Acton’s annual Town Meeting takes place on Monday, May 16 and Tuesday, May 17 in the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School auditorium. More information, including comprehensive information on the meeting’s Warrant Articles, is available in the Warrant Booklet
The Green Acton Board of Directors has reviewed the Warrant Articles, and has endorsed the following articles: 41, 42, 43, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, and 56. Details below.
Article 41 Amend Town Charter – Elected Planning Board Members
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 2-1 “Elected Officials” of the Acton Charter by adding the following line to the table in that section:
| NUMBER OF MEMBERS | LENGTH OF TERM (YEARS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Planning Board | 5 | 5 |
And further to amend Section 4-2 “Appointment Powers, Selectmen” of the Charter of the Town of Acton, by deleting the Planning Board from this Section.
Article 42/43 Amend Zoning Bylaw PCRC 9.6.2.3 Number of Dwelling Units
(version 1: #42)
To see if the Town will vote to amend the Acton Zoning Bylaw by:
Adding a new term:
“PCRC TRACT OF LAND : For PCRCs, a PCRC TRACT OF LAND shall be an area of land consisting of a single LOT or of several contiguous LOTS which shall be calculated by subtracting wetlands from the Total TRACT OF LAND.”;
And by changing all uses of the phrase “TRACT OF LAND” in Section 9.6.2.3 Number of DWELLING UNITS, from “TRACT OF LAND” to “PCRC TRACT OF LAND.”
(version 2: #43)
To see if the Town will vote to amend the Acton Zoning Bylaw by:
Adding a new definition to Section 1.3:
“PCRC TRACT OF LAND : For PCRCs, a PCRC TRACT OF LAND shall be an area of land consisting of a single LOT or of several contiguous LOTS which shall be calculated by subtracting wetlands from the Total TRACT OF LAND.”;
And by changing all uses of the phrase “TRACT OF LAND” in Section 9.6.2.3 Number of DWELLING UNITS, from “TRACT OF LAND” to “PCRC TRACT OF LAND.”
Article 48 Polystyrene and Disposable Plastic Reduction (Amend General Bylaws)
More information here.
Article 49 Checkout Bag Minimum Charge (Home Rule Petition)
More information here.
Article 51 Electric Vehicle Charging for Residents of Multi-Family Housing (non-binding resolution)
Text of article here.
Article 52 Economic Feasibility Analysis of Affordable Housing Trust
To see if the Town will raise and appropriate, transfer and/or appropriate from available funds, the sum of $2,500 to pay for a consultant to prepare an economic feasibility analysis to determine the economic feasibility of the Town creating an affordable housing trust for the purposes of rehabilitating existing housing units and making them affordable, or take any other action relative thereto.
Summary: There is a housing crisis in Acton, relative to housing cost. There are people working on bringing a proposal to Town Meeting to ask for Town Meeting voters to approve the establishment of a “housing trust” which would be focused on rehabilitating existing housing and making housing more affordable, healthier, and more climate friendly. To be able to convince voters to vote to establish the trust, an economic feasibility study is required. This expenditure would pay for a professional consultant who has extensive experience working on affordable housing projects to prepare a detailed report for Town Meeting’s consideration in deciding whether to vote to establish an Acton Affordable Housing Rehab trust.
Article 54 Land/Tree Clearing Limits Bylaw (non-binding resolution)
The Select Board should bring land/tree clearing limits bylaw(s) to Town Meeting for Town Meeting to vote on.
Summary: State law allows towns to limit land and/or tree clearing by the use of its bylaws. This article is intended to see if Acton Town Meeting wishes the Select Board to bring such a bylaw or bylaws to Town Meeting to consider and vote on. In bringing such bylaws forward, the Select Board should consider impacts to equity, climate, and water protection.
Article 56 Mobilizing Acton’s Climate Action Plan (non-binding resolution)
Green Acton supports this article, but urges improvements to the Climate Action Plan, including total life cycle analyses of actions, such as clearcutting, and of materials used in construction.
More information here.