Select Board Declines To Back Town Charter
Select Board · Meeting of October 5, 2026
Littleton Select Board shelves town charter, lets blighted-property fines law head to voters undecided. The board took no vote on the proposed home-rule charter after Charter Committee Chair Betsy Bowling said her panel had seen town counsel's red-lined draft only hours earlier and had not checked it against existing bylaws. Separately, the board voted 3-1 to let Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Sherrill R.
Gould participate in an October 15 hearing on a Boston Gas/National Grid emergency LNG storage variance despite a disclosed potential conflict. More than a dozen residents debated adopting M.G.L. Chapter 40U, which would let the town attach code-violation fines directly to a property's tax bill; attorney Peter Brown told the board "sometimes they need a hug, sometimes they need a ticket," while resident Chris Lopes called it "an extreme tool of social control." The board also unanimously appointed Mila Veilleux to the Historical Commission.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,121 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of October 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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