Pepperell Planning Board approves Pleasant Street two-family conversion 5-0

PEPPERELL — December 16, 2019 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously approved a special permit to convert a single-family home at 18 Pleasant Street into a two-family dwelling and heard early-stage pitches on a cannabis dispensary and a potential rezoning of the Peter Fitzpatrick School property. The board voted 5-0 Monday on the application of Todd Russell of 76 Field Street, with the Pepperell Historical Commission submitting written support, noting the "circa 1900 structure" conversion "facilitates the reuse of larger antique homes." Uma Flowers LLC, a Waltham-based family startup led by pharmacist Priyanka Patel and public health professional Tejal Patel, presented plans for an adult-use dispensary at 2 Tarbell Street, projecting $4 million in annual sales and roughly $240,000 per year in combined host community agreement fees and local tax revenue to Pepperell. Attorney Valerio Romano of Vicente Cederberg, a co-author of the 2016 legalization ballot initiative, acknowledged parking at the site is "already chaotic" and that a traffic study by Hayes Engineering would need to be substantially strengthened before formal application. Town Administrator Andrew McLean separately sought board reaction to rezoning options for the Fitzpatrick property, warning that annual operating costs of $100,000 to $125,000 could outpace the collaborative's programming revenue without new commercial tenants.