Pepperell Planning Board Continues Mill Street Hearings to October, Questions Kitchen Earmark Design

PEPPERELL — September 18, 2023 — Pepperell Planning Board continues two Mill Street public hearings and flags concerns about a federal kitchen earmark. The board, meeting September 18 with Acting Chair David Ganong presiding in the absence of Chair Al Ando, unanimously continued both a major site plan review and a special permit application for a proposed research and development facility at 23 Mill Street — filed by attorney Melissa Robbins on behalf of Green 1A Investments LLC — to October 2 at 6:30 p.m., after Robbins requested additional time to respond to a third-party peer review. The board also set a public hearing for October 16 on revised subdivision rules and regulations drafted by the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments. In a lengthy discussion of a roughly $500,000 federal earmark for a commercial kitchen at the Peter Fitz Collaborative, Ganong said a preliminary design from the USDA amounted to little more than "a refresh of that kitchen" and that he would work directly with the collaborative and seek food service consultants before the board recommends releasing any funds to the Select Board.