Pepperell Conservation Commission Continues Three Wetland Hearings, Issues Two Compliance Certificates

PEPPERELL — July 13, 2021 — Pepperell Conservation Commission continued three active wetland hearings and issued two certificates of compliance at its July 13 meeting. Conservation Agent Paula flagged an unresolved Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program turtle protection plan requirement holding up completion of a previously approved single-family house at 181A South Road, represented by Seth Donahue of Dillson Roy, and continued that hearing to August 3. An Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation for 10 and 14 Cranberry Street was also continued to August 3 after commission member Rob reported a stream on the property was actively flowing before recent heavy rains, raising the question of whether it is perennial — a determination that could trigger a 200-foot riverfront setback and significantly constrain future development. A Notice of Intent for a two-family dwelling at 11 Sawtelle Street, filed by applicant John Hills, was continued to August 17 to await ZBA and Planning Board approvals and a DEP file number; the commission requested three marker posts to permanently demarcate a 2,200-square-foot native planting buffer and a roof infiltration chamber be added to the revised plan. Certificates of compliance were issued unanimously for the Dunkin' Donuts site at 61-63 Main Street and a 1998 septic system at 127 Brookline Street. The commission also agreed to sign a letter of support for the Nashoba Conservation Trust to participate in the federal Forest Legacy Program, which would place permanent conservation restrictions on 115 acres of trust-owned land in Pepperell at no monetary cost to the town beyond an annual monitoring walk.