We're closing in on done tonight.
What has happened in Town Meeting this year? Here are what I think the most important votes were and links to my reports on them.
Here are the things I think you'll be most interested in:
Night 2: We have a HUGE budget problem ($5m starting when the ARPA funds expire); We formed a civilian police advisory group.see: https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/04/town-meeting-night-2-weds-427.html
Night 3: TM loosened and expanded Arlington's 2021 groundbreaking polygamy acceptance rules... https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/05/town-meeting-night-3-monday-may-2.html
Night 4: TM banned sale of plastic non-carbonated water bottles 1 liter and smaller. TM banned the use of facial recognition software by Arlington municipal organizations. TM required the town to notify abutters when overnight work will be done at least 48 hours ahead. https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/05/town-meeting-night-4-thursday-may-4.html
Night 5: TM banned gas leaf blowers, with a phase-out period. https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/05/town-meeting-night-5-monday-may-9.html
Night 9: TM did NOT ban self-serve gas. https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/05/town-meeting-night-9-may-23-monday.html
Night 10: TM required new commercial developments to install solar thermal or electric panels. https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/05/town-meeting-night-10-may-25-z-o-n-i-n.html
Night 11: TM did NOT end Single Family Zoning. This was the Article I put the most work into educating and trying to convince the public and Town Meeting to not support. I was glad we chose to not make us more expensive, less inclusive and less climate resilient! https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/06/town-meeting-night-11-weds-june-1.html
Night 12: TM approved doubling the floor-to-area (FAR) ratio allowed on mixed use buildings, like the ones already built by Stop and Shop. TM reduced the amount of parking future apartment building residents will have from 2, 1.5 or 1.15 cars to 1 spot, regardless of apartment size. https://wfablog.blogspot.com/2022/06/town-meeting-night-12-monday-articles.html
