they live on the shoreline, to undertake a certain function. I don’t think we have the authority to do that,” Seel said.

One of the proposed ordinances would require the town to notify neighbors when a building application is approved, with the goal of increasing transparency. Planning Board member Craig Alexander argued the ordinance would cause fighting among abutters.

“I don’t like it. I’m old school, we own our properties and we have property rights and it doesn’t involve you unless it’s something major. If it’s got something to do with your house it’s none of my business.” Alexander said. “Why are you trying to pit neighbor against neighbor?”

Code Enforcement Officer Hans Rasmussen said at the meeting that public engagement often benefits enforcement, saying that neighbors acting as “watchdogs” can catch code violations an officer would miss without a full inspection.

The board moved to vote only on ordinances 1 and 12, which would respectively add municipal environmental permits needed for a project to begin and require the Planning Board to notify a landowner’s neighbors when they approve an application.

The 10 remaining ordinances, including the “no mow” zone and rules on fertilizers and septic systems, were tabled until February for further discussion.

The Planning Board advanced the proposals by a 4-1 vote at its Dec. 5 meeting. Alexander was the lone dissenter. The ordinances are still in a preliminary state and will need to be retooled before they can appear at the town meeting in March, according to Planning Board chair Sara Languet.