Pepperell Planning Board declines to write letter on Master Plan committee demographics

PEPPERELL — March 12, 2018 — Pepperell Planning Board declines to write letter challenging Master Plan committee demographics. Six residents, led by April Healy of 39 Oak Hill Road, appeared before the board Monday to present census data showing the newly formed Master Plan Committee is 71 percent male, 57 percent Republican, and 64 percent composed of business owners — well outside the town's demographic profile. The group asked the board to write to the Select Board requesting a review of the selection process, but members declined, saying authority over advisory committee appointments rests with Town Administrator Mark Andrews and the Select Board under the revised town charter. One board member called the selection process "a failed process," citing the lack of Planning Board notification and the absence of interviews for applicants who were turned away. The board also flagged a looming March 23 deadline to file public comments on an Environmental Notification Form for Robins Hollow, an eight-lot subdivision at 110 South Road that was first approved around 2011 and is now being resubmitted with updated stormwater management plans.