Town Counsel Jason Talerman answers a question about the town’s accessory dwelling unit bylaw at the May 13 Town Meeting.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow voters considered several bylaw amendments, changes to the town charter and citizen petition articles at the spring Town Meeting on May 13. Most articles, including the town’s $87.38 million budget for fiscal year 2026, were passed without much comment, but several bylaw changes prompted debate.
The first citizen’s petition article asked voters to change the town’s bylaw regarding commercial vehicles parked in residential driveways.
Presenting the article, resident Jesse Cummings said the change would allow one commercial vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of less than 12,000 pounds to be parked overnight. Vehicles “wrapped” in advertisements would not be allowed. Instead, he said the lettering on a vehicle should be “extremely minimal” and limited to the business name, logo and identifying information. He displayed photos of the types of vehicles that would be allowed, such as pickup trucks, transit vans and sedans. Box trucks, flat beds and dual rear wheeled vehicles would remain prohibited.
Resident Kurt Friedman spoke against the article, citing environmental and noise pollution from diesel trucks. Another resident said people “should have known better” than to move to Longmeadow if they have work vehicles. However, several other residents spoke in support of the change. Select Board member Josh Levine said the town spends an “inordinate” amount of time enforcing the bylaw, which he said, “inconveniences out residents.” Others said that allowing a work vehicle at home makes starting a business easier as people do not need a separate vehicle, and that it encourages tradespeople to live in town. The article passed with the needed two-thirds majority.
Dave Hart, who had served on the town’s Municipal Fiber Task Force, attempted to amend an article to change the town’s charter, allowing the Select Board to serve as the Municipal Light Board and choose whether to appoint a board thereafter. The body would oversee the operation of the town’s fiber internet utility. Hart said the Select Board should be required to appoint an independent Municipal Light Board.
Select Board Chair Vineeth Hemavathi said the general feeling of the board members is that they would rather the Municipal Light Board be independent, but the article was written to provide the most flexibility to work with the state’s timeline to consider the charter’s change. The amendment failed, but the article passed.
Another article requiring state approval was the repeal of a 1985 special act implementing non-partisan preliminary elections for races with more than two candidates per seat. Preliminaries have only been required seven times since they were adopted, but Hemavathi said the requirement of 45 days between the preliminary and general town elections creates challenges for the town clerk, who must have ballots printed in a short amount of time. He also pointed out that elections cost about $10,000 each. “It seemed like a lot of extra money and extra work” only to have another election a month later, he said.
One person asked about extending the time between the elections, but Town Manager Lyn Simmons explained that the number of days was set in the 1985 special act.
A resident asked if the town had considered ranked choice voting, in which voters list first, second third, etc., choices for each seat and if a candidate does meet a threshold, their vote goes to the resident’s next pick. Hemavathi said it had not been discussed in relation to the article.
Planning Board member Bruce Colton questioned whether the town would revert to the partisan primaries that it used before the preliminaries were implemented. Town Moderator Rebecca Townsend said the system would not revert. Colton also wondered why those preliminaries did not lead to similar problems in terms of ballot printing. Simmons said those ballots were counted by hand, whereas today’s elections use automated ballot machines.
One commenter who worked the polls in the May 6 preliminary, said few people vote in them and back-to-back elections create “voter fatigue.” A different person predicted that more people would run for office without the preliminaries in place, reducing the number of votes for each candidate. The article passed.
With the passage of the state’s Affordable Homes Act in summer 2024, municipalities are required to allow accessory dwelling units, such as in-law apartments or tiny homes. Cities and towns can pass bylaws with reasonable restrictions, however. Among other things, the bylaw on the warrant limited the size of the units to 900 square feet, prohibited their use as short-term rentals and required the units to be architecturally compatible with the primary dwelling.
Finance Committee Chair Erica Weida asked who determines what is compatible. Town Counsel Jason Talerman said that rather than there being criteria for the restriction, it is designed to generate a conversation during the Site Plan Review process.
The bylaw also states that units within walking distance of a public transit station are not required to have a dedicated off-street parking space. Someone asked if a bus stop was a “public transit station.” Talerman said the state had revised its position several times and the town was told the day before Town Meeting that permanent bus stops would exempt units from the parking space requirement.
Colton urged approval of the article as it provides Longmeadow with “the most control” allowed by law. The bylaw passed.
A different bylaw change, which would have brought the town’s flood plain zoning in line with state legislation, failed to meet the required two-thirds majority. Speaking on behalf of himself and neighbors living in the flood plain, a resident said they are already subject to enough restrictions.
Friedman presented the remaining four citizen petition articles. Two articles would have amended the town’s bylaw regarding unnecessary noise to restrict the times of day that people in residential zones can start diesel-powered trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 6,000 pounds or run power equipment, such as lawn mowers and snowblowers. There were carveouts for snowstorms and utility emergencies.
One resident said the language was too vague, with no definition of a “truck” or decibel level specified, while someone else said it discriminated against people who work odd hours. “I feel like this is an interpersonal issue between neighbors” and should be handled as such, another person said. Their comments were met with applause. The articles did not pass.
The last two articles would have allowed ground-mounted thermal panels to be placed in front and side yards. Voters disapproved of allowing panels as tall as 7 feet and said the limited distance of 13 inches from a home’s foundation meant animals or children could become trapped between the structures. The articles were voted down.
