Planning Board Unanimously Backs Pepper Ridge Drive Public Way Acceptance After 21 Years

BELCHERTOWN — March 24, 2026 — Belchertown's Planning Board unanimously recommended acceptance of Pepper Ridge Drive as a public way after more than 21 years in process. The board voted Tuesday to send the recommendation to the Select Board, which voted its own intention to lay out the road at its March 16 meeting; the item is now expected to appear on the May annual town meeting warrant for a public vote. The town planner noted that all documentation is in compliance and only routine basin maintenance remains. The board also seated two volunteer members on a new ad hoc land use plan working group — alongside Select Board member Jonathan Ritter and citizen volunteer Jim Barry — that will produce a foundational document for the town's first comprehensive zoning overhaul in more than 30 years, with a state grant-funded consultant carrying the bulk of the work before a December deadline.