Pepperell Planning Board sets September 17 hearing on Elm Street duplex proposal

PEPPERELL — August 6, 2018 — Pepperell Planning Board opens review of five-lot Elm Street residential project at former Scotch Plain Farm. Engineer Jack Winooski presented plans Monday on behalf of the Quintal family and lot owner Ned Altali to convert the long-idle farm property on Elm Street into as many as five residential lots, with duplexes on at least some parcels and a common driveway running on the existing access road — requiring two separate special permits from the board. No vote was taken; the board set a public hearing for September 17 after rescheduling around a member's travel abroad. Winooski said percolation testing conducted across the site returned rates of 15 to 30 minutes per inch, all within Title V limits, and that a Conservation Commission hearing on the project was scheduled for the following evening. The board also discussed escalating tensions on the Master Plan Advisory Committee, with members expressing concern that a committee member's letter attacking NEMCOG consultant Beverly Woods as politically motivated could derail a planning effort members said has cost "50,000-plus dollars" to date.