Alcohol deal goes to voters
Approval would be a lift for Wegmans
A Special Town Meeting on Oct. 21 is expected to decide whether grocery stores in once-dry Westwood can obtain alcohol licenses, a move that should end a Beacon Hill deadlock and give a boost to the Westwood Station project.
Selectmen last week voted to sponsor a warrant article that calls for the town to offer three beer-and-wine licenses for grocery stores of 1,000 square feet or more in a commercially zoned district, said Selectwoman Nancy Hyde.
"They were designed around the thought of existing businesses," Hyde said.
Another article offered by a resident proposes adding two full liquor licenses for package stores, she said. A Finance Commission meeting on Sept. 22 will review Town Meeting articles and decide whether to place them on the warrant.
The proposals come as a home-rule petition seeking a license for a proposed supermarket at Westwood Station has been stalled in the Legislature since May. That petition would grant the town's first carry-out alcohol license to the proposed Wegmans supermarket. That license would be in addition to the three created by the Town Meeting article.
The petition has been fought by the Roche Bros. supermarket chain, which argues that a license granted to Wegmans would create unfair competition.
Massachusetts law forbids a company to sell alcohol at more than three retail locations within the state. Roche Bros., which owns a store in Westwood, has used its share of licenses in Bridgewater, Norton, and Sudbury. It's not clear how the company would respond to having competitors with alcohol licenses.
In a related development, town officials held what they described as "an emergency meeting" on Sept. 4 with Cabot Cabot & Forbes, the developer of Westwood Station, the $1.5 billion housing, retail and office complex proposed off University Avenue.
The developer has its hopes pinned on Wegmans, the Rochester, N.Y., food retailer, as an anchor for the 4.5-million-square-foot complex. Wegmans has said it isn't sure what it would do if the license were not granted. Once word of the Sept. 4 meeting hit area blogs, concerns were raised that the project could be stumbling.
Town Administrator Michael Jaillet confirmed that a meeting took place on short notice to discuss a range of issues. Avoiding specifics, Jaillet called it a "very good" talk that included ways to keep things moving forward: "This is one of the only large projects in the nation and it's just a demonstration of how difficult this marketplace is to achieve build-out and obtain the financing that's necessary to do it," he said.
In a statement, Cabot Cabot & Forbes president Jay Doherty said Westwood Station is moving ahead, "as any visitor to the busy site can see."
"Active construction takes place daily including demolition, utility, and foundation work," he said. "We're confident that in this economic climate the future of Westwood Station is assured."
The developer declined comment on the additional proposed licenses, describing them as a town issue.
Westwood selectmen believe the Wegmans petition will move through the House and Senate and to the governor's desk, now that the local proposal has been made.
The State House logjam has gleaned national attention as freshman Representative Paul McMurtry, a Dedham Democrat, faced off against Representative Angelo Scaccia, a Readville Democrat. Scaccia is aligned with Roche Bros. and refused to move the petition forward. So McMurtry questioned the political body's quorum daily, preventing it from conducting business.
Last week, a weary McMurtry said his effort was made gladly: "This was personal to the Town of Westwood. It's not over yet. But I feel we're close to a successful outcome."
Rick Roche, who owns Roche Bros., said he's also happy: "It's good that the process has worked to produce a result that all parties can agree with."
Roche declined to discuss his tactics, which included hiring a lobbyist: "Discussing the history of the petition process and past disagreements would likely be counterproductive," he said in an e-mail. He also declined to discuss whether the company plans to transfer one of its current licenses to Westwood.
He supports the adoption of Chapter 138, a statute that would allow Westwood to choose how many licenses to make available. But that might also open the door to bars and taverns, skeptics say. Westwood was "dry" until five years ago, when it began allowing restaurants to serve alcohol.
Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at mmbolton1@verizon.net. 