Pepperell Conservation Commission requires full Notice of Intent for Hill Street house demolition project

PEPPERELL -- August 19, 2025, Pepperell Conservation Commission split its rulings on two residential projects Tuesday, requiring a full wetland permit for a Hill Street house rebuild while clearing a road-paving program. The three-member quorum voted unanimously to issue a Positive Determination No. 4 for a proposed demolition and reconstruction at 115 Hill Street, finding the work requires a Notice of Intent before proceeding, overruling applicant representative Jack's bid for a simpler negative determination. Members cited an existing Order of Conditions already on the single-lot parcel and a DEP inquiry about duplicate filings as reasons the case needed a full filing. The commission separately cleared the town's Department of Public Works Chapter 90 milling-and-paving program, covering Hollis, Harbor, East, and Elm streets, with a Negative Determination No. 3 after DPW representative Mr. Brinkman agreed to use plastic-free straw wattles near wetland edges. A continued hearing on a septic replacement at 6 Yale Road was pushed to September 9, with engineer Jeff Hannaford's revised CAD analysis showing a non-jurisdictional isolated wetland volume of 1,188 cubic feet but raising a new complication: the proposed floodplain-compensation area on an abutting vacant lot falls within a MESA priority habitat zone.