Dartmouth Select Board Approves Oyster Farm, Liquor Licenses, and Housing Plan

Select Board · Meeting of July 13, 2026

Dartmouth Select Board approves oyster farm, two liquor licenses, and housing plan in sprawling three-hour session. The board voted unanimously July 13 to grant conditional local approval for a half-acre intertidal oyster farm in the Slocum's River to applicant Jack Condon, subject to state survey; transfer a beer-and-wine retail license from Farming Coast Market to DeVall's General Store on Russell's Mills Road; and grant Farming Coast Market a new all-alcohol package store license enabled by a governor-signed home rule petition. In a joint session with the Board of Public Works, Finance Director Gary Carr warned that a proposed $20 increase in the annual solid waste fee — bringing it to $140 — still projects a deficit of roughly $183,000 for fiscal 2027, and that under Massachusetts law enterprise funds cannot run deficits; the Board of Public Works tabled the solid waste rate to its July 22 meeting to evaluate a $30 increase.

Proposed increases of 7.5 percent for water and 16 percent for sewer were presented but not voted on, with the 16 percent sewer figure driven largely by an anticipated $900,000 annual increase in biosolids disposal costs. The board also unanimously adopted the town's Housing Production Plan, completing the local approval process and starting its five-year state-recognized lifespan, and accepted a $150,000 combined donation from the Dartmouth Friends of the Elderly for a long-delayed Council on Aging kitchen renovation.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 4,317 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.