Pepperell farm board OKs Right to Farm bylaw, riding-stable ask
Agricultural Commission · Meeting of September 3, 2026
Pepperell's Agricultural Commission finalized Right to Farm bylaw language for Town Meeting and endorsed a Planning Board push on riding stables and greenhouses. Co-Chair Sherrill Rosoff led the remote meeting in Co-Chair Lucille McKain's absence, joined by members Naomi Soden and Eric Piper. The commission unanimously approved resubmitting Piper's May 2025 letter urging riding academies be added to the town's table of uses, and agreed to send the Planning Board simplified "non-exempt" and "as of right" agricultural use definitions, warning current language is "really dense, almost to the point of being obtuse." Members also flagged the Devens hydroponic grower Little Leaf Farms, whose greenhouses run "the size of a football field," as reason to protect large-scale growing operations in industrial zones.
The board tabled Board of Health correspondence on manure management until after Fall Town Meeting and launched a $37 promotional website, pepperellagriculture.com, ahead of its October 4 Open Farm Day.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- The complete report — 2,739 words
Source: the Agricultural Commission meeting of September 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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