Hanson Talks on Liquor Licenses, Affordable Housing and More

On Friday, we had our third Board of Selectmen live chat so far this election year, this time talking to Matt Hanson.

If you couldn't make it, here's what you missed along with results from the in-chat straw poll.

Liquor Licenses

Hanson supported a mixed ulse liquor license for the Meat House, and also supports licenses on a case-by-case basis, although he expects a majority of the board to vote against most mixed-use licenses for the foreseeable future.

Affordable Housing Project on Littleton Road

The current Board of Selectmen support the project, and it will help the town get to its "10 percent goal," which would give the town more latitude against developers seeking to start affordable, or 40B projects, that are against the town's interests.  

In the next two years, he hopes the Chelmsford Housing Authority or the current land owner can help Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe, which is located on the site of the new 40B Development, to relocate.

Regional Dispatch Response Centers

Hanson sees a switch to a regional dispatch center as a good idea, citing studies he's seen that response time actually improves with regional centers.

He also indicated that Chelmsford residents would be part of the dispatch center and that it would save the time money in earlier debates.

How Selectmen's Meeting Should Be Run

While Hanson understand that it can be a chairman's prerogative to include or nothing incluide things on the agenda or during discussion during meetings that if he were ever to become chairman, he would not stifle input from his colleagues or ignore agenda item requests from his colleagues.

Transparency Laws

He says the town follows state level transparency laws, and notes all BoS meetings are televised and open to the public.

Hanson also notes that the town has been given an award by Common Cause, a transparency website.