Town Meeting - Apr 30th, 2025

Night two of town meeting. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/Agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2254&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Announcements

(Greg Christian, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana informs the meeting that we'll take up the town budget on May 7th, and the Minuteman Budget on May 12th.

Mr. Christiana says that motions need to be submitted before 5pm on the business day before the town meeting where they'll be presented. Submitting them earlier is better.

The town meeting guidelines document has been updated to clarify the process for amendments and substitute motions, as well as the process for handling resolutions.

Our test vote for the evening: Did e-pluribus unum originate with Marcus Tullius Cicero in the Roman Republic? Vote was 79--92--35. The actual answer was no.

Article 3 - Reports of Committees

(Karen Kelleher, Affordable Housing Trust Fund) Ms. Kelleher submits the report of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and provides a summary of what the fund has been doing.

The trust fund is two years into a five-year action plan. They've deployed $3.5M which has supported the creation of 70 units of affordable housing into two years. Historically, Arlington has created an average of six affordable units per year, so this is a significant improvement. These projects have leveraged $72 of outside aid for each dollar of local aid.

The fund has supported several projects. 10 Sunnyside ave will provide 43 units of rental housing. 18 of these are set aside for low-income and extremely low-income households, and four are set aside for formerly homeless individuals. 35 Parker St is a modular, passive house ADU. This funding came from federal ARPA funds. The trust worked with town staff to use $3M of ARPA funds for the Acquire, Create, and Convert program which led to three affordable housing projects. One two-family home on Broadway was converted to affordable housing, an additional affordable unit was added to 80 Broadway, and HCA was able to acquire two multi-family buildings with a total of 57 units. The multi-family building acquisition used $2M of funds from the town, and an additional $12M of other funds are needed.

Ms. Kelleher says the trust fund currently has a $29,000 balance. She says this is a team sport that requires help from the Housing Corporation of Arlington, Redevelopment Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Arlington Housing Authority and other group.

Article 14 is before town meeting to provide the trust fund with a stable funding source, and Ms. Kelleher hopes the meeting will support it.

(Sue Doctorow, Community Preservation Act Committee) Ms. Doctorow submits the report of the CPA committee.

(Christopher Moore, Capital Planning Committee) Mr. Moore submits the report of the capital planning committee.

There are no more reports ready for submission tonight, so article 3 goes back on the table.

Article 11 - Arlington Historical Commission Inventory

(David Bean, Precinct 8) Mr. Bean's amendment would change the term "homeowner" to "property owner". The latter is a defined term in the main motion, whereas the former is not.

(Andy Greenspon, Precinct 5) Mr. Greenspon asks if there's a legal process for removing properties from the historical property inventory.

(Pamela Meister, Arlington Historical Commission) Ms. Meister says there is, but she's not familiar with it.

(Andy Greenspon) Mr. Greenspon asks if the process is written down.

(Pamela Meister) Ms. Meister answers in the negative.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says there's no written process in the town bylaws.

(Andy Greenspon) Mr. Greenspon sees this as a fairness issue, and a way to rectify past errors. He'll vote in favor.

(Grant Cook, Precinct 16) Mr. Cook says he's watched Historical Commission meetings. He thinks that having a property on the historical properties list causes a burden to both homeowners and to the commission. Almost any exterior work will trigger a hearing, and the Commission doesn't consider the financial burden on homeowners. The Commission prefers to see houses restored to their original condition. For example, there's a triple-decker on Norcross Street that has vinyl siding. It's on the historic list, and the Historical Commission wanted the owner to restore the original siding. The owner ended up withdrawing their request. Mr. Cook says that negotiations with the Historical Commission are congenial, but it's clear where the balance of power lies. There are between 850--1000 homes on the historic properties list, and MACRIS often gives one or two words as the reason for their inclusion. Like "architecture".

(James Fleming, Precinct 4) Mr. Fleming is happy to see the Historical Commission taking ownership and working to rectify this issue. He asks how the commission determines significance when nothing is written down.

