Pepperell Planning Board delays Pierce Street driveway vote, sets June 15 hearing

PEPPERELL — June 1, 2020 — Pepperell Planning Board continues Pierce Street common driveway hearing after quorum falls short of special permit threshold. The board, meeting virtually on June 1, found itself with three voting members and one alternate who had missed the prior session — one vote short of the four needed to act on the special permit application filed by Peter Montesanti for a four-lot common driveway off the dead-end road. Engineer Kenneth Lania of Cornerstone argued that requiring underground electrical utilities would add roughly $85,000 to project costs and significantly delay occupancy for a family currently living in a hotel, proposing instead that overhead lines serve the first house — about 300 feet from the existing pole — with underground service running the remaining 750 feet of the drive. Board member Al Patnaude and Town Planner Lisa Davis both said the board has been consistent in requiring underground utilities on recent common driveways and that the site's open-field setting does not eliminate the risk of blocked emergency access from downed lines. Lania offered to stake proposed pole locations in the field by Wednesday for members to evaluate before the continued hearing, set for June 15 at 7:15 p.m.