Pepperell Planning Board Continues Adaptive Reuse Hearing, Seeks Tighter Definitions

PEPPERELL — April 4, 2022 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously continues adaptive reuse zoning hearing, citing need for clearer definitions before May 9 Town Meeting vote. The board voted 5-0 to carry the public hearing on proposed Section 8900 — Adaptive Reuse of Significant Structures — to April 19 after members and residents raised concerns about eligibility language, lot contiguity, and legal durability of key terms. Town Planner Jenny Gingras presented a bylaw that would allow up to 24 municipal and community-type buildings to be repurposed for uses including multi-family housing, hotels, assisted living, restaurants, and maker spaces through a special permit process. Historical Commission Chair Ron Carr, a former Planning Board member, warned that Massachusetts courts typically interpret special permit eligibility in favor of applicants and that vague phrases like "community-type purpose" invite judicial expansion. Resident Carolyn Adab cited Pepperell's ongoing PFAS well contamination and past litigation over imprecise zoning language, urging the board to add size limits and clearer definitions for retail, hotels, and assisted living. Gingras agreed to add the word "continuous" to the 15-year use requirement and to work with Town Counsel on contiguous-parcel language before the April 19 meeting.