By Derek McLean, Town Correspondent
Voters at the Wellesley Special Town Meeting unanimously supported a proposal to allow smaller restaurants the ability to sell alcohol, an initiative aimed at helping reinvigorate Wellesley Square and other parts of town.
The Board of Selectmen will now seek special legislation that would give the board the ability to grant alcohol licenses to restaurants with a seating capacity of 50 or more.
Restaurants currently need to have 100 or more seats to sell alcohol in Wellesley, a rule passed in 1976.
Seven warrant articles were approved by majority vote at the meeting Monday night, including funding for the next phase of the Fuller Brook Preservation Project and the construction of a Municipal Light Plant administrative building.
Katherine Babson, Board of Selectmen said at the meeting that several existing Wellesley restaurants with fewer than 100 seats have expressed interest in lowering the minimum seat requirement to obtain a liquor license.
“The reduction of seating requirements should allow new restaurants in vacant spaces in [Wellesley Square],” said Babson, “and in other parts of the town and will allow several of the smaller restaurants with at least 50 seats to apply for licenses.”
“We anticipate that there are three or four existing restaurants that may take advantage of this change,” she said.
The selectmen will also now seek authority to issue up to 12 wine and beer licenses, in addition to a maximum of 29 licenses the town is allowed to issue for all alcohol.
If the changes are approved by the Legislature, the new requirements will be put forth to a townwide vote. The board anticipates the question will appear on a municipal ballot next spring.
“I was wondering whether the Police Department was consulted?” asked resident Kathleen Woodward. “What kind of burden will this place upon the force in respect to drinking and driving and also sale to minors?”
“We started of course by conferring with our Police Department and have relied substantially on their advice and their guidance on this issue,” Babson replied. She said that the Police Department did not feel that the issues of alcohol abuse at the restaurants have been a problem and reducing the requirements should work well within the community.
The town unanimously agreed to fund the third phase of the Fuller Brook Preservation Project, which asked for $665,000 in Community Preservation Act funds. The third phase sought funding for the preparation of the final designs, bid and construction documents, permitting, exploration of possible alternatives for phasing and funding of the work in Phase 4, and the plan for the ongoing maintenance of the park.
