Pepperell Planning Board closes hearing on contractor storage yard near residential zone

PEPPERELL — November 4, 2024 — Pepperell Planning Board closes public hearing on contested contractor trailer yard, releases subdivision bond funds, and renews cannabis dispensary permit. The board voted 5-0 at its November 4 meeting to close the public hearing on a proposed 2,400-square-foot contractor trailer storage yard at 147 National Road, directing Town Planner Jason Fleghorn to draft a conditional approval requiring a stockade fence with vegetation along the road frontage to satisfy the bylaw's 100 percent screening mandate for contractor equipment yards — a condition Planning Board Chair Al Fleighorn said was necessary because newly planted trees "at one to two inch caliper" would not constitute effective screening across from a residential neighborhood. The board separately released $372,120 from the Heritage Estates subdivision bond following DPW sign-off, retaining an $86,000 contingency, and renewed the special permit for Umma Flowers cannabis dispensary at 2 Tarbell Street on a 5-0 vote, replacing the original three-year renewal clock with a provision tying the permit's validity to the operator's active Host Community Agreement with the town. The Chamberlain Way private common drive bond was discussed but no action was taken, with staff directed to complete a field review of a recently submitted as-built plan before the board considers drawing the cash bond, estimated between $85,000 and $96,000.