Arlington Select Board approves competitive process for two new package store licenses

ARLINGTON — April 13, 2026 — Arlington Select Board sets September 28 hearing for two new all-alcohol package store licenses. The board voted unanimously at its April 13 meeting to authorize a competitive public application process for the two licenses approved by voters at the March 28 town election, setting a September 11 application deadline and hearings for the board's already-scheduled September 28 meeting. Town Manager James Feeney, who designed the framework modeled on a process used roughly 20 years ago, said "significant preliminary interest" had already emerged from prospective applicants. Applicants must hold a signed lease to appear before the board and will be scored against published criteria that now include explicit sign-bylaw compliance language, added at the motion of board member Diane Mahan. Member John Corsi flagged the long-stalled license at 232 Massachusetts Avenue — tied up with both the ABCC and the Zoning Board of Appeals — as a situation the board should resolve before September. In a separate unanimous vote, the board approved the Kelwin Manor Betterment Order, covering private road repairs estimated at $7,500 per home across 198 properties after 75 percent of neighborhood residents backed the binding petition.