NORWELL – All but three of the 71 articles on Norwell's special and annual town meeting warrants passed on Monday night.

Residents approved the $62 million budget, $1.56 million in capital items and relaxed rules for accessory dwelling units. The town also approved $850,000 for a new fire truck.

Town Administrator Peter Morin said the meeting, which started at 7:30 p.m.,  ended at 11:20 p.m. In all, 230 residents attended.

"It was a longer warrant than any we've had in the last two years," Morin said. "I think each of the articles was well prepared, as were the presentations."

One article that didn't pass was a change to the town's charter to allow the advisory committee to meet with only a majority of its active members. Another was the transfer of $100,000 in free cash to the conservation commission.

Want the latest news? Download The Patriot Ledger app

An effort to move 8.3 acres of land on the Carleton property into conservation status, to prevent the town from using the land for housing, failed to pass. 

The move was opposed by a majority of the advisory board, which wanted the town to adopt a plan to meet the state's affordable housing goal, which is 10%, to defeat Chapter 40B projects.

Chapter 40B is a state law that allows developers to bypass local zoning rules and build denser, taller developments, so long as at least 25% of the housing units are rented or sold at below market rate and less than 10% of a town's housing stock is considered affordable.

Norwell residents who want to build an accessory dwelling unit now can do so by right after residents approved a change to the town's zoning bylaw. The change only required a simple majority, following a law in 2021 that reduced the voting threshold from two-thirds to one-half for zoning bylaws that increase housing.

Reducing voting thresholds:Housing Choice has come to Massachusetts. What does it mean for the South Shore?

Accessory dwelling units are limited to 900 square feet. Larger new units would require a special permit.

"It's a way to address the housing problem, but it doesn't address affordability in the town," Morin said.

Voters also approved $2.9 million to add granular activated carbon filters to the South Street water treatment facility to remove PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These man-made chemicals have been used in a variety of applications since the 1950s, from nonstick cookware and water-resistant clothing to food packaging materials and firefighting foam. They are considered a "forever chemical" because they don't break down and can accumulate in the body.

Norwell ran a pilot project in 2020 to see if the filters would work. Because PFAS levels are only a problem in the water coming from the South Street wells, the town will shut them down in the winter, when demand is lower, and pull from other wells that don't have the higher levels of the chemical, Water Commissioner Peter Dillon said.

The affected wells share the same water source as Hanover, which is also adding carbon filters to remove PFAS from its water supply. The filters will also remove the byproducts of chlorinating the water, trihalomethanes. Organic material, either plants or bacteria, break down into trihalomethanes when they come into contact with chlorine.

"The water should taste better," Dillon said.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here's our latest offer.

Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@patriotledger.com.