Pepperell Planning Board splits multifamily zoning tiers in table of uses overhaul

PEPPERELL — January 27, 2025 — Pepperell Planning Board advances major zoning table rewrite, splitting multifamily housing into new tiers. Working through a draft Table of Principal Uses prepared by Town Planner Jason Allison, the five-member board reached preliminary consensus at its January 27 meeting to create separate categories for three-to-four-unit townhouse-style buildings and five-or-more-unit complexes, with larger developments blocked outright in industrial and rural residential zones and held to special permit review in most other districts. Chair Al Papadopoulos and the board also unanimously appointed member Joan Laddick to return as the town's NUMCOG representative following the resignation of Brian Keating. Allison presented GIS parcel-size data showing median lot sizes in urban residential at roughly 0.3 acres, arguing the figures expose a gap between nominal zoning minimums and the built reality. The board is targeting a fall 2025 Town Meeting for a zoning article and ruled out the spring warrant, with Allison noting the state's new accessory dwelling unit law takes effect in February and will supersede local silence on ADUs regardless of bylaw status.