Pepperell Planning Board continues Dunkin' Donuts permit hearing to November 21

PEPPERELL — October 31, 2016 — Pepperell Planning Board continues public hearing on a proposed Dunkin' Donuts relocation to November 21. Catalano Companies, which operates 21 Dunkin' Donuts outlets across north Worcester and north Middlesex counties, is seeking a site plan review and special permit for a roughly 2,500-square-foot drive-through restaurant with 27 parking spaces at 61-63 Main Street, moving from its current cramped site down the street. Town Engineer Ken Kalinowski submitted 29 written comments, including a finding that infiltration chambers at one test pit sit only 0.2 feet above estimated high groundwater against a required two-foot separation, and flagged the absence of any designated snow-storage area on plans for a site almost entirely within the 200-foot riverfront of Fountain Brook. Police Chief Scott recommended eliminating a direct parking-lot exit onto Main Street and urged the merging of the bypass and drive-through lanes to prevent conflict near the exit. Resident Lisa Maran told the board she had independently counted 15 cars queued at the existing location, challenging the applicant's seven-car stack estimate. The board asked the applicant to return November 21 with formal written responses to all department comments, peak-hour queue data from the existing site, and revised plans addressing the single-lane easterly egress, snow storage, and stormwater separation issues.