Swampscott Town Meeting to discuss town properties

SWAMPSCOTT-Town Meeting members will tackle nine warrant articles, the majority of which deal with the disposition of town owned property, at tonight’s special Town Meeting at 7 p.m. in Swampscott High School.Town Meeting is being asked to act on proposed zoning changes to allow the parcels Town Meeting is being asked to dispose of to be developed. Any article relative to zoning changes or the sale of town owned assets requires a two-thirds majority vote of Town Meeting to pass.Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said the zoning article is being addressed first because without the zoning changes, the parcels could not be developed.Town Meeting members will vote on whether to allow the Board of Selectmen to sell the former Phillips Beach Fire Station at 2 Phillips Ave. and the former senior center, at 89 Burrill St. Town Meeting members are also being asked to authorize the town to sell the former Temple Israel property. In September 2005, Town Meeting members voted in favor of purchasing the 3.5-acre former Temple Israel property and, at that time, there was overwhelming support among town officials and Town Meeting members for retrofitting a portion of the site for use as a police station. But the Town Building Study Committee has recommended selling the parcel to a developer. The committee is recommending not more than 42 housing units should be built on that parcel.The former Middle School on Greenwood Avenue is currently under the management of the Swampscott School District. The sixth article on the warrant asks Town Meeting to allow the school department to turn that property over to the Selectmen and, if passed by a two-thirds majority, would give the Selectmen the authority to sell the property. The Town Building Study Committee is recommending it be used for multi-family housing with a maximum of 41 units.The last article on the warrant is unrelated to surplus properties and was added after 100 registered voters petitioned for its inclusion on the warrant. If passed by Town Meeting the article would allow restaurants in Vinnin Square to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals for a special use permit for a drive-through window.Because Tuesday, Nov. 11 is a holiday, the Board of Selectmen agreed that if Town Meeting is unable to act on all nine warrant articles on Nov. 10 the meeting would be reconvened on Wednesday, Nov. 12.