Pepperell Planning Board recommends town pass on $270,000 Kaiser Farm purchase

PEPPERELL — February 1, 2021 — Pepperell Planning Board voted to recommend the town forgo a $270,000 Kaiser Farm land purchase and opened extended debates on a stormwater bylaw and a proposed zoning change for the Peter Fitzpatrick property. The board voted 4-0-1 to advise the Select Board not to exercise the town's Chapter 61 right of first refusal on the eight-acre parcel at 74 Brookline Street, with members concluding it did not meet Planning Board planning objectives at that price. Town Administrator Andrew McClain presented a proposal to convert six use categories in the Town Residential district table of uses from prohibited to Planning Board special permit — a change intended to allow professional offices, service establishments, and a commercial kitchen at the Fitzpatrick building — but members raised concerns about the breadth of the Town Residential district and asked for a GIS lot-size analysis before committing to any warrant article ahead of the March 19 deadline. DPW Director Ken Kalinowski and consultant Emily from Tyan Bond briefed the board on a draft stormwater bylaw required by the town's EPA MS4 permit, with Town Counsel raising only minor clarifying edits; the board agreed to take up draft stormwater regulations at its March 1 meeting. The board also voted unanimously to approve two sets of updates to the master plan implementation table, including consolidating stormwater recommendations and deleting two duplicate or superseded items.