The first night of our 2010 Annual Town Meeting was held last night and about one third of the articles were called for discussion. The meeting ran for four hours and will reconvene tonight at 6:00 PM. Among the articles approved were Article 30, establishing a local procurement study committee which will study means for having qualified local companies participate in local projects and Articles 31 and 40, adding properties to the sewer districts and defining the fee structure and changing the Sewer District Map. Of the articles that did not garner enough support to pass, two dealt with changing zoning in the Old Historic Districts to require a 20 foot lot line setback for swimming pools greater than 1,000 gallons. Currently, there are no regulations, other than approval by the Historic District Commission, for building a pool in these densely populated neighborhoods. Both of the articles failed to garner the necessary 2/3 vote to pass. This will surely be back for consideration at a future town meeting. Two by-law amendments failed that dealt with managing brush on the side of our public roads in order to improve safety. And Article 37, a by-law amendment that would require all riders of bicycles to ride on a bike path if one is available next to a public right of way, did not pass as it was deemed unenforceable.
Tonight’s meeting will begin with Articles 50 and 51, the last of the Zoning Articles and then head into the Home Rule Petitions. One that we are watching closely is Article 66 which seeks to extend the Room Occupancy Tax from hotels and inns to the rental of private homes. Article 68 has also generated considerable discussion on Nantucket; it seeks to regulate the use of fertilizer on the island in order to better protect the ground water and our harbors.