Pepperell Planning Board Votes Unanimously to Advance 40R Smart Growth Zoning to Town Meeting

PEPPERELL — November 7, 2022 — Pepperell Planning Board unanimously advances 40R Smart Growth Overlay District zoning to Town Meeting and approves public safety facility. The board, chaired by Al Pattenard, closed the public hearing on the proposed Section 9000 Smart Growth Overlay District after receiving new correspondence confirming that the two designated development sites — 180 units maximum at Layton Street and approximately 24 units at Nashua Road — would increase daily water demand by roughly 2 percent of peak usage, well within capacity, according to a November 1 letter from DPW Director Ken Kalinowski. Pattenard directly disputed a figure of 600-plus units that circulated following the October 17 hearing: "Please read and review the black and white — that's what I do all the time." A late response from DHCD representative Bill Rail confirmed the 180-unit cap could stand, modified to read "shall not exceed the greater of 180 units or 20 dwelling units per acre of gross buildable land." The board separately approved a major site plan review and two special permits for a proposed 31,500-square-foot police and fire facility at 45-47 Lowell Road, with conditions including downward-only lighting at or below 3,000 Kelvin and native plantings, as presented by engineers from Fuss and O'Neill and Tecton Architects. The 40R article goes to a simple-majority Town Meeting vote on November 14.