Pepperell Launches Downtown Charrette to Rewrite Main Street Zoning

PEPPERELL — March 11, 2022 — Pepperell opens two-day design charrette targeting Main Street zoning overhaul and Railroad Square streetscape. Town Planner Jenny Gengras convened the March 11 session with outside consultants Ted Brovitz of Brovitz Community Planning and Design and Peter Flinker of Dodson and Flinker, who led residents on a walking tour from Town Hall to Railroad Square before an evening small-group workshop. Brovitz said the town's existing mixed-use overlay district — written for the mill site with a five-acre minimum lot requirement — is "basically specific to the mill site" and must be rewritten for Main Street's smaller-scale, commercial-over-residential building type. Three small groups using color-coded maps flagged dangerous intersections, degraded sidewalks, a shortage of street trees, and the absence of outdoor dining regulations as top concerns, while calling for more affordable housing for seniors and younger families. The mill site, which has seen two failed development proposals since 2007, was described by Brovitz as facing hazardous waste, floodplain, and underground-void challenges that make near-term redevelopment unlikely.