SOUTH HADLEY — This year’s special Town Meeting, which will be held Monday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m., at South Hadley High School. features 11 articles on the warrant, including six on zoning.
According to the town, you can find the warrant and background information for each article at southhadley.org.
The first article includes reports from town officers, boards and committees.
Article 2 is to see if the town will approve transferring $15,600 from health expenses to health personnel, $10,000 from town accountant personnel to town accountant expenses and $75,000 from human resources personnel to police personnel.
Town Administrator Lisa Wong said this is not additional spending but a reallocation from expenses to personnel, or from personnel to expenses.
Article 3 seeks to amend the bylaw about public speaking during Town Meeting. According to the town’s bylaws, only voting members may address any annual or special Town Meeting. Others may speak to articles at the discretion of the town moderator or upon a majority vote of the voting members.
The article asks the town moderator to publish the procedure and criteria for allowing non-Town Meeting members to speak at Town Meeting to residents 30 days before the Town Meeting.
Article 4 seeks approval to allow the town and/or School Department to install and operate a school bus violation detection monitoring system on a school bus to enforce violations.
Article 5 looks to amend the town’s food truck bylaw by striking the language stating that a food truck cannot stay more than 14 days per calendar month at any one location.
Article 6 amends the sign bylaw in Chapter 255-85 Signs to add fines for violations, up to $300. The Planning Board hosted a public hearing on the proposed amendment on Oct. 5.
The annual Town Meeting amended the zoning sign bylaw, Chapter 255-85 Signs, on May 13. During the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office review of the adopted bylaw, the Office disapproved subsection G on fines and enforcement because it conflicted with state law. The town cannot impose a fine greater than $300 for zoning bylaw violations under the non-criminal disposition procedure as provided for in the bylaw.
The proposed amendment recommends changing the fine structure for third and fourth offenses to a maximum of $200 and $300, respectively.
Article 7 is another article amendment to allow a special permit granted for use to be transferable upon approval of the Special Permit Granting Authority. The Planning Board held a public hearing on this proposed amendment on Oct. 5 and explained that it would allow a special permit granted for use to be transferred to another entity with the Special Permit Granting Authority’s approval.
Currently, special permits are not transferable, so a new owner of a business permitted through a special permit must apply for a new special permit from the Planning Board to operate the business.
Article 8 is a zoning amendment at 129 College St. The Planning Board hosted a public hearing on the proposed amendment on Sept. 28. The amendment looks to change the zoning at 129 College St. from Residence A-1 to Business B.
Property owner Priscilla Ryan stated that the property has supported professional office use since variances were issued in 1976 and 1977, including authorization to renovate and then replace the original law office building with offices and two second-floor apartments, followed by a 1993 special permit converting the apartments to professional office space.
She said her proposal would align the zoning map with the property’s long-standing established use, support balanced growth and economic development, and avoid continued reliance on the non-transferable special permit that applies to the second-floor office space.
Article 9 is an agricultural use bylaw that looks to replace, repeal and amend multiple sections dealing with agricultural uses. A comprehensive review of the zoning bylaw regarding agricultural uses has been underway since 2024 and has evolved from an analysis report identifying issues and conflicts, Planning Board review, an advisory committee review, a public listening session, a public hearing and extensive public comment. The Planning Board held public hearings on the proposed bylaw change on Sept. 14 and 28.
Articles 10 and 11 are citizen petitions. Article 10 addresses the recall of elected officials and lays out steps for qualified voters to recall and remove any holder of an elected office in town. If approved, 50 voters must initiate a recall petition by filing an affidavit and grounds for the recall with the town clerk.
If the petition has enough valid signatures, the town clerk will submit it to the Selectboard. If the officer does not resign within five business days of receiving the notice, the Selectboard will order a special election.
Article 11 looks to amend South Hadley Public Schools’ fiscal year 2027 appropriation by increasing their local operating budget by $148,835 to reflect additional Chapter 70 education aid received from the state.
The school budget was adopted during the May 2026 annual Town Meeting, and to meet this appropriation, the transfer will come from available funds, including FY26 Certified Free Cash or the General Fund.
