Pepperell Planning Board Approves Robinson Hollow OSRD Special Permit After Lengthy Delay

PEPPERELL — July 9, 2018 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously approved the Robinson Hollow Open Space Residential Development special permit at 110 South Road after months of delay caused by the abrupt departure of the town's planner. The board assigned the project special permit number 2018-01 — a new designation because a prior 2011 filing had expired — and flagged four conditions for resolution in the required definitive plan: hydrant relocation, deeded-land versus easement designation along a pedestrian pathway, septic proximity, and drainage maintenance responsibility for the project's composite low-impact and conventional system. Separately, board members said they learned only through informal channels about a proposed 4-million-cubic-yard soil reclamation project on National Road that would bring an estimated 100,000 truck trips to Pepperell over seven to nine years; the board's chair said a formal written request for the DEP notification package would go to Town Administrator John Moak the following morning. A heated public discussion on the governance structure of the 21-member Master Plan Advisory Committee ended without a vote, with the board agreeing to await a written opinion from town counsel on whether the planning board's guidance role constitutes supervision that could implicate state ethics rules for dual-serving members.