Select Board debates allowing 'assembly halls' by right across commercial zones; member urges caution

The Select Board and planning-board presenters discussed Article 50, which adds an 'assembly hall' definition to the zoning bylaws. Amy Peretsky said the definition was first drafted for the White Cliffs hospitality overlay and that the planning board later proposed allowing the use townwide in commercial districts (with a special permit in Business East).

Members expressed concern that allowing assembly halls by right could permit large-scale banquet or wedding venues in unexpected locations. One board member warned, "When I looked up assembly hall, Mechanics Hall in Worcester came up as an example," adding that the change could allow a large reuse where the community had not intended one. Carter Brennan (identified in the transcript by name) had dissented at the planning-board level and was quoted in the Select Board discussion raising the risk that future readers could assume residential areas were excluded and thereby constrict private gatherings.

The planning board had voted 4–1 to forward the article. Several Select Board members said they could support the underlying intent (clarifying use in commercial districts) but remained uneasy about treating assembly halls as a primary use townwide rather than as accessory uses in some cases. The board did not remove the article from the warrant at the Select Board meeting; presenters said the planning board and staff could revisit the language before town meeting if members seek clearer distinctions between accessory and primary uses or explicit size/scale limits.

Next steps: the article remains on the warrant for town meeting with potential edits to be considered by the planning board ahead of the public vote.