Pepperell Planning Board approves two site plans, advances open-space development regulations

PEPPERELL — November 7, 2016 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously approves two minor site plans and receives a major redraft of open-space residential development regulations. The board accepted an informational site plan submission from Timothy Elrood of Twin Brothers Party Rentals, a Chelmsford-based party rental company seeking to operate out of 15 Canal Street, with materials forwarded to the building inspector to move the permitting process forward; the board also accepted a minor site plan submitted by Debra Diaz for a residential property at 49-53 Groton Street following a prior ZBA decision on the matter. The evening's longest discussion centered on a substantially reorganized draft of the town's Open Space Residential Development regulations, presented by the board's planning consultant, who reframed the Conservation Commission's role as advisory rather than determinative and restructured the document into five sections covering process, definitions, construction standards, and review timelines under MGL Chapter 41. Board members flagged the tight calendar ahead — with Spring Town Meeting warrant deadlines arriving in March and only two or three working meetings remaining before the holiday recess — and scheduled the consultant's return for November 21, the same night a Dunkin' Donuts drive-through application is set to come back before the board.