The newly adopted noise control bylaw drew much attention during the discussion, with members of the community and the board raising questions about the scope and necessity of the regulation. The bylaw, which aims to address noise concerns in the town, includes provisions for emergency situations and sets forth commercial trash collection hours. Notably, some community members expressed worries about the bylaw’s impact on residential dumpster collections and voiced fears that it could inadvertently lead to restrictions on other activities, such as gun usage, due to noise issues. Despite reservations and a call for careful review, the bylaw was ultimately passed after a vote, with an agreement on the need for further consideration before any additional action.

Simultaneously, proposed changes to the town’s outdoor lighting bylaws commanded the board’s attention. The revisions strive to unify the separate bylaws for private and public lighting into one comprehensive regulation. Aiming to reduce glare, light trespass, and sky glow, while saving energy, the new bylaw sets limits on the color temperature of lighting to mitigate harsh blue light and its potential health effects. Future building projects will now be required to provide details on any outdoor lighting as part of the building permit application process, and diagrams will be used to illustrate compliant lighting types.

However, concerns were voiced over the proposed color temperature restrictions and the impact on properties that currently violate existing bylaw requirements, such as those stipulating that light sources should not be directly visible beyond property lines. The discussion also touched upon the treatment of historic lighting in historic districts and the adaptation of existing businesses to the new regulations. In response, it was clarified that the changes would only apply to new or replaced lighting and that existing installations in compliance with the current bylaw would not be affected.

Beyond these hot-button topics, the board moved through a series of other articles with less controversy. The appropriation of funds for the town’s Community Access media, the 300th-anniversary celebration planning, and the assessors’ periodic inspections program were all approved without debate. Additionally, an amendment to align the Council on Aging’s terms of office with current practice and an amendment to the fees for the Scenic Road bylaw were both passed smoothly.

The board also tackled Article 17, focusing on correcting typographical errors in the town’s affordable housing trust bylaw. This correction was necessary to clarify references within the bylaw and prepare it for publication on the ecode website after approval from the Attorney General’s office. Article 18 involved amendments to the regulation of accessory apartments in residential districts, with the planning board’s report recommending adoption and clarification that existing apartments would be grandfathered under the existing bylaw. Article 19 proposed removing the planning board application filing fee for large-scale ground-mounted solar installations from the bylaw, allowing for fee changes through an amended fee schedule, which the planning board unanimously recommended.

Lastly, Article 20 concerning the deletion of outdoor lighting provisions from the zoning bylaw was brought into question. Due to the previous voting down of a related article, the board agreed to take no action on this article.