Pepperell Planning Board Delays Maple Leaf Village Vote, Flags Fire Safety Gaps

PEPPERELL — April 7, 2025 — Pepperell Planning Board pushes Maple Leaf Village expansion hearing to April 29, pressing applicant on fire water supply. The board voted unanimously at its April 7 meeting to continue the public hearing on a 26-unit expansion of the 55-and-older manufactured-home community at 6 Mason Street, filed by Maple Leaf Village LLC under OpenGov records MAJ-25-1 and LDP-25-1. Chair Al Patenaud raised the sharpest questions of the evening over fire suppression, noting the community's existing 84 units are served by only two entrance hydrants and that the four-inch on-site water mains cannot support additional ones. "We have one pumper truck which is older, and they would have to be able to support getting the water to the pumper truck," Patenaud told the applicant, adding he would contact the fire chief for a formal written position on whether cisterns are required. Applicant engineer Liz Clark of GPR said the fire department's submitted comments had addressed access and auto-turn movements and that the small structures with setbacks between them likely informed the department's confidence level. The board also voted to cancel its April 22 meeting, consolidating all outstanding items to April 29, and confirmed a board site visit for April 9. The applicant estimated the expansion would generate roughly $14,000 in additional annual tax revenue, correcting an earlier figure of $3,000.