Town plans to withdraw hospitality overlay proposal and extend moratorium tied to comprehensive plan

Town officials told residents they will withdraw the current proposed hospitality overlay local law from consideration and reintroduce an extension to the moratorium while the town completes work on its comprehensive plan.

A board member summarized the process: planning board members, consultants and the town attorney reviewed the draft overlay law and recommended deferring passage until a comprehensive plan is in place. The attorney advised that extending the moratorium — initially discussed as a six‑month extension, with the option to extend further tied to plan milestones — would be legally defensible if the extension is explicitly linked to comprehensive plan work.

The board noted the agenda would include two items related to the overlay: a vote to withdraw the current draft from consideration and a separate item to reintroduce an extension of the moratorium (the presenters discussed a proposed July–January moratorium window). Board members asked questions about the possible length of the extension and whether it would be permissible to extend multiple times; the presenter said the attorney believed further extensions could be requested as needed and that continued substantive progress on the comprehensive plan should support extensions.

The board approved a resolution to withdraw consideration of the proposed hospitality overlay law (resolution referenced in the meeting) and indicated it will bring an extension proposal back for formal action tied to the comprehensive plan timeline.