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Town meeting signals support for repeal/study of 1980 MBTA restriction on Red Line planning
Summary
Town meeting approved a substitute and then a main motion asking the select board to pursue repeal or a home‑rule petition related to a 1980 act (Chapter 504 §16) that limited MBTA planning beyond a point near Route 2; town counsel warned of procedural limits but members said the vote would register Arlington’s preference.
Town meeting took up Article 30, a citizen proposal titled "Home Rule Legislation, Repeal of MBTA Prohibition," which asks the town to authorize the select board to seek repeal of a 1980 law (Chapter 504, Section 16) that the article’s proponents say limits MBTA planning or construction into Arlington.
Steve DeCourcy presented the select board’s no‑action recommendation, citing procedural constraints: the select board cannot file a home‑rule petition that would affect other municipalities and some attendees argued the statutory restriction may have expired when the Northwest Extension work concluded in 1985. Town counsel Michael Cunningham told meeting members he believed the select board filing such a petition could be impermissible under Article 89, Section 8 of the Massachusetts Constitution and G.L. c. 43B, because repeal would affect Lexington and Bedford in addition to Arlington.
Members who supported the substitute emphasized the value of sending a clear signal to state legislators and to the MBTA that Arlington wants to be included in future transit planning. Paul Slickman and other speakers urged a symbolic vote to express the town’s interest in transit planning and repeal. Several town meeting members asked the attorney general’s municipal law unit to review any action, and some argued the state budget process has already included feasibility‑study funding for MBTA extension work.
Town meeting first passed the substitute motion (136–61–10) and then, in a subsequent majority vote, approved the main motion authorizing the select board to pursue the matter (145–45–11). The moderator noted that legal questions remain and that downstream review by the Attorney General or courts could assess any filing’s validity.
The outcome creates a formal record of town meeting’s desire to remove the cited restriction and to be included in transit planning; town counsel’s opinion and members’ comments indicate further legal review is likely if the select board proceeds.
