Burlington’s next Town Meeting will be held beginning on January 27, 2025, in the BHS Auditorium. There will be no hybrid participation option except for Town Meeting Members with documented medical reasons, but the meeting will be broadcast on BCAT. This article contains the Buzz’s Warrant Article Summary; the proponent of each article is noted in parentheses after its title. You can also find more in-depth articles about some articles in the dedicated Town Meeting section of the Buzz website.

Note that this article summarizes and paraphrases from the official documentation, the Warrant (the list of items up for a vote) and Backup (supporting documentation and justifications) which can be found in the Town Meeting section of the Town Clerk’s website. For clarification, please go there. You can view the proposed FY24 budget for all town departments and 10-year capital plan and the School Department budget, too.

Please reach out to your precinct representatives with questions and input. Not sure what precinct you’re in? Click here for an interactive map. This Warrant Article Summary will be updated after each session to add votes and other pertinent details as Town Meeting progresses.

January 27, 2025, Town Meeting

General Articles

• Article 1 - Reports of Town Officers & Committees - This article allows Town Meeting to hear reports from town officers and committees. Expect to hear from:
  • The Town Meeting Electronic Voting Subcommittee, which has been working overtime to analyze options and pros & cons of electronic voting for Town meeting
  • Economic Development Director, Melisa Tintocalis, regarding the zoning proposals up for debate and vote at Town Meeting
  • The Burlington High School Building Committee on progress of the feasibility process.

Zoning Bylaw Articles

• Article 2 - Amend Article III – Districts by adding Mixed Use Innovation District (MIX) (Planning & Economic Development) Advisory votes: Planning Board 3-4-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, 6-0-0
• Article 3 - Amend Article IV – Use Regulations to Modernize the Use Table (Planning & Economic Development) Advisory votes: Planning Board 3-4-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, 6-0-0
• Article 4 - Amend Article V – Dimensional Requirements by adding Mixed Use Innovation District (MIX) (Planning & Economic Development) Advisory votes: Planning Board 3-4-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, 6-0-0
• Article 5 - Add New Article XIV – Mixed Use Innovation District (Planning & Economic Development) Advisory votes: Planning Board 3-4-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, 6-0-0

Articles 2 through 5 aim to establish a Mixed-Use Innovation zoning district in the Mall Road Area.

The district would allow for commercial and retail uses as well as office, light manufacturing, laboratory, and more. Most importantly, it would add the possibility of multifamily housing to an area that currently has none, in an effort to make the Mall Road corridor a place where all kinds of folks can gather at all times of day, not just during office hours. The town also hopes to establish interconnectivity and walkability in the area, making transportation easier and easing the burden of single-passenger vehicles.

Article 2 adds the district to the Zoning Districts Bylaw. Article 3 adds the district to the Use Table, which is the tabular layout that shows what kinds of uses are allowed in which district. Article 4 adds a column for this district to the density regulation schedule (but the column just refers to the new zoning bylaw article that will be created by the next Article). Article 5 creates a new zoning bylaw article outlining all the details of the Mixed Use Innovation District. This includes definitions, site development requirements, and much more.

• Article 6 - Amend Article III – Burlington Signage Districts (Zoning Bylaw Review Committee) Advisory votes: Planning Board 7-0-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, 6-0-0
• Article 7 - Amend Article XIII - Sign Regulations (Zoning Bylaw Review Committee) Advisory votes: Planning Board 7-0-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, 6-0-0

Articles 6 and 7 would establish signage districts with clear guidelines for businesses and common definitions, as well as a district specifically for the Town Center.

The Zoning Bylaw Review Committee's Sign Subcommittee has been working for years to establish clearer signage guidelines for businesses to reference, and they recently received funds via a Town Meeting Warrant Article and a grant to hire a consultant to help them put together these sign bylaws. The bylaws establish signage districts as well as official definitions for commonly used terms. They also establish a Town Center Signage District with distinct rules for businesses in the Town Center to follow. Existing businesses wouldn't need to comply immediately, but new businesses coming in would be subject to the new regulations.

• Article 8 - Middle Housing Overlay District (Planning Department) - This would add an additional overlay to the Town Center, permitting mixed-use development, which might include commercial space on the ground floor with residential above with design guidelines to be followed. This is a continuation of the attempt to revitalize the Town Center and aims to make mixed-use development more attractive to developers and make the Town Center more accessible, connected, and cohesive. (Read more about this in Buzz Magazine: Winter Edition, Page 6.) Advisory votes: Planning Board 7-0-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, 5-0-1
• Article 9 - Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) Bylaw Amendment (Planning Department) - This bylaw would update the local regulations on Accessory Dwelling Units in response to a state law that goes into effect in early February. One part of The Affordable Homes Act, signed into law by Governor Healy last August, allows for ADUs by right (without having to go through a special permit process) in single-family zoning districts across the state. The town Planning Department has been at work updating the regulations that govern Accessory Dwelling Units, working within the limits of state law to create something they believe will benefit the town. Advisory votes: Planning Board 7-0-0, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee vote will take place 1/27/2025, at 4:00 PM.
  • What the state law regulates: The total size of ADUs can't be more than 900 square feet or half the size of the principal dwelling; it also can't have more than two bedrooms or be used as a short-term rental. Other design restrictions are in place as well, such as entrance and driveway placement.
  • What the local government isn't allowed to regulate: Whether or not the unit is attached to the main residence or detached; owner occupancy.
  • Some regulations the town is proposing: Only one ADU per lot; stairways to the second unit must be enclosed; accessibility via a path or walkway; one off-street parking space for homes over a half-mile from public transit.
• Article 10 - Establishment of a Retail Marijuana Retail Overlay - WITHDRAWN

