2012 Town Meeting - Night Two

Only one real vote tonight.  After a long discussion, the proposal to allow the creation of a memorial park within certain Conservation Commission properties was defeated 95-75*.  This was a proposal that I strongly supported.  Arlington is quickly running out of space to lay our dead to rest.  However, "not is my backyard" rules the day.  There were many arguments about procedure and whether an appointed board should be allowed to make decisions about where the memorial park(s) could be located.  Overall, the tone of the comments was very negative; no one had any alternatives about what to do.  By law, we have to deal with this problem, and we are quickly running out of time.

We spent a fair amount of time discussing accessory apartments, but we adjourned before taking a vote.  I spoke in favor of the article and against two proposed amendments.  The amendments would limit the units to seniors and affordable rents.  The presentations were, in my estimation, disingenuous because the proponents were asking the members to vote down the article whether they accepted the amendments or not.  There was a mean-spirited tone to the presentations, repeated by other speakers, warning about the possibility of others moving into our single-family districts.  Those others would bring children and cars and other things no one wants.  I tried to point out the problems with the amendments and make a case that many issues expressed with the article, have nothing to do with the article.  Who lives in a house, how many cars they have, whether the house is too big for the lot, and the lack of affordable housing are all issues that exist today and have nothing to do with this article.  I fear that this article, like most of the presentations by the Redevelopment Board, will be voted down Monday night.

*  It was sad to see that only 170 of the 254 members, only 2/3 of the full meeting, stayed to vote on this article.  We all took an oath to come to meeting; how come 1 in 3 don't bother to participate?

2012 Town Meeting - Night One

Tonight was the first night of the 2012 Town Meeting!  We stumbled through the swearing in - the revised oath did not match what was shown on the screen.  Mr. Greeley's State of the Town Address was humorous and somewhat poignant.

The process of receiving reports from the various town committees started with Selectmen, Finance, Redevelopment, Zoning Review and one other report submitted.  Elsie Fiore was elected as the Measurer of Wood and Bark, taking over the position formerly held by John FitzMaurice.  Jim O’Conor was elected as Assistant Town Moderator.

We made it through three articles of substance tonight, all from the Redevelopment Board.  The first changed the definition a sign to remove wording that previously had categorized public art as a sign, as it was "designed to attract the eye."  After a short debate, I voted in the majority to change the language.


The second article proposed to create a mixed-use category to be available in certain business districts by special permit.  The initial presentation by the board was reasonable, but the opposition was more persuasive with what I felt was a very disingenuous presentation of worst-case scenarios.  An amendment was presented to apply the proposed change to all business districts.  I voted in favor, but it was not adopted.  Again, I voted in favor of the article, but it was not approved by town meeting.


Articles pertaining to accessory apartments and memorial parks were tabled (too little time remaining), so we moved on to an article seeking to clarify the language in the bylaws to allow "promotional" historic signs.  The previous language included a few inconsistencies with regards to historic signs, and the article sought to correct those problems.  After a short debate, I voted with the majority to make the change in language.


We adjourned shortly before 11:00, and we are scheduled to reconvene Wednesday at 8:00.