2026-12-07 - Special Town Meeting

Summary

Built from the signed warrant and board agendas; no minutes or video recorded yet.

• Fall Special Town Meeting, Monday Dec 7, 2026, 7 PM, Oak Middle School auditorium.
• Six-article warrant signed Oct 27 (2026-10-27 - Select Board Meeting): police deputy chief and captains out of civil service, rescind the age-32 hiring cap, drone facility zoning (new Section Z), data center zoning (new Section AA), 15 Maple Avenue transfer to the Select Board, and a Community Preservation appropriation for tree planting.
• Planning Board hearing #1 on Articles 3 and 4 was Nov 5 (2026-11-05 - Planning Board); Select Board review Nov 10 (2026-11-10 - Select Board) and recommendations Nov 24 (2026-11-24 - Select Board); Finance Committee hearing Nov 19 (Finance Committee Public Hearing); memorandum to Town Meeting members Nov 20.

Agenda

Monday, December 7, 2026, 7 PM. Shrewsbury uses a Representative Town Meeting (240 members, 10 precincts).

The warrant (signed Oct 27) is at https://shrewsburyma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21850. The Select Board reviewed a five-article draft on Oct 13, 2026 (2026-10-13 - Select Board) and signed the final six-article warrant on Oct 27 (2026-10-27 - Select Board Meeting); the Oct 22 signing reported earlier did not happen on that date (Select Board Meeting - October 22, 2026). The Planning Board held its first public hearing on the zoning articles Thursday, Nov 5; the Finance Committee hearing is Nov 19 (Finance Committee Public Hearing - November 19, 2026). On Sept 22, 2026 the Select Board voted to set the meeting for 7 p.m. at the Oak Middle School auditorium (2026-09-22 - Select Board); dates cited there were Oct 22 (warrant signing), Nov 10 (article presentations and recommendations), Nov 19 (Finance Committee hearing) and Nov 20 (packets issued to Town Meeting members), with Oct 20 named as the citizen petition deadline. The draft is subject to change, and citizen petitions were due "next Wednesday" per the Oct 13 meeting (earlier notes said Oct 20; unresolved).

Citizen guide: Special Town Meeting, December 7, 2026

At a glance

• When/where: Monday, Dec 7, 2026, 7 PM, Oak Middle School auditorium, 45 Oak St. Representative Town Meeting (240 members, 10 precincts); the members vote.
• Kind of meeting: a short fall special town meeting. Only Article 6 involves money, and the warrant states no dollar amount for it. The town manager's office earlier advised against financial articles because of tax rate timing (2026-10-05 - Community Preservation Committee); Article 6 uses Community Preservation funds only (the Select Board limited it to CPA funds on Oct 27).
• Likely most discussed: the drone facility zoning article, given regional attention on Amazon Prime Air Drone Delivery, and the data center bylaw (the board asked staff to consider a cap lower than 10 MW).

How the night works

Articles are taken in order. Dates: Select Board article presentations and recommendations Nov 24 (also on the Nov 10 agenda as a warrant review), Finance Committee public hearing Nov 19, memorandum to members Nov 20. Planning Board hearing #1 on the zoning articles was Nov 5; its report and recommendation are not recorded yet. Vote thresholds are not stated in the warrant summary we have. Inferred general rule, to confirm: zoning bylaw changes need a two-thirds vote under state law; home-rule petitions and the land transfer are normally a majority and two-thirds respectively (unconfirmed).

The articles in plain language

• Article 1, home-rule petition: asks the Legislature to exempt the Deputy Chief of Police and Police Captains from Civil Service (Ch. 31). Superior officers union supports it. See Police Civil Service Exemption Article.
• Article 2, hiring age: rescinds the age-32 maximum for original appointment of firefighters and police (Ch. 31 sec. 58A). See Public Safety Hiring Age Article.
• Article 3, zoning: new Section Z, Aviation Facilities and Unmanned Aerial Systems. Regulates land use for drone facilities, not flight. See Amazon Prime Air Drone Delivery and Commercial Drone Delivery Zoning Bylaw.
• Article 4, zoning: amends Table 1 and adds Section AA, Electronic Data Storage Facilities and Data Centers. Per Oct 27 discussion, tiers by electric demand, prohibits over 10 MW and requires utility capacity verification. See Data Center Zoning Bylaw Update.
• Article 5, land: transfer 15 Maple Avenue (0.24 acres, tax-title foreclosure parcel, Assessors' map 22/151000) to the Select Board under G.L. c.40 sec. 15A for general municipal use. See 15 Maple Avenue Municipal Use Designation.
• Article 6, Community Preservation: appropriation for tree planting at Dean Park and the Maple Avenue Recreation Area. The warrant states no dollar amount. Background: Tree Centennial Pilot Project (Community Preservation request of $107,960 approved Oct 5) and Maple Avenue Pocket Park (a separate project). Whether the article amount matches the request is not confirmed. The Community Preservation Committee voted Nov 2 to recommend draft article and motion language (2026-11-02 - Community Preservation Committee).

Where this came from and caveats

Sources: the signed warrant (https://shrewsburyma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21850), 2026-10-27 - Select Board Meeting (signing, Article 6 edit), 2026-10-13 - Select Board and 2026-10-15 - Finance Committee (draft discussion, auto-captions), and board agendas. Motions, recommendations and vote requirements are not yet available; the Nov 20 memorandum should add them. Earlier notes of a Nov 4 Planning Board hearing were from captions; the agenda says Nov 5. Results are not in; add them after the meeting.

Quick-reference table

Notes: no results recorded. Next check: Nov 20 memorandum and the Nov 24 Select Board recommendations.