Swampscott held the second and final night of the spring 2025 Town Meeting on Tuesday, during which voters acted on 13 articles. Here’s a summary of the outcomes. 

Article No. 16

This article proposed reallocating previously approved capital funds for the design and potential renovations of 89 Burrill Street. 

“Currently there’s no scope or plan or schedule for the necessary renovations at the VFW building,” said Erik Schneider, a Finance Committee member. 

The Finance Committee supported the article now, citing concerns in delays with development and design could “jeopardize” the town’s agreement with nonprofit developer B’nai B’rith. 

The Capital Improvement Committee opposed the article because of a “lack of clear long term view,” according to Chair Ryan Hale. He acknowledged the project was needed but recommended postponing it

After much discussion –  which included a Town Meeting Member who is a veteran saying that “elderly veterans need somewhere to go” – the proposal was passed.

Article No. 17

Article No. 17 passed unanimously to appropriate $8,626,292 for a variety of capital projects. Sources of funding for the projects are from the general fund, water fund, sewer fund, free cash, federal and state grants as well as tax credit from the Inflation Reduction Act. 

“We are trying to pick up the headlights and look out a number of years,” Hale said. “We have significant infrastructure needs in the coming years in this community. We have a desire to increase our top line and revenue by making smart developments in town. All of those things are going to require significant capital investment that is going to put a strain on our debt service and our operating budget. So, this coming year is a relatively light amount of spending when you compare it to future years.”

Article No. 18

Article No. was passed to create a Community Preservation Committee, as required through the Community Preservation Act which was adopted by Swampscott in 2024.

The committee is meant to consist of nine residents of Swampscott, consisting of voting members from the Conservation Commission, Historic Commission, Planning Board, Swampscott Housing Authority, Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Open Space and Recreation Commission, Capital Improvement Committee, and the Finance Committee.

Article No. 19

Article No. 19 was passed to amend the town’s bylaw language in the Earth Removal Advisory Committee. The committee will now consist of three Select Board members instead of two. 

Planning Board Chair Ted Dooley said his board requested the change because “in the four years that I’ve been on the committee, we haven’t had a private development that’s triggered” the need for an Earth removal permit. 

Article No. 20

Article No. 20 was not discussed on Tuesday night. The proposal was around land use, specifically enforcing town-issued permits for Swampscott parks and fields. 

The Select Board agreed at a meeting earlier in May that it would still work to help the resident that raised the issue. 

Article No. 21

The town voted to establish a biannual Town Meeting. 

“In prior years, we’ve always had a fall Town Meeting. It’s become a normal course for us,” said Select Board Chair Katie Phelan. 

Town Clerk Jared LaLiberte said he is not certain how many towns in Massachusetts hold biannual meetings. However, he told the Swampscott Tides he consulted with at least three towns in preparation for the article.

Since 2020, Swampscott has held 11 special Town Meetings alongside the five annual ones.  

The new fall Town Meeting will be held annually on the first Monday evening in December.

Article No. 22

Town Meeting Members rejected a proposed article that would have required write-in candidates to receive at least five votes to be elected. 

“There are some precincts which one or two write-in votes make them eligible for Town Meeting membership,” said Select Board Chair Katie Phelan. “Those potential Town Meeting Members do not always know they’re being written in, and therefore do not always want to participate in the democratic process that we all are participating in tonight.”

Several Town Meeting Members questioned whether the proposed article was fair.

Article No. 23

Article No. 23 passed to add a new bylaw to prohibit discharges of any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer. 

Interim Town Administrator Gino Cresta said the article will now allow for more enforcement. The Public Works Department does currently inspect the systems when someone transfers their home as part of the final read.

“We’re not trying to be punitive,” Cresta said. “We send all of the waste water over to Lynn, and we pay per gallon. There’s no need to treat clean water.”

Article No. 24

Article No. 24 was also skipped.

Article No. 25

Article No. 25 passed unanimously to amend a zoning bylaw on accessory dwelling units 

(ADU) to reflect updates to the state law. The changes prohibit short-term rental of the ADUs of less than 30 consecutive days. A Town Meeting Member had tried to raise the limit to 120 days, but state statute would not allow for that. 

The article also eliminates all off-street parking requirements for ADUs that are located within half a mile of a transit station. There’s about 18 addresses in Swampscott that are not within that distance.

Since 2023, six ADUs have been constructed.

Article No. 26

Article No. 26 also passed unanimously to adopt the 2025 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance map as well as change the language in the bylaw centered around flood plain and wetland protection.

Article No. 27

Article No. 27 passed after a long discussion on special permits for additions or new buildings. The update will change the “trigger requirements” for someone to have to face the Planning Board. Now, new addition construction that is more than 500 square feet will have to come before the board. Any new construction in the floodplain area overlay district, regardless of size, will also have to go in front of the board. 

There was a motion to make the proposal more proportional to account for the variety of housing sizes in Swampscott, but the suggestion was not passed.

Article No. 28

The last article failed. It was a citizen’s petition to amend the town’s bylaws to limit fees charged for public record requests.

School Committee Chair Glenn Paster said the school district would not be able to take on the fees.

“There are some times there are some very onerous requests,” Paster said. “Some of the things people may ask of us from a FOIA may be thousands of pages.”

Finance Chair Eric Hartmann added that a fee structure may be able to help with transparency.

Public record requests are currently submitted through the town clerk’s office, and there is a charge for the reproduction of records at $0.05 per photocopied page. There is also a $25 fee for a floppy disc or CD.

Director of Finance and Administration Amy Sarro said that the town has already received 230 public record requests for fiscal year 2025. Among those, 13 requests had to go to legal counsel, costing the town over $27,000 in legal costs to review “these very few” requests. The town received $1,637.50 in fees from these.