Pepperell Selectmen Approve Mariano's Liquor License, Adopt Affordable Housing Plan

PEPPERELL — May 13, 2014 — Pepperell selectmen transferred a Main Street liquor license, adopted an affordable housing plan, and continued a contested club-license regulation hearing at their May 13 meeting. The board voted unanimously to transfer the all-alcohol restaurant license at 105 Main Street from Dolce Brands LLC to Mariano's Italian LLC, managed by Albert S. Mariano Jr., with revised hours standardized to 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; Pamela Mariano, representing the family, said the restaurant would maintain its Italian focus and expand into nightly specials. The board also unanimously adopted Pepperell's April 2014 Affordable Housing Production Plan, which heads next to the Planning Board on May 19 before a state submission, and approved a memorandum of understanding with the North Middlesex Community Cares opiate prevention collaborative. A public hearing on proposed amendments to Regulation 19 of the town's club-license rules — intended to close a loophole that had excluded rental-function attendees from sign-in requirements — was continued after Police Chief Scott raised enforcement concerns about the draft language. The meeting closed with a pointed public exchange over the Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas Pipeline, with one selectman stating he could personally accept the pipeline if required while a colleague said he could not support it given residents' documented concerns.