Pepperell Conservation Commission Continues Two Open Hearings to December 5

PEPPERELL -- November 14, 2023, Pepperell Conservation Commission continues two major project hearings to December 5 over unresolved regulatory gaps. The commission heard engineer Jack Basniewski present a plan for owner Terry Reese to build a single-family home with a 1,000-foot driveway and two wetland crossings at 115 Hill Street, but deferred action after members identified missing items: a planting plan from NOS Environmental Services, an unfiled federal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the federally listed northern long-eared bat, and a fire department sign-off on driveway width and turnaround dimensions. A water quality certificate from MassDEP, required because the site lies within an Outstanding Resource Waterway, also remains outstanding. In a separate hearing, Matt Waterman of Land Tech Consultants presented a Notice of Intent for Sereanka Development Partners LLC's proposed two-building warehouse complex totaling roughly 455,000 square feet at 149–163 Nashua Road; the commission raised questions about total suspended solids calculations for two detention basins near the wetland buffer zone and noted neither MassDEP comments nor a MEPA filing had been completed. The commission unanimously issued certificates of compliance for 11 Sawtelle Street and for five Birch Drive lots, including separate votes covering completed work and expired orders under which no work was conducted.