Pepperell Conservation Commission Unanimously Accepts Robertson Hollow Open Space Parcels

PEPPERELL — September 14, 2021 — Pepperell Conservation Commission accepts two open space parcels at Robertson Hollow subdivision off Route 119. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to take ownership of Open Space Parcels B and C, which together will provide a stone-dust public trail along the corridor of the old discontinued Ryan's Road, connecting to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land and ultimately to the old county road toward West Groton. Fish and Wildlife declined to take Parcel C because the agency no longer accepts parcels with constructed trails requiring maintenance, leaving that responsibility with the commission. Members, particularly one identified as Emily, flagged that the trail runs directly behind the backyards of yet-to-be-occupied homes and warned of likely landscaping debris dumping, citing past enforcement actions at Pepper Springs. The commission called for granite posts at every property corner and between corners on longer lot lines, and urged the developer to complete trail construction before new homeowners move in. Separately, the agent reported more than $920,000 in combined state grants — including approximately $492,000 from the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program — funding the Heald Street culvert replacement and Sucker Brook dam removal, with a required public community meeting set for September 21.