Melrose Enacts First-Ever Mural Ordinance, Banning Residential and Main Street Art

MELROSE — April 16, 2025 — Melrose enacts its first mural ordinance, restricting public art to the downtown commercial zone. The Melrose Select Board unanimously approved Ordinance No. 0416-2025 at its April 16 meeting, limiting murals to C1-zoned properties, barring them from Main Street-facing walls and all residential areas, and requiring a conditional-use permit with a public hearing for each installation. Property owners bear full legal responsibility under the new rules. The board also unanimously awarded the 2025 street capital improvement project — covering Fifth Avenue, A Street, and the City Center parking lot — to Joe Riley Construction of Morris for $334,437.31, roughly $40,000 below the city's own estimate. On backyard chickens, the board reached an informal consensus to keep the existing prohibition after members cited avian flu quarantine risks to nearby commercial poultry operations and feed mills. The board also approved the conditional hire of police officer Matthew Host, pending his state POST exam, and appointed Julie Bal and Justin Freeler to two new at-large seats on the expanded Parks and Recreation Board.