Tyngsborough Planning Board Rejects As-Built at Gateway Dispensary, Demands Granite Curbing Fix

TYNGSBOROUGH — March 6, 2025 — Tyngsborough Planning Board demands corrections at two construction sites and continues a major drainage dispute over a BAPS religious campus. At the March 6 meeting, the board unanimously endorsed an Approval Not Required land transfer of roughly 36,000 square feet at 2226 Westford Road to the Comets Diner complex owner, then refused to sign off on an as-built for the 405 Middlesex Road cannabis dispensary after engineer Mike Novak of Patriot Engineering confirmed the building had been shifted four feet east and Cape Cod berm curbing installed instead of the board-required vertical granite, both without board notification. Member Kimberly O'Brien called 405 Middlesex "one of the gateways to Tingsboro" and said the curbing substitution was "not something I'm willing to accept." At 50 Westford Road, attorney Peter Nicosie and engineer Brian Dunn of MBL Land Development and Permitting presented modifications to a 2021-approved BAPS campus site plan — including a switch from ArmorTank to Cultec drainage chambers and a building increase to 57,724 square feet — but faced a 26-comment peer review letter from TEC engineer David Nader; the board continued the item to March 20 without voting on minor-versus-major modification status, with roughly nine drainage comments still in dispute.