Pepperell Planning Board Conditionally Releases $17,860 for Chamberlain Way Project

PEPPERELL — December 4, 2023 — Pepperell Planning Board conditionally releases $17,860 in subdivision bond funds and orders formal deficiency letters for two stalled projects. At the December 4 session, Chair Al Patenaude and four members continued a peer-reviewed site plan hearing for 149-163 Nashua Road to December 18, while hearing field reports from Conservation Administrator Paula Tarassi and Building Commissioner Bentley Hericot on persistent drainage, shoulder, and asphalt deficiencies at both Scotch Pine Farm Way and 1-4 Chamberlain Way. The board voted 3-1 to release the $17,860 balance of a prior bond request for Chamberlain Way — out of a total bond reserve several times that size — contingent on developer representative Kenneth Laney of Cornerstone Land Associates delivering a surveyor-stamped driveway and easement plan within one week; member Joan voted no, saying "I just feel it's setting a bad precedent." Patenaude warned applicants the board will not again accommodate bond requests submitted after agenda posting, and directed staff to compile a formal spreadsheet-style deficiency list for both subdivisions ahead of the December 18 meeting — the document residents were told could define what the homeowners association may eventually be responsible for completing.