Billerica Select Board Tables Town Center Special Meeting Items in 3-2 Vote

BILLERICA — December 4, 2023 — Billerica Select Board tables town center special meeting items 3-2, renews dozens of licenses. The board convened both a regular and a special meeting Monday night, but voted 3-2 to lay the special meeting's substantive agenda on the table without debate, leaving unresolved a petition drive of roughly 2,299 certified signatures that sought a public vote on the town center project; supporters told the board a court loss "is not going to look good," while opponent Daniel Daris O'Connor argued the board lacked charter authority to act at all. Town Manager John Curran reported that Community Cares Collective, the town's cannabis dispensary, has refused to honor its six percent of gross sales host community agreement, citing state legislation the cannabis lobby pushed through Beacon Hill in 2022; the board unanimously approved a letter demanding compliance and deferred the dispensary's 2024 license renewal to the December 18 meeting. Planning and Community Development Director Erica Skipper reported that Billerica has logged over $245 million in building-value investment over five years, producing more than $2 million in additional commercial tax revenue, and that the town will submit a preliminary MBTA Communities zoning compliance map to the state by the end of December. The board also unanimously approved a budget policy revision reducing the maximum annual budget increase guideline from 2.5 percent to 2 percent, approved an OPEB policy update 4-0 with one abstention, and approved all remaining 2024 license renewals 5-0.