Pepperell Planning Board Recommends New Member, Revises Design Standards

PEPPERELL — May 10, 2023 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously recommends Brian Keating to fill vacant seat, advances design standards overhaul. Keating, Chair of the town's Housing Committee and Senior Planner of the Housing Council, was the sole applicant for the seat vacated by former Chair Casey Campanetti; the board voted to send him to the Select Board for joint appointment at a meeting tentatively set for May 15. In a session running past 8 p.m., the three-member board — joined by Associate Member Tiffany James — worked through more than 20 pages of a draft rules and regulations document, converting multiple "shall" requirements to "should," deleting a section on subdivision identification signage entirely, and adding a new provision encouraging solar-powered site lighting. The board confirmed a 60 percent New England native vegetation requirement on new developments, accepted a suggestion from advisory committee member Deb Fountain to require conservation seed mixes on disturbed areas, and changed a canopy tree provision from "should" to "shall" at Fountain's request. Staff member Jenny noted that the trustees of Lomar Park have approached the town about having the private road accepted as a public way, with an engineering firm being retained to assess feasibility.