Pepperell Planning Board sets July 22 public hearing date for solar energy bylaw

PEPPERELL — June 10, 2019 — Pepperell Planning Board advances draft solar energy bylaw toward public hearings this summer. The board reviewed a revised draft at its June 10 meeting, with staff planner Lisa presenting changes that reclassify medium-scale ground-mounted solar installations as requiring a special permit rather than a site plan, and that introduce "solar canopies" as a regulatory term treated the same as ground-mounted systems. The board left open the question of whether to require setbacks larger than the standard zoning baseline — Lisa noted that some Massachusetts communities mandate setbacks of 100 feet for ground-mounted arrays. The board set July 22 as the date for public hearings on both the solar bylaw and a pending assisted living facility application, with a follow-up meeting scheduled for August 12. Lisa also announced, without formal comment, that Pepperell had been awarded a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant from the Commonwealth, pending a formal state clearance to announce.