More than two dozen residents took advantage of their final chance to comment on the merits of the town’s strategy for complying with the MBTA Communities Act at a Sept. 5 Planning Board public hearing.
Similar to prior community meetings on the proposed compliance plan, a majority of those who spoke indicated either full or qualified support for the town’s two-part strategy. Detractors raised a variety of concerns related both to the substance of the plan and perceived flaws in the process.
Supporters expressed a sense of urgency around the zoning effort, noting the state is in the midst of a potentially crippling housing crisis. Legislators, business leaders, housing advocates and others have frequently cited the state’s more than 200,000-home supply shortage, and that the deficit is causing young professionals and others to leave, threatening the regional economy.
Opponents expressed concern that zoning may force-feed more multifamily housing units into Needham than it can handle, leading to overcrowded schools and stresses on town infrastructure. Several also expressed resentment over the state mandating the change, usurping local control without providing meaningful support or incentives.
“We’re not just making a decision for Needham,” said resident Mike Fisch of Donna Road. “We’re making it impossible for middle-class people to live in our state. It’s a legit emergency. It is unwise for us to be in an emergency-room type of situation and to pretend otherwise.”
“We need more information,” countered Central Avenue resident Fred Sewall, an argument several other speakers also made. “Why are we rushing forward, when we don’t even know if the law that is enforcing this is constitutional? Why not wait?”
“I’m glad you asked, ‘Why not wait?’” said Paula Dickerman, a Burnside Road resident. “Why not? Because there is a severe housing shortage in Massachusetts. Suburbs did a really good job of building houses from the ’40s through the ’70s, but then we stopped building multifamily housing.”
It was the need for housing that led the state Legislature to pass the MBTA Communities Act in 2021. It requires Needham and 176 other communities in the MBTA service area to create a zoning district that complies with the law’s guidelines to facilitate multifamily housing construction.
While opponents criticized the process as rushed, supporters noted the town has already spent nearly three years developing its plan. It started with a 15-month effort by the Housing Plan Working Group to study all the town’s housing needs. That was followed by a nearly yearlong community engagement process led by the ad hoc Housing Plan Working Group dedicated to meeting the Dec. 31, 2024, state deadline for complying with the law.
Oscar Mertz of Rybury Hillway referenced the lengthy process when speaking in support of the plan. “Let’s have respect for the work that’s been done,” he said. “It’s been considerable.”
But Webster Street resident Christine Urban identified one area that she said deserves more study. “Right now, the school (enrollment) assumptions are a little shaky based on the math that I’ve done on them. The one thing that hasn’t happened is a real in-depth analysis of what’s going on with these school numbers.”
In its analysis, the town’s consultant, RKG Associates, projects 13 new students to be generated for every 100 units that get built. If the neighborhood plan produces the 1,432 units projected as the “likely build” over the next decade, this would generate 171 new students, a 3% increase.
This projection is based on many factors and correlates with the impact the town’s three recent large multifamily housing complexes — Kendrick, Modera and Charles River Landing — have had on student enrollment since they were built.
Over the past five school years, the 826 units at the three complexes have generated an average of 108.6 students each school year, representing a 2% increase in total school population.
Urban presented a 24-slide PowerPoint to make her case that the town is dramatically underestimating how many new students could be added to the system under the new zoning rules. Due to time limits imposed on all speakers, she was unable to get through her full analysis.
Interviewed this week, Urban said the town’s projections are considerably lower than those she found when studying other towns. “These numbers just smelled wrong,” she said, arguing that as many as 19 students per 100 units could be generated. This would add 272 new students, a 5% increase.
Urban noted that a yield closer to her estimate would also alter the overall fiscal impact on the town. The town currently estimates a net fiscal impact will be a surplus of $2.6 million if the maximum number of units gets added to the town inventory. But Urban said if the student enrollment numbers are as high as 19 students per 100 units, “the fiscal impact goes negative.”
What’s next?
With the final public comment event completed, Planning Board Chair Natasha Espada said it’s likely the board will finalize the town’s MBTA Communities Law compliance plan at its next meeting Sept. 17.
Espada said she expects the board will discuss possible adjustments to the plan based on what they heard at the Sept. 5 public hearing and then vote on the plan that Town Meeting will consider Oct. 21.
“We held the public hearing for a reason and that’s to get feedback from the public,” she said. “We’ll discuss it and I think we can come to a final decision.”
None of the other four Planning Board members contacted by the Observer indicated specific concern or change to recommend, but said they would be open to discussing possible adjustments.
Since taking over the lead role in the process in August, the board made changes to the zoning rules just to one parcel. It loosened restrictions at 100-110 West St. to increase the expected unit yield from that property from 187 potential units to 243. More importantly, the changes were deemed to have increased the likelihood the property, vacant since 2018, would actually be developed.
The alteration drew criticism from Rosemary Street resident Joe Matthews, who criticized the Planning Board for acting in concert with the attorneys for the owner of the property.
“Overall, I’m generally supportive of these efforts. I do consider myself a housing hawk,” he said, adding he continues to support the overall plan with the exception of the late change at 100-110 West St.
“It was written by the lawyers for the owner of the parcel. We didn’t use our leverage to secure any additional guarantees or timeline,” he said.
Matthews, a Town Meeting member, said he would have trouble supporting the zoning change if the changes at the West Street property remain in the plan.
Two other speakers at the Sept. 5 hearing, Select Board member Josh Levy and Town Meeting member Holly Clarke, also indicated they supported the goal of increasing housing supply but felt the town needed to do more to protect itself from potentially irresponsible development.
Since the MBTA law requires development be allowed “by right,” both Levy and Clarke advised the town to strengthen the site plan review process under which projects would be considered,
Espada agreed that creating a more robust site plan review process was a topic worth revisiting Sept. 17.
MBTA Communities Act compliance
To be in compliance, Needham must create a zoning district of at least 50 acres with a minimum zoning capacity of 1,784 units and an overall density of 15 units per acre. It does not require the actual construction of a single unit, merely that the town have a zoning district where that number of units is allowed “by right,” meaning with no special permitting processes required.
Town Meeting is the final arbiter of the plan. Next month it will vote on two different scenarios. The first is a “base compliance” plan that would create a district with 1,924 potential units. If Town Meeting approves that plan, it will then take a second vote on the “neighborhood plan,” which would allow for 3,350 units.
Both plans cover essentially the same geographic area — 100 acres along the town’s two-mile spine adjacent to the commuter rail tracks between the Needham Heights and Needham Junction stations and mainly on Highland Avenue and Chestnut Street. Neither plan changes the current underlying zoning, and none of the zoning changes occur in districts currently zoned for single-residence use.
If Town Meeting approves both, the neighborhood plan would supersede the base plan. However, if Town Meeting votes down the base plan, the neighborhood plan would not be considered and the town would have to scramble to meet its deadline.
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