Should Massachusetts Towns Have A Cap on How Many Liquor Licenses They Can Give?

Earlier this week, the Board of Selectmen unanimously opposed granting a limited liquor license to Hannaford first discussed a week earlier.

Various members of the board citing Chelmsford Police Chief James Murphy's concerns as well as a perceived lack of a public of a public need due to the proximity of other stores nearby that hold licenses, like Drum Hill Liquors.

That being said, today our question focuses on another specific portion of this debate and all requests for permanent local liquor licenses in the Commonwealth: how many licenses a town is able to give.

If license quotas were the largest factor in a licensing, would the lack of a quote significantly change how Selectmen grant licenses? Would "organic" quotas arise? Or are the quotas not the most significant factor now when it comes to granting licenses?

What do you think? Tell us in the comments.