Pepperell Conservation Commission Approves Buffer Zone Garage Project 4-0

PEPPERELL — June 7, 2022 — Pepperell Conservation Commission unanimously approved a garage addition within a wetland buffer zone and issued a certificate of compliance at its June 7 meeting. The commission voted 4-0 to grant an order of conditions for a 24-by-12-foot single-car garage and retaining wall proposed by property owner William Geekus at 108 Lawrence Street, with engineer Jack Basniewski of JA Basniewski LLC agreeing to submit a revised plan specifying which trees — four at most — may be removed during grading. A certificate of compliance was also issued for a completed project at 103A Shirley Street, contingent on removal of remaining silt fence. In a lengthy administrative update, the commission's agent described an escalating enforcement dispute at the Chamberlain Way subdivision, where property owner Peter Montesanti has hired both a new engineer and an attorney after a road was found to have been installed approximately 71 feet from its permitted location and into wetlands — leaving one of four homes unable to receive an occupancy permit and all involved parties facing uncertain restoration costs.