Marlborough committee backs cannabis testing lab permit, McDonald's sign plan

MARLBOROUGH -- July 14, 2025, Marlborough Urban Affairs Committee advances cannabis testing lab and downsizes a planned McDonald's sign. The committee voted 5-0 Monday to recommend a special permit for Green Armory Laboratories Inc. and landlord TB Marlborough LLC to operate an independent marijuana testing lab at 260 Cedar Hill Street, with operating hours capped at 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Vice President Paul White, who said the company is investing roughly $1.2 million in liquid-chromatography and mass-spectrometry equipment, told the panel "this is not our first rodeo" after a prior 2022 launch collapsed when an investor died. Amendments added police-chief sign-off on the security plan and looped in the fire chief on contact information. On a 4-0 vote with Councilor Doucette recused, the committee approved a McDonald's master sign plan at 735 Boston Post Road East but rejected the company's preferred 30-foot pylon in favor of a non-illuminated six-foot monument sign, with Councilor Navin calling the smaller version "a kind of a classier looking sign." The full council takes up the cannabis permit Aug. 18.