SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board voted Monday night to approve a liquor license for the Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts at the former Hawthorne-By-The-Sea property, but delayed a decision on the group’s entertainment license after residents raised concerns about potential noise impacts on neighbors.

The board voted to continue the public hearing on the entertainment license until its June 17 meeting, with members saying they wanted to hear more information from the applicant Johnny Ray, who was not in attendance at Monday’s meeting, before making a final decision.

The Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts is the temporary lessee of the property, which the town purchased in 2022. Earlier this year, the Select Board selected the group’s proposal over a competing bid for a 30-month lease of the site, expiring in June 2028, while the town develops a long-term redevelopment plan for the Hawthorne property.

Last week, the board approved a Common Victualler license for the organization, allowing food services. Chair Katie Phelan urged that the public hearing remained open until Monday, allowing for residents to share their input before the board officially voted.

Residents voiced concerns about noise from outdoor music and entertainment, pointing to issues they said have occurred at other restaurants and venues in town. Board members spent much of the discussion debating what conditions, if any, should be attached to an entertainment license and how those conditions could be enforced.

Board members weighed how a performing arts venue could operate at the site while minimizing impacts on nearby residents. Several members suggested that if the entertainment license was approved, it could be subject to an earlier cutoff time, with board members suggesting 9 or 10 p.m. during the discussion.

Select Board member Danielle Leonard said she remained concerned about approving an entertainment license without a clearer understanding of how the venue plans to operate.

“This one has just given us very little information to go on in terms of what we can anticipate,” Leonard said. “If it’s an eight piece band, I’m a hard no. Because I cannot in my right mind imagine how there is not going to be any sound traveling.”

Leonard said she supported other uses like comedy shows or trivia nights, but questioned how late music levels would affect neighboring properties.

Board member MaryEllen Fletcher said she believed there was a way to balance resident’s concerns with the need to support new businesses.

“I am very concerned about neighbors, and I’m also concerned to make sure that we have viable businesses,” Fletcher said. “I think that there’s a way for us to reach a happy medium.”

Select Board member Wayne Spritz suggested the town could conduct a sound test at the property before the board makes a final decision. He suggested that music similar to what would be played during events at the performing arts center could be performed inside the building with the doors closed so officials could gauge how much sound travels outside the property.

Other board members questioned how accurately such a test could replicate actual operating conditions, noting that a live event would also include patrons arriving, leaving, and gathering at the property.

As the discussion continued, Select Board member Ted Dooley, who was elected to the Select Board after the RFP was chosen, said he was not prepared to vote on the entertainment license until the board had an opportunity to hear directly from the applicant.

“To be perfectly honest, the Select Board two months ago chose to accept an RFP for a performing arts center at this location. So I don’t know what the expectation was,” Dooley said. “We need answers from them … if he can’t make it work at 9 or 10 … we just set ourselves up for a big failure. So we need to have them answer these questions here.”

The board ultimately approved the liquor license but voted to keep the entertainment license hearing open until its June 17 meeting, when representatives for the Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts are expected to return with additional information.