Pepperell Conservation Commission clears riverfront line for Laden Street 40B project

PEPPERELL -- January 6, 2026, Pepperell Conservation Commission reaches agreement on contested riverfront boundary for a 40B apartment complex and advances a Cranberry Street driveway plan with sharply reduced wetland fill. The commission informally accepted a riverfront area determination for the Mass AV Rentals LLC project at 59 Laden Street and Lowell Road, a five-building, 40B complex whose wetland resource boundaries have been under review, after Brian Melissi of Haley Ward presented a FEMA flood map overlay establishing the mean annual high water line of Reading Meadow Brook. On a separate single-family driveway project at 14 Cranberry Street, the board signaled support for a retaining wall alternative that reduces wetland fill from approximately 2,400 square feet to 800 square feet, cutting the impact by about two-thirds. Both hearings were continued to February 3, the first meeting under the commission's new 6 p.m. start time. The commission also unanimously issued a Certificate of Compliance for 181A South Road and heard that the Trueblood Street dam removal site is stabilizing under additional DEP monitoring conditions.