Pepperell Planning Board unanimously denies 11-year-old Howell Street special permit extension

PEPPERELL — April 29, 2019 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously denied an extension of a long-stalled multifamily special permit at 33-35 Howell Street, citing a missed filing deadline and an 11-year-old underlying approval. Co-owner Todd Drew appeared before the board and acknowledged the applicants had failed to submit their extension request 60 days before the February 2017 permit lapsed, as required by Section 4.5.7 of the Special Permit Rules and Regulations; the board's planner recommended denial and noted the Conservation Commission's associated order of conditions had also expired in 2014. The board separately approved an approval-not-required lot division for John Harrison at 122 South Road, where a ZBA variance had already cleared a seven-foot frontage deficiency, and tabled a three-lot subdivision proposal for the rear of 183-193 South Road after members could not determine how the new interior lots would access a public way. The board also approved a $449.32 invoice for public hearing notices tied to a marijuana zoning bylaw headed to town meeting on May 6, and directed staff to draft a memo to the Board of Selectmen opposing Governor Baker's proposal to lower the zoning-change vote threshold from two-thirds to a simple majority.