Pepperell Conservation Commission Approves Horse Barn, Backs River Land Protection

PEPPERELL — October 4, 2016 — Pepperell Conservation Commission cleared a horse barn project and backed a river land protection article at its October 4 meeting. The commission voted unanimously to issue a negative determination for a proposed 24-by-24-foot barn and paddock at 8 Maple Street, allowing the fence setback to be reduced to 30 feet from the wetland boundary rather than the standard 50 feet, on the condition that a silt fence be installed near the barn during construction — a finding that spares the applicant an estimated $1,500 to $2,000 in Notice of Intent filing costs. The board also voted to support town meeting Article 12, which would authorize the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to purchase roughly 35 acres of floodplain land between the Nashua and Nissitissit rivers at fair market value, while the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources would receive a 30-acre agricultural preservation restriction as mitigation for agricultural land taken for the Nissitissit Middle School. Both the Article 12 vote and an initial certificate of compliance for Emerson Village roads point to the October 24 town meeting as the next decision point. On a pending Dunkin' Donuts application near the police station — a site staff identified as almost entirely within the 200-foot riverfront buffer of Barnabrook, a perennial stream — the commission took no formal action, with staff saying the submitted materials lacked "the detail that we, as a commission, really need to see" before providing substantive comments.