At a Brookfield Town meeting (date not specified), members voted to remove a proposed warrant article that would have replaced the word “permitted” with “permissible” in the town’s land-use language.

The change had been one of four proposed warrant articles; after the vote the board will send three warrants forward. A resident who spoke during public comment said the wording change would expand site-plan review requirements and create hardships for property owners.

A resident said the change would “put Moose Mountain in a position, where it's further devalued,” and warned that the language would mean “anything they do with their lot, they have to go through site plan review.” The resident said the town depends on current definitions of permitted uses and described uncertainty about exemptions tied to two-acre versus five-acre thresholds.

During the meeting the moderator said the town’s lawyer had advised the board that the change of language was not required. A motion was made to remove the warrant article from the list the board had previously forwarded; the motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote. The record shows four votes in favor, no votes against and one member excused.

Board members present at roll call included Ed Ingalls, Marshall (last name not specified), Carrie (last name not specified) and Gus Stratton; Rich Saffin was excused. The moderator noted that because the lawyer had not required the change from “permitted” to “permissible,” the board would take the article out, reducing the count of proposed warrants from four to three.

The meeting record indicates the removal is procedural: the remaining warrant articles will still be prepared and reviewed by counsel as required before being finalized for the warrant. No ordinance numbers, statutory citations or additional amendments were specified during the discussion.

The meeting adjourned shortly after the vote. The board did not specify a new date for finalizing the remaining warrant articles during the recorded discussion.