(Pamela Meister) Ms. Meister says that different commissioners have different levels of expertise. They examine property records and sometimes there are additional documents. She says that buildings on the historical properties list were approved by the Mass Historical Society. But there are cases where buildings change and lose their historical significance.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming asks if the public can provide input at Historical Commission hearings.

(Pamela Meister) Ms. Meister says the public can provide input, but the Commission will reach its own decision.

(Michael Cunningham) Mr. Cunningham says this article would create a public hearing process.

(Alex Bagnall, Precinct 9) Mr. Bagnall moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

The Bean amendment passes, 204--5--1.

Article 11 passes, 208--6--2.

Article 12 - Expanding Town Committee Membership Eligibility to all Residents

(Diane Mahon, Select Board) Ms. Mahon says the Select Board supported Article 12 with a 5--0 vote. The proponent presented several options, based on voting status and age.

(Joshua Solomon, Citizen Petitioner) Mr. Solomon says this article is focused on expanding committee eligibility. Most committees and commissions require members to be registered voters, rather than residents. Most committees have oversight with respect to appointments.

Mr. Solomon notes that being a registered voter requires being a US citizen. This excludes permanent residents and people who are here on work visas. This is an opportunity to value the contribution of all residents. The motion would establish a default minimum age of 18, but individual committees could allow younger members by stating so in their governing laws.

(Guillermo Hamlin, Precinct 14) Mr. Hamlin welcomes this bylaw. He asks if we're concerned about legal trolling.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says no. As long as an individual is a resident, immigration law would not affect their ability to serve.

(Guillermo Hamlin) Mr. Hamlin had concerns about volunteering before he was naturalized. He wants to protect people from fear of reprisal.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson asks if this would apply to town elected officials.

(Michael Cunningham) Mr. Cunningham says no. It would only apply to committees.

(Jennifer Litowski, Precinct 3) Ms. Litowski says she moved the US in 2001 and was naturalized in 2018. The process takes a long time. It's important to develop community ties, and volunteering is one way to do that. She encourages support of the article.

(Ben Rudick, Precinct 5) Mr. Rudick says the first time he addressed town meeting it was about expanding voting in local elections to permanent residents. Mr. Rudick's neighbor isn't a citizen. They've lived here for years but have no say in what goes on in the town. This is a wonderful step in the same direction. From the founding of the country to the end of World War I all white landowning males could participate in government, whether they were citizens or not. These measures were rolled back after World War I due to widespread xenophobia. Mr. Rudick says this is giving something back that we used to allow.

(Christopher Moore, Precinct 14) Mr. Moore moves the question.

Article passes, 199--18--2.

Article 13 - Arlington Redevelopment Board as the Town of Arlington Board of Survey

(Diane Mahon, Select Board) Ms. Mahon says the Select Board voted to support this home rule petition, 5--0.

(Sarah Suarez, Assistant Planning Director) Ms. Suarez says that Article 13 authorizes filing of a home rule petition that would change the town manager act, to designate the ARB has the town's board of survey. The ARB became the Board of Survey in 2008, but there are two places where the Town Manager Act still lists the Select Board as fulfilling that role. That omission has gone unnoticed for years, but a property owner brought it to the town's attention. Ms. Suarez says the Select Board doesn't wish to be the Board of Survey.

(Barry Jaspan, Precinct 18) Mr. Jaspan would like to know who the property owner was.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says that isn't relevant to the article at hand.

(Matt Miller, Precinct 11) Mr. Miller doesn't understand the impact of this change.

(Sarah Suarez) Ms. Suarez says it's a bureaucratic change.

Article passes, 204--4--2.

Article 14 - Real Estate Transfer

(Diane Mahon, Select Board) Ms. Mahon says the Select Board supported the refiling of this home rule petition by a vote of 5--0.

