Town Meeting took steps to keep up with the needs created by the ever-increasing popularity of the town’s senior center, approving funding for upgrades to the space. Only in its second decade, the center at Hillside Avenue will undergo renovations and structural changes to meet residents’ evolving needs.
This article was one of four that provide benefits to older residents. Town Meeting also voted in favor of three articles that address a range of housing needs, all of which were approved with little to no opposition.
Senior Center: Crowd favorite secures funding
by Kay Matipa
Needham’s hub for senior programs is scheduled for a facelift following an all-but-unanimous approval of $1.79 million for Center at The Heights improvements. Dollars will be used to upgrade the kitchen, expand the fitness room, relocate the game room and add a more accessible rear entrance.
Finance Committee member Carol Smith-Fachetti highlighted the CATH’s popularity among Needham’s older community members. “Demand has consistently increased for all of the programs offered by the CATH,” she said.
The response of Town Meeting members, many of whom participate in CATH programs themselves, underscored the center’s popularity as a go-to space for Needham seniors, with only one “nay” opposing the upgrades.
Karen Han, precinct H, whose parents live at Wingate, said, “It’s added vitality and years to their lives … So I just really hope everyone in this room understands the intangible benefits of expanding this space for our community.”
Director of Health and Human Services Tim McDonald told the Observer there are areas of the building where assumptions made during original construction have failed to meet the needs and interests of visitors.
Of the $1.79 million approved on Wednesday, $370,000 will fund the construction of more accessible entrances and relocate handicap parking spaces closer to the new entrance. It will cost $486,000 to repurpose the existing game room for exercise and establish a new billiards center on the second floor. $929,000 will convert the demonstration kitchen into a production kitchen.
“We don’t want to take away recreational opportunities like billiards from seniors,” said McDonald. “But you know, if those two things are in competition, the sort of physical fitness and exercise for seniors kind of wins out in terms of what is a higher goal.”
Construction of all three projects will begin in July and will take roughly six months to complete. As they anticipate construction, McDonald said staff have been brainstorming alternatives for meals and fitness opportunities.
Only one Town Meeting member spoke against the renovations, questioning the need for improved CATH facilities in light of unpaid debt on the building and other big-ticket items on the agenda.
In-law apartments are no longer just for aging parents or adult children
by Bob Baker
By majority voice vote, Town Meeting agreed to update Needham’s Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw to make it consistent with the state law passed in Feb. 2025. The state mandates municipalities allow both attached and detached ADUs, units now can be rented, and the property owner is no longer required to live on site.
Planning Board member Oscar Mertz, who presented the changes at Town Meeting, said some of the state’s prior requirements have remained intact. “They must be sited on a single lot, and the ADU must remain in common ownership with the associated principal dwelling.” They are still limited to half the size of the principal dwelling or 900 square feet — whichever is smaller — and a single property can only have one ADU.
“There’s consistent evidence that only a select few people actually choose to build an ADU,” he said. Needham has only 16 ADUs, and all but three are attached or within the principal dwelling.
“The potential physical impact on the town is inherently incremental,” echoed Ali Blauer, Finance Committee member.
Louis Wolfson of precinct J, said that, in his opinion, ADUs should be limited to family members. But he acknowledged that because of state law, “We have no control.”
Bob Smart, precinct G Town Meeting member and a former Planning Board member, said a consistent set of guidelines will be needed for builders and for the town’s Building Department.
Denisa Weinstein, precinct D, asked about the impact of ADUs on tax assessments. Town officials said ADUs are part of the full property and assessed on any value they add.
New zoning for North Hill Retirement Community
by Seth Bauer
After identifying the most fitting location on North Hill’s property to add an additional four-story building with about 45 additional independent living residences, which would help reduce its lengthy waiting list, facility operators encountered a problem.
Current zoning could accommodate fewer than half that many units, which would not be cost efficient. The solution required zoning changes in the town’s only A-2 apartment district, which is entirely comprised of the North Hill complex.
The Planning Board approved new zoning requirements to allow North Hill to build taller, larger apartment buildings that are more in line with their skilled nursing buildings. The changes met with some skepticism at Town Meeting, but the size and height were not the concern.
Instead, some Town Meeting members focused on the portion of the article affecting the town requirement for 12.5% affordable units in large, multifamily buildings. In lieu of providing affordable units, North Hill negotiated an agreement with the town to make a large ($400,000) one-time payment to the town’s housing program for each unit that would have been designated as affordable.
Town Meeting member Barbara McDonald suggested an amendment to make North Hill subject to the same inclusionary zoning that exists in the Elder Services Zoning District that includes the Wingate facility. At its meeting just ahead of the May 4 Town Meeting session, the Planning Board voted unanimously voted not to amend the zoning article.
Because North Hill’s business model includes lifetime continuing care, it is not the same as a simple landlord/tenant or condo model. The Planning Board cited North Hill’’s need for flexibility in voting down the amendment.
“Unlike ordinary apartments that provide only a unit for rent, these units provide a much more robust set of services,” said Planning Board member Adam Block in his presentation, “For instance, food services. It includes transportation services. It also includes day programming, evening programs for residents, and it also includes assistance with living services and finally, significant health services to residents.”
Both the Select Board and Finance Committee recommended Town Meeting support the zoning change. Select Board chair Heidi Frail pointed to the residents of North Hill as valued citizens of Needham and to the nonprofit corporation being one of the town’s largest residential taxpayers, contributing roughly $1.5 million in annual tax payments.
Members including Emily Cooper from precinct A, Amanda Berman from precinct G and Ken Buckley from precinct G questioned whether the payment in lieu of lower cost units was fair to other senior living facilities that do include such units.
Other members, including Moe Handel from precinct I, a former North Hill board member, defended the arrangement. Dave Lazarus, from precinct C, which includes North Hill, said he was reassured by the work of the Planning Board and its announced intention to look carefully at factors such as water runoff and traffic changes before approving construction.
The zoning changes passed by voice vote.
NHA’s Seabeds project gets topped off with $804K for new roofs
by Peter O’Neil
Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved an additional $804,000 for the Needham Housing Authority’s $20.6 million preservation/renovation project at its Seabeds Way property. The funds will be used to replace the roofs at the four 2-story buildings that house 46 one-bedroom apartments for seniors and people with disabilities.
The new roofs, which will allow the NHA to install previously funded solar panels, had not been anticipated, given the current roofs are only halfway through their expected useful life. But panel installation would not have been possible without the upgrade.
“The third-party solar panel provider would not install solar on the roofs in their current condition due to concerns over leaks,” said Select Board member Cathy Dowd, who spoke on behalf of the article.
“Early roof replacement provides several important project benefits,” said Adam Block, the Planning Board’s designee to the Community Preservation Committee, which sponsored the article. He explained extending the roof life eliminates the need for the NHA to maintain a $400,000 capital reserve fund, thereby increasing its borrowing capacity to finance other needs. He also noted the solar panels will provide a green energy source and be revenue positive thanks to energy credits the NHA will receive.
“The Finance Committee agrees this is an important project for the protection and well-being of our most vulnerable senior residents,” said FinCom Chair John Connelly in support of the award, which was passed after no Town Meeting member offered any comment or question.
The money for the project comes from Community Preservation Act funds and complements a $3.2 million CPA grant voted at Town Meeting last year.
The NHA has leveraged the town’s investment by obtaining additional funding from loans, grants, rebates and other awards totaling more than $16 million. It is in the process of choosing a contractor and expects to break ground on the project in July.
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