Pepperell Planning Board advances 40R smart growth zoning proposal toward fall town meeting

PEPPERELL — July 21, 2022 — Pepperell Planning Board holds public hearing on proposed Chapter 40R smart growth zoning overlay, targeting fall town meeting. The board reviewed a draft bylaw creating five overlay districts near downtown Pepperell and Lomar Park — at the senior center, Laden Street, Hotel Place, the Peter Fitzpatrick School site, and the paper mill — with a 25 percent affordability requirement set in perpetuity. Town Planner Jenny Gingras told the board Pepperell sits at roughly three percent affordable housing inventory against a ten percent state mandate, leaving it vulnerable to 40B comprehensive permit filings the town cannot control. Developer Gary Lorden, owner of Benjamin Builders Inc. and proposing a 180-unit rental project on Laden Street, told residents directly: "I am going to build something there whether it be a 40B or 40R," and said the 40R path would deliver approximately $725,000 in state payments to Pepperell for his project alone versus zero under 40B. Select Board member and former Planning Board Chair Chuck Walkman urged public support for the 40R, citing the Chapter 40S school-cost reimbursement provision as the program's single largest financial benefit to the town. The board voted unanimously to continue the public hearing to Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 7 p.m.