CONCORD - Residents here voted Wednesday night to ban the sale of single-serving plastic water bottles, bringing the town a step closer to becoming the first municipality in the nation to enact such a sweeping prohibition on sales.

After a two-hour debate at the annual Town Meeting on the proposal, which bans the sale of bottles smaller than 1 liter, cheers erupted when residents approved the measure by an 81-vote margin. The final tally after a recount was a slimmer margin of 403 to 364.