Arlington Town Meeting Votes To Establish Roots For Tree Committee

The article was voted on during the event's first night.

Benjamin Pierce, Patch Staff

Posted Tue, Apr 28, 2026 at 5:34 pm ET

ARLINGTON, MA — Town Meeting members voted to establish official rules and procedures for the Arlington Tree Committee during the opening night of the annual procedure on Monday.

Committee member Steven Moore took to the podium to present Article 14, saying that it aims to formalize the structure, focus on the long-term perspective, and reflect commitment of the town to the group and its purpose.

“It had been created in sort of an odd, haphazard, and repetitive way. After speaking with town counsel about this, they suggested that committees that show longevity, commitment, and long-term relevance and requirement to help the town out need to be established in a more formal manner,” Moore said. “The whole point of this article is to put the Tree Committee there.”

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Prior to the vote, one resident suggested changing the language of the official motion to say that the ATC will partner with the Tree Warden as opposed to “support.” She argued that the word choice was too vague and did not give the ATC enough authority. However, former Tree Committee member Susan Stamps responded by saying that the ATC does not have equal authority to the Tree Warden and that the language should not be changed. Fellow voters ultimately agreed with her as the amendment to change the verbiage failed by a vote of only 45 in favor against 152 opposed. The actual vote on the Article itself passed nearly unanimously with only one person voting “No.”

Arlington’s Tree Committee was established in 2003 with the purpose of overseeing tree preservation on public and private land. After a brief hiatus, the Select Board re-established the group in 2010.