Gardner ZBA Accepts Oak Street Three-Family Withdrawal, Continues Cell Tower Case

GARDNER — May 19, 2026 — Gardner ZBA accepts three-family withdrawal, continues cell tower case to June. The Gardner Zoning Board of Appeals, sitting with its minimum four-member quorum, voted unanimously at its May 19 meeting to accept a withdrawal without prejudice from an Oak Street property owner, identified as Mr. Patel, who has been seeking a special permit to operate a three-story building as a three-family dwelling since at least November 2025. Chair Ray LaFonda and members Richard Hanks, Robert Rice, and Jim Bellido spent the better part of the hearing pressing Patel to hire a licensed civil engineer to produce a dimensioned parking plan meeting Gardner's 9-by-18-foot space requirement — the central obstacle to the application. Patel, who had appeared with hand-drawn diagrams citing state Architectural Access Board standards rather than city ordinance, ultimately chose to withdraw without prejudice rather than pay the $150 continuance fee, preserving his right to reapply once a professional plan is in hand. The board also unanimously continued a separate cell tower case near Walmart, designated GBA 2026-03-02, to its June 16 meeting pending additional fall-zone documentation.