Pepperell Planning Board Continues Chamberlain Way Driveway Hearing, Sets Development Bylaw Date

PEPPERELL — April 3, 2023 — Pepperell Planning Board continued a contentious common driveway special permit modification hearing and approved a $25,000 payment to a regional planning agency at its April 3 meeting. The board voted 4-0 to continue the public hearing on the relocated common driveway at 1-4 Chamberlain Way to April 18, directing applicant engineer Kenneth Lania of Cornerstone Land Associates and attorney Douglas Duchesne of Finnerin and Nicholson to revise plans to address turning radii, National Grid approval for underground electric under a stormwater basin, gravel shoulder standards, and interceptor drain details before the next session. Chair Al Pad also asked for a cost analysis of the relocation, noting the town holds roughly $120,000 in bond money that he said "is going to be slim" against the actual cost. The board voted 4-0 to authorize payment of up to $25,000 from its master plan account to the North Middlesex Council of Governments for master plan services completed in 2020 but never billed until fall 2022. A separate 3-0 vote scheduled a public hearing for May 15 on a citizen petition to revise the town's existing rate of development bylaw — a move that will require a special town meeting because the article cannot be posted in time for the May 1 annual town meeting.