Pepperell Planning Board approves Maple Leaf Village 26-unit expansion on Mason Street

PEPPERELL -- April 29, 2025, Pepperell Planning Board unanimously approves 26-unit expansion of Maple Leaf Village and advances mandatory flood bylaw update. The board voted at its April 29 meeting to approve major site plan and land disturbance permits for applicant Adam Kostin's expansion of the 55-and-older retirement community at 6 Mason Street, clearing five waiver requests covering pipe material, tree surveys, a formal landscape plan, and lighting requirements. Town Planner Jason presented phased bonding conditions tying bond requirements to unit groupings rather than a single upfront figure, a structure the applicant called workable. The board also unanimously recommended a FEMA-mandated floodplain overlay district bylaw for Town Meeting adoption, with Building Commissioner Bob Garside warning that non-adoption would render Pepperell residents ineligible for federal flood insurance, and that even a single word changed on the Town Meeting floor could trigger noncompliance. The July 8, 2025 federal deadline gives Pepperell no room to delay.