Pepperell Planning Board Grants PATCH Sign Permit, Extends Cannabis Retailer Deadline

PEPPERELL — May 17, 2021 — Pepperell Planning Board grants PATCH food pantry a sign permit and pushes cannabis decision to June 21. The board voted unanimously May 17 to approve a special permit for a double-sided sign at 66 Hollis Street for PATCH Outreach, trimming the proposed 10-foot-tall structure to a maximum of eight feet from grade, capping lighting at 2,700 Kelvin, and requiring illumination to end by 9 p.m. — conditions drawn partly from public objections that the 32-square-foot sign, nearly five times the six-square-foot bylaw standard, was outsized for the Rural Residence zone. Separately, after board member Joyce read a second outside legal opinion into the record — from attorney Brian R. Falk, who largely agreed with Town Counsel that the Pepperell Zoning Bylaw most likely limits the town to one marijuana retailer — the board unanimously extended New England Craft Cultivators' pending special permit application to June 21, with board members divided 2-2 on interpretation. The board also recommended adoption of a stormwater management bylaw at town meeting and approved a master plan implementation report showing nearly 10 percent of the plan's 197 recommendations completed within six months of adoption.