Hamilton Select Board Shelves Downtown Zoning Vote, Calls Utile Back to Explain

HAMILTON -- November 18, 2024, Hamilton Select Board shelves downtown zoning from April warrant, orders consultant to account for $125,000 contract. The board reached a working consensus Monday to remove both an MBTA 3A compliance article and a form-based code proposal from the April 5 Annual Town Meeting warrant after planning consultant Utile formally requested a project pause, citing an inability to run productive public engagement sessions. Town Manager Joe told the board Utile had exhausted its public-engagement budget and that the firm saw no path forward until the Supreme Judicial Court rules on the state's case against Milton, a decision expected as early as January. Member Bill Wilson called the SJC ruling "zero percent" relevant to whether Hamilton residents would change their votes on 3A, while member Tom Myers pressed for answers on why the firm had produced no deliverable after roughly six months. The board directed Utile to appear at the December 2 meeting, potentially in a joint session with the Planning Board, to present completed work and outline a revised scope, leaving Hamilton in acknowledged non-compliance with state 3A guidelines and the $125,000 appropriated at the April 2024 Annual Town Meeting without a finished product.