Pepperell Planning Board Backs Two-Marijuana-Retailer Cap, Sends to Town Meeting

PEPPERELL — March 8, 2021 — Pepperell Planning Board votes 4-0 to recommend a two-retailer cap on recreational marijuana establishments. Acting Chair Chuck Walkovich led the March 8 hearing after the regular chair recused herself for a potential conflict of interest, with the board recommending approval of a citizen's petition amendment to Section 6600 of the zoning bylaw that would explicitly set the retail marijuana limit at two establishments. The board said the change corrects a mismatch between its original intent — always envisioned as two, modeled on the town's package-store baseline — and the single-establishment result yielded by the bylaw's formula as later interpreted against issued alcohol permits. Residents Maureen Bolger and Elizabeth Baxson opposed the change, with Baxson directing the board to page 95 of the town master plan's economic development chapter, which she said recommends specific business types for Pepperell and does not include recreational marijuana retail. Uma Flowers holds the first Planning Board special permit for a retail facility; a second applicant's path forward now rests with Town Meeting voters.