Four Articles Voted on During First Night of Town Meeting

Town Meeting adjourned after voting on four of the 34 issues on the warrant. It will resume on May 7, starting with the Fiscal Budget of 2013.

Town Meeting Members voted 85-80 in favor of indefinitely postponing Article 2 until another Town Meeting. Should it have passed, Article 2 would have extended protection of the Demolition Delay bylaw for any house built during or before 1945, delaying demolition for one year while the Commission and homeowners assessed alternatives to demolition of places with historical significance. The Town Meeting members did, however, pass Article 3, which clarifies the application permit process for demolition. It also clarifies what is considered a historic building under bylaw. This passed 101-58.

Also voted into indefinite postponement was Article 6, a citizen’s petition to approve a resolution to call upon Congress to pass an Amendment to overturn the 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens’ United. This ruling states that corporations and unions are protected under the First Amendment to spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose elected officials. Regardless of party lines and political leanings, it was determined that such a measure was not fit for Town Meeting and was enthusiastically voted to be indefinitely postponed.

Articles 4 and 5 were postponed until the next session of Town Meeting on May 7.

Article 4 addressed the shade tree bylaw. Under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 87, municipalities may adopt local shade tree bylaws or abide by the language in Chapter 87, which can be ambiguous. The proposed bylaw is intended to clarify Chapter 87, addresses tree planting, maintenance and removal on local streets.

Article 5 is a request for Chapter 2 of the Code of By-Laws to be amended to allow electronic distribution of committee reports and warrant article reports. Today, these reports are mailed and printed and Article 5 is an attempt to modify the methods of distribution. Both of these articles were postponed so that they could be tweaked and cleaned up for a vote.