Pepperell Planning Board approves FY20 budget, sets January deadline on marijuana rules

PEPPERELL — December 10, 2018 — Pepperell Planning Board sets a January 7 deadline for marijuana regulation guidance and votes to increase its FY20 training budget to $1,000. The board, meeting December 10, voted unanimously to advance its preliminary fiscal year 2020 budget with an amendment doubling the training and education line from $500 to $1,000, citing the need to support staff professional development through NMCOG courses. With the statewide recreational marijuana moratorium now expired and Pepperell holding no local zoning rules, members agreed to send Town Administrator Andrew a memo demanding guidance by January 7 on whether the Board of Selectmen would pursue an outright ban requiring a town-wide revote, or whether the Planning Board should develop regulations independently, using Groton's bylaw as a model. The board also received its first look at a draft solar bylaw co-authored with Rick Menard, agreed to mark it up individually before broader circulation, and heard that two people have completed the required Tier 1 training for MassDOT's Complete Streets program, which offers municipalities up to $450,000 per project for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure — with Pepperell's downtown sidewalks, which members said do not meet ADA standards, identified as a likely priority.