(Sarah Suarez, Assistant Planning Director) Ms. Suarez says that part of her work involves staffing the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF). This article requests the re-authorization of a home rule petition that would fund the AHTF. It was originally filed in conjunction with the article that established the AHTF, but the legislature didn't take it up during the last session.

This article would establish a fee on real estate sales. It would focus on the sale of high-end properties in order to fund the AHTF. Ms. Suarez explains that this is the first in a series of steps. After the home rule petition is authorized, we would draft a bylaw that town meeting would have to pass. Finally, the fee would have to be approved by the voters. The home rule petition establishes a set of parameters for setting fees and exemptions, and the details would be subject to a later town meeting.

The fee would be between 0.05--2.00% of the sale price. This could generate $1.8--7.2M each year for the trust fund. Money in the AHTF would be used to leverage state and federal funds for affordable housing. Fees would be due at the time of title transfer, and would become a lien if unpaid. The town would annually report on revenue. Ms. Suarez says this tool is used in at least 33 other states.

(Jo Babiarz, Precinct 15) Ms. Babiarz has an amendment to Article 15. She says there are a lot of mega mansions in her area.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says that he needed to edit the amendment after it was distributed to town meeting members. One of the changes was not in scope of the original article.

(Jo Babiarz) Ms. Babiarz says that a developer might buy a home for $895,000 and replace it with a 4000 square foot house that sells for $2.5M. These sales total to $3.4M, and one percent of that (the amount over $1M) is $24,000. People buy here because of the high school, and she thinks Article 14 leaves money on the table. Stockbridge and Athol have nothing in common with Arlington. They have no density and no MBTA Communities zoning. Not knowing what the parameters are creates uncertainty. And, how often will the parameters be changed?

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana says that part of the amendment proposed putting fees into the general fund, rather than the AHTF. The warrant article explicitly mentioned putting the fees into the AHTF, so changing that to the general fund is out of scope.

It's around 9:30, and we take a ten-minute break.

(Beth Elliott, Precinct 10) Ms. Elliot is a member of the AHTF board. This is the first step in creating an income stream for the fund. Professionally, she's an affordable housing financing lawyer. Her job is to take funding from various sources and put together financing packages. She'd like to see more affordable housing development in Arlington, but funding is hard to find and it needs local matches. Local matches are used to leverage state funds. Ms. Elliot expects to see cuts to federal funds that support affordable housing development and Section 8 vouchers. One quarter of the Massachusetts government is funded by federal money. This article will fund the AHTF with real estate transfer fees, if all of the steps work out. Ms. Elliott says we want the legislature to give us a broad language to work with so we can tailor it to our needs. The voters will get to decide whether this policy is enacted, and this is the first step in a long process. Money for affordable housing is already starting to go away. Funds from the AHTF are flexible and we can get money out the door faster, using parameters that town meeting has given us. Regarding the amendment, Ms. Elliott thinks it's bad to reduce flexibility. She's concerned about putting a specific dollar amount in the home rule petition, because $1M today might be something very different years from now. She asks town meeting to support the article, and to vote no on the amendment.

(Laura Wiener, Precinct 8) Ms. Wiener is a board member of the Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA), and she supports the refiling of the the home rule petition. Developing affordable housing is getting harder. The costs are going up but the subsidies are not. It can take years to get a funding package together. For example, HCA spent three years getting the funds for 10 Sunnyside Ave. Funding is the limiting factor. One quarter of the households in Arlington are low- to moderate-income, and one third of seniors are cost-burdened. Stable housing means a lot to people. Ms. Wiener doesn't support the Babiarz amendment. She wants a fair an open process for deciding the fee parameters.

(Andy Greenspon, Precinct 5) Mr. Greenspon asks: if we fixed the parameter values now, would we need another home rule petition to change them.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham answers in the affirmative.

(Andy Greenspon) Mr. Greenspon thinks the Babiarz amendment is too restrictive. He's against the amendment but supports the article.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson voted to support this article before. The state didn't act on it, so we have to do it again. He thinks it's way too early to set the parameters. He asks town meeting to vote against the amendment and for the article. Mr. Jamieson asks if the fee range is between 0.05% and 2%.

