Barre Town Meeting Fails to Pass Marijuana Zoning Bylaw by One Vote

BARRE -- December 11, 2018, Barre special Town Meeting approves marijuana sales tax and moratorium extension but fails to adopt zoning bylaw by a single vote. Meeting on December 11 at Ruggles Lane School Auditorium, with 115 residents present, passed a 3 percent local marijuana sales tax under MGL Chapter 64N Section 3 and extended the existing moratorium on recreational marijuana establishments through June 30, 2019, by a vote of 79 to 4. The companion marijuana zoning bylaw, Article 11, fell one vote short of the required two-thirds supermajority at 55 to 28, and a companion licensing bylaw was tabled 85 to 19 after residents raised concerns about unannounced inspection provisions and police questions over whether mandatory video-access clauses could complicate court admissibility. Town Meeting also unanimously authorized borrowing $500,000 for a new fire engine to replace Engine 4, whose manufacturer support is expiring, and transferred $6,000 from the Stabilization Fund as the first payment in a five-year, $25,000 Taser replacement plan for the police department.