Pepperell Planning Board Grants Special Permit for Oak Hill Street Sawmill Operation

PEPPERELL — December 6, 2021 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously approves special permit for an 18-year-old sawmill operating without one. The board voted 4-0 at its December 6 meeting to grant Special Permit SP-2021-04 to Anthony Beattie, owner of Robinwood Farm at 40-62 Oak Hill Street, authorizing the continued part-time operation of a portable Wood-Mizer sawmill that had been running since 2002 in the town residential zoning district. Beattie, who also serves as a town selectman, had voluntarily ceased operations in May 2021 after receiving notice from the building inspector. The permit carries conditions limiting hours to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday or one-half hour after sunset, whichever is earlier; requiring compliance with the town noise bylaw; prohibiting log trucks associated with the mill from using the private Blue Heron's Way; and mandating that the mill footprint remain in substantial conformance with the application sketch. Neighbors on Blue Heron's Way testified they had never heard the mill operating, while a third neighbor raised concerns about past heavy truck traffic on the private road linked to a tree service that formerly leased space on the farm. The board then spent more than two hours reviewing a draft open space residential development bylaw with a DLTA-funded Northern Middlesex Council of Governments consultant, with members flagging a potential legal problem in language that would appear to mandate a special permit for all major subdivisions — a requirement board member Al argued cannot legally be compelled.