Financial Articles

• Article 11 - Authorize 5 Year Contract for Technology Cyber Security Infrastructure ($0, Town Finance) - Town Meeting must authorize contracts longer than three years; they recently did this with the school district's bus contract. This article doesn't enter the town into a contract, but it does authorize the town to enter into a five-year project. A longer contract, says the Finance Team's Memo, "will ensure that the Town can continue to maintain and upgrade its critical infrastructure efficiently." Advisory votes: Ways & Means 13-0-0
• Article 12 - Transfer from Free Cash to Water Stabilization Fund ($1,767,862, Town Finance) - This fund was set up to pay costs associated with the town's connection to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) through Lexington, a project that is near completion but requires ongoing funding to maintain. The mechanism for getting the money from Burlington's local receipts applied to the MWRA connection involves several steps; this intermediate step involves transferring nearly $2 million in funding that was certified to Free Cash into the stabilization fund so it can be used to pay for expenses. Advisory votes: Ways & Means 13-0-0
• Article 13 - Transfer from Free Cash to Ways and Means Reserve Fund ($100,000, Town Finance) - This housekeeping article transfers $100,000 to the Reserve Fund to bring the balance up to $300,000. The fund is budgeted at $200,000 each May, and when Free Cash is certified the balance is brought back up to $300,000. Since no funds were used from this account, a flat $100,000 is needed. This fund, in case you were wondering is there to avoid having to call a special Town Meeting in the case of a financial emergency. In the past, says Ways & Means Chair, Doug Davison, it's been used to repair an elevator and to repair power on the Town Common. Advisory votes: Ways & Means 13-0-0
• Article 14 - Authorize Transportation Infrastructure Funds ($34,093, Town Finance) - Each ride share initiated in Burlington brings in 10₵ for the town; this article allows us to use these funds to offset the costs of the town's subsidized ride share program. Advisory votes: Ways & Means 13-0-0
• Article 15 - Tax Abatement Defense Fund ($250,000, Town Finance) - This fund is to enable the town to address potential disputes regarding property value assessments, and if approved the available funds would increase to $390,000. Advisory votes: Ways & Means 13-0-0
• Article 16 - Transfer from Free Cash to Previously Approved Capital Project Funds ($14,800,000, Town Finance) - Burlington has some high-dollar building projects coming up, and the two biggest are expected to set the town back more than a hundred million dollars. This Article would have the town paying for a portion of four different capital projects from Free Cash, decreasing the amount the town will have to borrow for building and preserving the town's financial health and credit rating. Advisory votes: Ways & Means 13-0-0
  • $1.3 million for renovation of Outlook Park, the remaining cost after a $1 million Land & Water Conservation Fund Grant
  • $3.5 million for Roads, Parking Lots and Sidewalks
  • $5 million for the $46-million Police Station Building Project
  • $5 million for the $100-million Fox Hill Building Project ($30-35 million of which is expected to be offset by state reimbursements or energy rebates)

General Bylaw Articles

• Article 17 - Rescind Prohibition on Marijuana Establishments (Town Meeting Member Alex Rutfield, on behalf of resident Will Seagaard) - This bylaw would reverse a 2017 Town Meeting decision to prohibit recreational marijuana sales in Burlington. This is the companion to Article 10, which would establish a zone in which these retail establishments would be allowed to be located. With Article 10 being pulled, and the Select Board discussing a ballot measure to gauge public sentiment about the proposal, the future of this article is unclear. However, proponent Will Seagaard, who is sponsored by Town Meeting Member Alex Rutfield in putting this article forward, says will be leaving it on the Warrant so Town Meeting can discuss it. Advisory votes: General Bylaw Review Committee 5-0 No Opinion
• Article 18 - Amend Article IV section 8 – Animal Control Officer (Police Department) - This article would officially move the role of Animal Control Officer under the purview of the Police Department. This has been the de facto arrangement since the late 80s, while the town's bylaws still consider the Animal Control Department to be a principal department of the town. The new bylaw would also remove the clause that the Animal Control Officer(s) must be Burlington residents, expanding the pool of potential Officers.
• Advisory votes: General Bylaw Review Committee 5-0-0
• Article 19 - Amend Article 5, Section 2.6 of the General Laws regarding the Land Use Committee (Land Use Committee) - This revision to the bylaws seeks to expand the scope of the Land Use Committee beyond what is stated in the current bylaw, acknowledging and codifying the work of the Committee in recent years as an advisory group to many town committees and initiatives. Advisory votes: General Bylaw Review Committee 0-5-0