Pepperell Planning Board Approves Leighton Street Duplex With Parking Conditions

PEPPERELL — July 1, 2019 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously approves a special permit to convert 27 Leighton Street from single-family to two-family use. The board approved the application by Ken Kowalczyk, manager of GWTF LLC, for the pre-1900s structure in the town's Suburban Residential zoning district, attaching two conditions: the parking area on the St. Anne Street side of the property must be expanded to six spaces and paved, and the applicant must meet with the town highway department to explore curbing at the former Leighton Street driveway to prevent informal future parking there. Attorney Cheryl Gould, representing the applicant, confirmed the narrow Leighton Street driveway will be removed and the area seeded to grass. Planning staff member Lisa Davis's written comment had flagged the lot at 17,729 square feet as well below the district's 40,000-square-foot minimum, but the board found the preexisting nonconforming status and unchanged footprint sufficient to support approval. Kowalczyk told the board the renovated building will be sold as two separate three-bedroom units, addressed as 27A and 27B Leighton Street.