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana says yes.

(Vince Baudoin, Precinct 1) Mr. Baudoin moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Babiarz amendment fails, 15--188-6.

(Robin Bergman, Precinct 12, Point of order) Ms. Bergman asks what the voting threshold for the article is.

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana says it's a majority vote.

Article passes, 168--40--3.

Article 15 - To Amend the Senior Citizen Property Tax Exemption

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney says this article seeks to protect a tax measure that was passed in 2019, by providing a way to fund this exemption via the abatement overlay. There's an issue where having too many exemptions in one year can disqualify recipients in subsequent years.

(Dana Mann, Director of Assessments) Mr. Mann says the exemption says the exemption can be between 50--200% of the circuit breaker credit authorized by the state. This is converted to a percentage of the total exemption. The tax amount is converted to assessed value and the change in assessable value changes the residential tax rate. Mr. Mann gives examples of non qualifying options, a scenario where no option would apply, and a scenario where only the highest option would apply.

(Annie LaCourt, Precinct 13) Ms. LaCourt says we're voting to allow the exemption to be funded with part of the budget that's not in the levy limit -- we'd use the overlay reserve fund which is used to cover costs from property tax abatements. This is kind of technical, but it's important to be able to offer these exemptions. Ms. LaCourt asks the meeting to vote yes.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson is a member of the Board of Assessors and the assessors are responsible for managing this exemption. The article would allow the assessors to use the overlay reserve to fund exemptions.

Article passes, 198--3--6.

Article 16 -- Package Store Licenses

(Steve DeCourcey, Select Board) Mr. DeCourcey says the Select Board recommends favorable action on Article 16. It would authorize a ballot question on whether to increase the number of package store licenses from six to eight. This is the first step in a three step process. Mr. DeCourcey says there are no licenses currently available and this has stopped some businesses that were interested in coming here.

(Adam Lane, Precinct 3) Mr. Lane thinks the town is adequately served by package stores. He thinks that limiting the number of licenses provides friction so minors can't get alcohol. He thinks it would be a dereliction of Town Meeting's duty to shove this off to a plebiscite. He urges a no vote.

(JP Lewicke, Precinct 2) Mr. Lewicke asks if there are legal limits on the number of licenses we can issue.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says yes. The current limit is six. The state's Alcohol and Beverage commission sets the maximum, which is ten for Arlington.

(JP Lewicke) Mr. Lewicke asks why we're adding two licenses, and not some other number.

(Steve DeCourcey) Mr. DeCourcey says that Arlington has had a history of adding licenses incrementally. We're asking for two because the board felt that one was too little. We want to avoid having a secondary market for licenses.

(JP Lewicke) Mr. Lewicke asks if six is the limit because of Arlington's legacy of being a dry town. Mr. Lewicke moves to amend the article to increase the number of licenses by four instead of two.

(Chris Loreti, Precinct 7) Mr. Loreti only knows of four package stores. He asks if he's missing two.

A chorus of voices answer yes.

(Chris Loreti) Mr. Loreti asks what happened to the license for Menotomy Beer and Wine.

(Steve DeCourcey) Mr. DeCourcey says they will not be re-opening, and their license has been pulled.

(Chris Loreti) Mr. Loreti urges a no vote on the amendment.

(Lisa Bielefield, Precinct 12) Ms. Bielefield wishes to introduce Eric Fiola. Mr. Fiola is a resident of Winchester and the owner of the Mystic Wine Shop.

(Eric Fiola) Mr. Fiola says he's the owner of Mystic Wine Shop. He's lived here for 40 years and his family currently owns five stores. He says the town can't support six package stores, and it would be better to support the existing businesses.

(Peter Fiore, Precinct 2) Mr. Fiore says the sixth license is held by 232 Mass Ave. He asks why they haven't opened.

