At Monday's Town Meeting residents voted to create a seven-member Wetland Bylaws Study Committee that will develop a revised bylaw to be considered at Spring Town Meeting.

At Monday's Selectmen's meeting, scheduled an hour prior to Town Meeting, Selectman Peter Teitelbaum informed his fellow Board members that he worked with Kenneth Baptiste, the Chairman of the Conservation Committee to develop warrant language for a motion for further study. The new article language would create a seven-member Wetlands Bylaw study committee made up of members from the Conservation Commission, Planning Board, Zoning Board, Board of Selectmen, and residents.

The current bylaw restricts resident property owners from building within 30 feet of wetland area, and businesses are restricted to a buffer zone of 50 feet.

In recent months, the Board of Selectmen proposed a warrant article with the intent to delete the wetlands bylaw in its entirety, saying the bylaw creates unnecessary hindrances when it comes to making sure the town is properly functioning. They cited road repair as one of the hindrances. The town's Conservation Commission disputed the Board's claim, saying that the Board was looking to build on beach property.

Prior to the Selectmen's meeting, the article before the residents was a vote to delete the wetlands bylaw in its entirety, leaving only the less-restrictive Massachusetts Wetlands regulations.

Selectman Stephen Holmes disputed wording of Teitelbaum's new article, which said that the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen would choose the Board's representative. Holmes stated the representative shouldn't be hand-picked. This provoked an argument between the two selectmen, and a frustrated Teitelbaum got up and left the room before adjournment. The language of the article was revised for the Town Meeting with no mention of the Chairman’s role of choosing the representative.

“The intent was never really to remove the entire wetlands bylaw, but to engage the process of rewriting the bylaw,” Teitelbaum told the voters during his motion.

Selectman Holmes was given an opportunity to speak about his stance on the article at Town Meeting.

“I have no issue with the article being further studied," Holmes said. "My issue didn't really change much since six o'clock. I don't appreciate hand-picked committees.”

Chairman of the Conservation Commission Kenneth Baptiste expressed his thoughts on newly worded article during Town Meeting.

“It's the best we can do right now," Baptiste said. "I know Mr. Teitelbaum suggested this. I was originally thinking my own Board, but this will work, too. I am willing to work with it. Let's get this bad blood out of the way, so that we can protect our town.”