Marissa VogtNov 22, 2024

Night 3 (the final night? 🤞) of
#BrooklineTownMeeting
is underway!

We're starting with Warrant Article 17, a home rule petition asking the state legislature to allow the town to disqualify bidders or vendors who design or manufacture nuclear weapons.

Show threadMarissa VogtNov 22, 2024

WA 17 failed, 93-131-20. I voted yes because I think it would have been a relatively easy but meaningful way to support nuclear disarmament & I'm disappointed that Town Meeting chose not to support even this modest effort to stop our progress toward nuclear midnight.

WA 18 passed overwhelmingly -- a home rule petition asking for permission to prohibit second generation anticoagulant rodenticides on private property because SGARs pose a risk to hawks, owls, foxes, and other rodent predators.

Show threadMarissa VogtNov 22, 2024
WA 16 passed, 184-41-18. This article will significantly expand our current tree preservation bylaw (which I voted to support!) to apply to basically all trees on private residential property. While I love trees, this feels like a significant overreach, and I voted no. I support strongly protecting trees on/near public property because there's a more clear public benefit of those trees.
Show threadMarissa Vogt
It's frustrating that Town Meeting is more concerned with protecting trees than for building housing & sustainable transit infrastructure. Even mature trees only absorb the equivalent carbon produced of ~60 miles of driving for a typical car, so from a climate perspective it would be far more impactful for the town to significantly increase housing density and affordability in our walkable, transit-rich neighborhoods.
Nov 22, 2024 at 2:31amWeb
Show threadMarissa VogtNov 22, 2024
It's also frustrating to hear that enforcing this bylaw is expected to cost the town ~$275k/year to protect trees on private property -- that money could be much better spent on street trees or on the town's program of planting trees on private property near the public way.
Show threadMarissa VogtNov 22, 2024

WA 15, which makes changes to the ADU zoning bylaws so that we will be in compliance with the Affordable Homes Act, passed overwhelmingly, 237-1-5.

WA 19, a resolution asking the town to observe Jewish-American heritage month, passed unanimously.

WA 20, the ceasefire resolution, was tabled by a vote of 176-48-10. As I did in the spring, I voted "no" to table because I believe that petitioners should be given the opportunity to present their article to Town Meeting.