Pepperell Planning Board hires town planner, moves ADU bylaw toward May vote

PEPPERELL -- April 16, 2024, Pepperell Planning Board welcomes new town planner after eight-month vacancy. The board introduced Jason Clegghorn as town planner at its April 16 meeting, filling a position vacant since mid-2023. Chair Al Pat and consulting planner Ted Bravitz briefed the three-member board on the latest ADU bylaw draft, which sets a 20,000-square-foot minimum lot size, a 700-square-foot maximum living space, and a 40,000-square-foot lot threshold for detached units by special permit; the board set May 20 as its next ADU review session with written member feedback due May 13. A grant funding Bravitz's consulting services expires June 30, prompting Pat to seek an extension from state administrators in Boston, citing the eight months the town was without a planner. The board also received a $260,000 commercial kitchen update on the Fitzpatrick Collaborative project, voted 3-0 to continue its subdivision rules and regulations hearing to May 1, and discussed a proposed joint site walk with the DPW Board on the ongoing Rotary reconstruction project.