Pepperell Planning Board Advances Zoning Map Review, Sets March 31 Hearing Date

PEPPERELL -- February 18, 2025, Pepperell Planning Board continues zoning overhaul public hearing to March 31 after lengthy map debate. Town Planner Craig Lussier presented a draft zoning map proposing roughly 900 additional acres of Rural Residential designation and reclassifying several developed areas to better reflect existing lot patterns, including small-lot neighborhoods like the Pines where parcels average 13,000 to 15,000 square feet but carry much larger zoning minimums. The board debated at length whether to eliminate the Recreation Residential, or RCR, zoning district, which Lussier called functionally indistinguishable from other residential zones, arguing "your only differentiation is between two acres and one acre, that's very little differentiation." Board member Joan Laddick pressed for written district definitions before any category is eliminated, and Lussier agreed to draft bylaw text for all five residential districts prior to the next session. The board voted unanimously to continue the public hearing to March 31 at 6:30 p.m.