Oct. 19 Arlington Special Town Meeting Results

ARLINGTON, MA — Town meeting members met at the Arlington Town Hall Wednesday evening to take up a series of articles involving hot-button issues such as the expansion of the Thompson School, a buffer zone for a Medical Marijuana facility and a vacancy registry for open storefronts in Arlington Center. Here's a rundown of how Town Meeting members voted on the important issues.

Thompson School expansion

Town meeting members voted 193-5 in favor of Article 3, which approved the expansion of the Thompson School.

Appropriation of CPA Funding for preservation of Jason Russell House

Article 4 allowing Town Meeting members to appropriate $35,000 from the Community Preservation Fund for preservation work and engineering assessment of building conditions at the Jason Russell House was approved by a count of 186 in favor and eight opposed.

Vacant storefront registry

Town Meeting members approved Article 6, which amends the town bylaws to establish a vacant commercial property registry, requiring property owners with vacancies to register the property with the town and meet maintenance and security requirements. The article passed by a vote of 136-57.

Use of parking meter revenue without appropriation

Town meeting members voted to approve the payment for the acquisition or installation of new parking meters with revenue received from the use of the meters. The article passed by a vote of 156-25 with one abstaining.

Local speed limits and safety zones

Town meeting members voted to allow the town to establish 25 miles per hour speed limits in dense areas of town without requiring authority from the Commonwealth. Article 8 was approved by a vote of 157-19 with one abstaining.

Article 9, which allows the town to establish designated safety zones with 20 miles per hour speed limits without requiring authority from the Commonwealth was approved by a vote of 151-19.

Buffer zone for Medical Marijuana Facility

Arlington Town Meeting voted no action on an article that would create a 1,000-foot buffer between dispensaries and schools or state-licensed child care centers.

You can watch the video of Town Meeting below.

Patch will update this story.

Image via Arlington Community Media Video Screenshot