Arlington Select Board Tables Lead Pipe Bylaw, Awaits Revised Language Before Town Meeting

ARLINGTON -- March 2, 2026, Arlington Select Board unanimously tables proposed lead service line certification bylaw, citing real estate closing chaos concerns. The board, chaired by Diane Mahan, voted Monday to send back Article 18, which would have required sellers to certify pipe materials before receiving a final water bill needed to close a home sale; member John Hurd, a closing attorney, warned the rule would blindside out-of-town brokers days before closing and could block sales if a lead line was found. DPW Director Rob Rademacher said roughly 670 private-side lines of Arlington's 12,705 total remain unidentified, with a federal inventory deadline of 2027 and a 10-year mandate to remove all lead, a process costing homeowners $7,500 to $15,000 per line replacement. The board also voted 6-0 to endorse a $1.2 million Community Development Block Grant application for fiscal year 2027 and gave unanimous favorable action to a home rule petition banning first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides after Laura Kiesel of Save Arlington Wildlife cited a lethal chlorophacinone poisoning of a gray fox in East Arlington last July.