The Select Board at its brief meeting Tuesday night voted unanimously to sign the warrant for the Special Town Meeting, which will be held Nov. 18. Members questioned if there was enough public notification about the eight articles because the meeting is less than three weeks away.

The main article that prompted the STM is Article 8, which will present a plan or multiple plans for a zoning bylaw to meet the state’s requirement that the town adopt an MBTA zoning overlay district. The state statute does not require that new housing be built.

Before the discussion began, Ken Weismantel spoke during the public comment period about the Planning Board’s hearing he attended the previous night. Weismantel, a former Planning Board and Zoning Advisory Committee chair and current Community Preservation Committee chair, said a major concern of his was the inclusion of a plan for consideration that was narrowly voted down at May’s Annual Town Meeting, calling it “an insult to Town Meeting” to have it reconsidered.

Speaking as a private citizen, he questioned why the warrant that the Select Board was signing did not provide any details or maps about the proposed zoning districts. There is only a space to insert a paragraph.

“I have never seen that,” said Weismantel. “It’s a departure from everything we’ve done on zoning articles in the last 40 years that I’ve been going to Town Meeting.”

The Planning Board will vote on which proposal or proposals will appear on the warrant at its next meeting on Nov. 4. Three proposed plans were discussed at length at Monday night’s hearing, while a fourth one was offered by Planning Board chair Rob Benson that would include a small downtown area and The Preserve and Walcott Valley condominium complexes. All plans proved to be problematic for speakers at the hearing because they included private condo developments.

Weismantel stressed that Town Meeting members need to have “specifics as to what they’re going to vote on and what they are expected to vote on.” Because of the tense discussion during the meeting the previous night and the Planning Board’s inability to make a decision as to which plan to back, he surmised that any proposed plan would be voted down at the STM.

Stressed Weismantel: “You’re setting yourself up for failure if you rush the process.”

Town Manager Elaine Lazarus went over the content of the eight warrant articles. Three article came from the Board of Assessors. One is to reauthorize the senior means-tested property tax exemption for three years, while the other two are to approve new veterans tax exemptions that were approved by the state Legislature during its last session.

Article 4 would assess a local meals tax of 0.75% that would fund a full-time economic development officer. Article 5, proposed by the Open Space Preservation Commission, would transfer control of the Hughes Property to the OSPC.

Article 6 would rescind authorized but unissued debt of “a little more than a million dollars,” according to Lazarus. Article 7 would establish a Board of Health revolving fund that would begin the next fiscal year.

Regarding Article 8, Lazarus said, “The format is different than anything we’ve done before.” While it doesn’t have all the language or plans yet, she explained that town counsel said this article “complies with the law and provides enough of a warning to residents.”

She added that she will work on the language of the articles the next day.

“If the Planning Board hasn’t made a decision, we’ll put them all in there,” Lazarus said of the proposed plans.

Chair Brian Herr asked if the information would be made available before the STM. Lazarus said a draft would be available next week.

Member Amy Ritterbusch noted that the abutters to the properties in the draft overlay districts already have been notified, preventing other properties from being considered. Lazarus confirmed that only the properties proposed could be considered at the STM.

Ritterbusch added that the Planning Board’s meeting is available to watch on HCAM and on YouTube. She noted that the final vote will be taken at the Nov. 4 Planning Board meeting and that state legislators Rep. James Arena-DeRosa and Senator Karen Spilka should be invited to respond to questions.

Member Shahidul Mannan asked if Town Meeting members would be able to propose amendments at the STM. Lazarus said they could, but they could not propose any parcels for Article 8 that had not already been put forward in the plans. He also suggested that a leaflet about the articles be published.

Herr said he was “concerned about the time frame” to notify residents because the average resident may not be aware of these articles.

“The more we talk about this across town government, the better off we’ll be,” he added.

Ritterbusch noted that information about Article 7 would be helpful to have for the public since it has not been discussed widely. Lazarus said it was “a way to work the revenue stream better” for the Board of Health.

Farmers market licenses approved

The board voted unanimously to approve two licenses for vendors Aaronap Cellars of Westford and Iemmallo Wine Cellars in Ashland to sell wine at the Hopkinton Winter Farmers Market. The market will take place on Sundays from Nov. 3 to March 16. This is the first time wine will be available for purchase at this event. Samples will be offered in small paper cups, with no more than five samples to be served to each person.