As they moved toward finalizing warrant articles for the May 2 Annual Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen last week debated a home-rule petition to allow the sale of beer and wine in town. The selectmen appeared to have no disagreement over the basic question of allowing such beverages to be sold in Harvard. Rather, debate focused on the number of licenses to consider.
The draft article proposed the granting of up to five licenses “for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises.” One of the proposed licenses was specifically allocated for the General Store, whose owner, Adam Horowitz, had originally requested the measure.
Selectwoman Lucy Wallace asked how the number five have been chosen. Chairman Leo Blair responded that he had been concerned about possible pushback from the state over a home-rule petition that seemed to benefit a single store.
Wallace and Selectman Tim Clark countered that voters might find the jump from no licenses to five unreasonably large. “Is this saleable to the town?” Clark asked. Wallace commented, “It took six years to decide about Fruitlands. Can we justify going to the town for five licenses?” She suggested that three licenses might be a reasonable compromise.
Selectman Ron Ricci said that he was willing to support five licenses at Town Meeting. He suggested that several stores in town might want to apply for liquor licenses. He listed Peaches, Pizza Bella, Sorrento’s, Carlson Orchards, and Westward Orchards as possible applicants. However, he conceded that he was less concerned about a given number of licenses than about giving several businesses an opportunity to apply.
The selectmen agreed it was unclear whether the article, being a home-rule petition, could legally be revised on the floor at Town Meeting, once the voters had had a chance to express their reactions. Selectman Peter Warren noted that he was leaning toward asking for three licenses, and a subsequent motion to that effect passed unanimously.
Contacted later for his reaction about the possibility of having several stores offering beer and wine for sale, Horowitz said, “Having initiated the application and request for the warrant, we are very comfortable that more than one license could be made available, creating potential competition in the future.”