(Steve DeCourcey) Mr. DeCourcey says there was a zoning issue over whether the non-conforming use of the property had terminated. The process with the Zoning Board of Appeals took time. He says their license is not likely to be renewed if something isn't there by the end of the year.

(Peter Fiore) Mr. Fiore says he's never seen a package store with a line out the door. He's concerned that too many package stores will hurt residents. Package stores are parasites that don't pay meal taxes. The Select Board's report says the town's economic development coordinator determined there would be no adverse impacts to increasing the number of licenses, and he asks how the economic development coordinator made that determination. The Select Board now allows restaurants to serve more than two drinks without serving food. There's a package store next to the high school. There are significant changes coming to town. We have beer gardens, and there's a brewery opening. Mr. Fiore says we should leave well enough alone. It's not broken, so don't fix it.

(Carmine Granucci, Precinct 21) Mr. Granucci moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Lewicke amendment fails, 53--182--2.

Main motion passes, 112--92--5.

section{Article 17 - Rodenticide}

(Diane Mahon, Select Board) Ms. Mahon says the Select Board voted to support this article, which would authorize them to file home rule legislation to prohibit the use of second generation anti-coagulant rodenticides (SGARs).

(Alan Tosti, Precinct 17, Point of order) Mr. Tosti asks to have the speaker queue left up.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says he'll put it up later, but there's a presentation being shown now.

(Elaine Crowder, Citizen Petitioner) Ms. Crowder says this is a reboot of something that town meeting voted in 2022. In 2022 we voted for a bylaw change, a home rule petition, and a resolution. The bylaw requires the town to track rodenticide use. The home rule petition asked the state to give us permission to regulate SGARs. The resolution led us to stop using SGARs on town-owned land. SGARs can cause animals like hawks to bleed out. The home rule petition expired after two years, but wildlife continues to die. In the last few years nine owls, eight hawks, one eagle, one fox, and one skunk died from SGAR poisoning. These are animals that prey on rodents. Dead hawks don't provide rodent control. Other municipalities are filing similar home rule petitions. Our 2022 bylaw wasn't approved by the attorney general, but could be if this home rule petition is adopted.

(Beth Melofchik, Precinct 9) Ms. Melofchik was in the cemetery when she saw a bald eagle dying, which was horrible. She saw a dead owl in December, and that was from rodenticides. There was another dead hawk in Arlington center. She says there are other ways to control rodents.

(Sam Polk, Precinct 12) Mr. Polk says rodenticides have an ecological impact. In the last century habitat loss and DDT significantly reduced the bald eagle population. He encourages a yes vote.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson asks what kind of enforcement there will be.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says the article is a home rule petition, to give us the ability to regulate rodenticides. That has to come first.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson urges passage of the article.

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana asks if the legislature can amend our home rule petition.

(Michael Cunningham) Mr. Cunningham answers in the affirmative.

(Ed Tremblay, Precinct 19) Mr. Tremblay says his son had a rat problem, and he urged him not to use rodenticide. He says his son used wine instead, and it worked.

(Carl Wagner, Precinct 15) Mr. Wagner says that nobody wants to see eagles die. He asks if there is an alternative where public health is at risk from rats.

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney says that first generation rodenticides are an alternative, along with snap traps and glue boards. There are alternatives.

(Carl Wagner) Mr. Wagner says he plans to vote yes.

(Michael Cunningham) Mr. Cunningham says the 2022 bylaw had enforcement provisions, which could be enacted if the home rule petition passes.

(Larry Slotnick, Precinct 7) Mr. Slotnick is a facilities manager for Foodlink. He hired a pest control company and asked them to bait with non-poisons. That's been adequate. Mr. Slotnick thinks a lot of businesses put out bait boxes without considering their impact. He says this won't hurt pest control companies.

(Pi Fischer, Precinct 6) Mr. Fischer moves the question.

Motion to terminate debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 198--2--3.

It's nearing 23:00 and there's a motion to adjourn. Town meeting will continue on Monday night.