Pepperell Conservation Commission Opens Hearing on 20-Lot Birch Drive Subdivision

PEPPERELL — March 21, 2017 — Pepperell Conservation Commission opens public hearing on 20-lot 40B subdivision at end of Birch Drive. The commission, meeting March 21, received a presentation from Joe Pesnola of Hancock Associates on behalf of applicant MGL Properties for Birch Pride Extension, a Chapter 40B affordable housing subdivision approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals on a long-dormant 1965-era subdivision site. Seven notices of intent are before the commission — one for the road, utilities, and stormwater infrastructure, and six for individual lots 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19. Massachusetts DEP issued same-day comments flagging missing stormwater calculations, apparent failure of three infiltration basins to meet a 50-foot setback from surface water, and the requirement of a 401 water quality certification before any work begins. Commission members pressed the applicant on wetland recharge flow paths, the sourcing of replication plantings, road salt and snow storage near a six-foot retaining wall adjacent to wetlands, and the unresolved ownership of open-space parcels. Two abutters raised concerns about rare salamander species documented on the site and about nitrogen runoff potentially reaching a private well. The hearing was continued to April 4 at 7:20 p.m., with the applicant committed to submitting DEP responses within one week.