Town Meeting Votes Down Extra Liquor License

At the voters approved changes to the zoning bylaws as well as a tax incentive for PerkinElmer, a company looking to expand their presence in town.

What they didn't approve may have been far more significant. Hopkinton developer Chuck Joseph, representing CJPM Development LLC, asked residents to petition the state to add an extra liquor license to the town so a new package store could be built in the .

The town meeting voters decided that it was not in the best interest for the town to add a license above and beyond the amount allowed based on the town's population.

As the state has laid out liquor licenses, each town is given one license plus another for every 5,000 residents in the town according to the federal census.

According to the 2010 census Hopkinton had a population at 14,925 however town records counting from 2011 indicate the town has achieved a population several hundred above the 15,000 required to get an additional license. 

CJPM chose to apply for the extra license with this in mind, as well as the knowledge that any town is allowed to petition the state legislature for extra licenses if they feel it is necessary.

Cleland Johnson, the owner of Hopkinton Wine and Spirits, s. Johnson, along with others, spoke out tonight saying that they believed adding a liquor store license would not be necessary, especially after reopens in the downtown area.

According to Hopkinton Town Counsel Ray Miyares, the petition of the state for an but is also not something practiced by all towns in the state.

Miyares said that through special legislation any town that approves it can ask for special legislation and can essentially ask for an unlimited number of all-liquor retail licenses.

Other residents that spoke out at town meeting were concerned with the businesses leaving the downtown area and the effect an extra liquor store would have on currently existing stores that sell liquor specifically and .

In a vote that sounded close orally, a finally tally of the voters in favor and against respectively turned out 53 - 101.

Other articles voted down included a bylaw presented by the that would require secondhand businesses to keep personal records on every sale that occurred at the business.

Voters did support zoning bylaws that will allow convenience stores and restaurants in the industrial districts in town.