Arlington’s Special Town Meeting for fall 2023 was held in Town Hall Auditorioum from 8 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, and continued until members voted on all 15 articles in the warrant. Here are summaries to date:
About Special Town Meeting
There is no Zoom option with which to view Special Town Meeting. However, local cable-television station ACMi provides live coverage on the Government channel (Comcast 22, RCN 614, Verizon 26) and streams live at acmi.tv/govlive.
ACMi also rebroadcasts each week’s sessions multiple times throughout the week on its YouTube Channel, according to town spokeswoman Joan Roman.
A major topic of interest at Special Town Meeting is expected to be the MBTA Communities plan recently modified by the ARB from the draft adopted earlier in the autumn by the MBTA Communities Working Group. The current version of the plan, designating some 115 acres as zones where multifamily housing aka apartment buildings would be allowed by right, has been controversial. Arlington is one of more than 175 municipalities in Eastern Massachusetts required by the state to create such a plan, with the intent to create more housing.
Technically, part of the Special Town Meeting occurred briefly in May with regular Town Meeting’s session four (that hourlong Special Town Meeting supported a new way to hire police officers and agreed to study the concept of using hybrid – in person and online simultaneously – future Town Meetings).
Town Meeting is the legislative branch of Arlington. It is made up of 252 representatives from 21 precincts. It is governed by the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 43A, Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government and the Town of Arlington Bylaw Title I- General Government, Article 1.
Read notes by Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Christian Klein: Here is No. 1 >>
Here is the annotated warrant for the October 2023 Special Town Meeting
Download the Special Town Meeting warrant here >> However, it does not contain the additional materials included in the annotated warrant.
Updates to the Annotated Warrant
Article 12
Amendment by Kristen Anderson, Precinct 11
Amendment by Wynelle Evans, Precinct 14
Amendment by Alex Bagnall, Precinct 9, and James Fleming
Amendment by Carl Wagner, Precinct 15
Amendment by John Worden, Precinct 8
Amendment by Jo Babiarz, Precinct 15
Questions submitted by TMMs in advance
MBTA Communities Working Group Report, submitted by Claire Ricker, DPCD
FAQ About MBTA Communities, submitted by Claire Ricker, DPCD
MBTA Communities District Compliance Model, submitted by Claire Ricker, DPCD
MBTA Communities Map ARB Revisions, submitted by Claire Ricker, DPCD
Memo from Steve Revilak, Precinct 1
Letter from State Reps Sean Garballey and Dave Rogers, submitted by Juli Brazile, Precinct 12
Letters submitted by Claire Ricker, DPCD
• State Senator Cindy Friedman
• Clean Energy Future Committtee
• Greater Boston Interfaith Organization
• Mothers Out Front
• Teresa Marzilli, Community Engagement Coordinator, and Jillian Harvey, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Town Meeting Progress Tracker: See the date each article was voted on and the results of the vote. Find Town Meeting member vote results tab.
Reports are added as they become available
Supplemental ARB Report – adds information regarding Article 12 and provides a recommended vote for Article 13
Links from last spring’s Town Meeting
notes by Christian Klein (10) >>
Special Town Meeting articles updated in the annotated warrant
STM 3: Presentation by Sandy Pooler and Julie Flaherty
See spring Town Meeting dashboard >>
A Special Town Meeting was held Wednesday, May 3, and residents can read the PDF version of that warrant.
For the first time in years, the draft warrant for the annual Town Meeting was available to the public notably early, on Feb. 24, in advance of article hearings. That document has since been updated to the final warrant. Read it here >>
Related documents available online
Remote Participation Study Committee
Robbins Library update on ATM 2019, Article 38
Conservation Commission Water Bodies Report
Fall 2023: Main Town Meeting link at town site >>
Spring 2023: YourArlington’s main 2023 Town Meeting link >>
This extended news announcement was published Oct. 17, 2023, and updated as needed thereafter.
