The Planning Board will hold a public hearing this evening, Sept. 5, to receive community input on proposed zoning changes to comply with the MBTA Communities Law.
The 7 p.m. hearing at Broadmeadow Elementary School is likely the last opportunity for community input before Fall Town Meeting decides the issue next month. It will focus on proposed adjustments to the town’s compliance plan that make it slightly more ambitious.
In early August, after the state Office of Housing and Livable Communities reported favorably on the town’s plan, the Planning Board held multiple discussions with representatives of the owners of 100-110 West St., eventually agreeing on revisions to the original zoning for that property. The new zoning for that site required a fresh review of its impact on the overall plan. Deputy Town Manager Katie King said the review, which was completed this week, estimates the revisions increase the potential housing yield by 56 units.
The public hearing agenda includes a report on a recently completed traffic study and whether the proposed adjustments at 100-110 West St. create different expectations regarding fiscal and other impacts on the town, such as possible increased student enrollment.
The Planning Board is now leading the process previously driven by the ad hoc Housing Needham Working Group (HONE) that was dissolved after completing its work in May.
The Planning Board is proposing relatively minor changes to HONE’s original plan, specifically changing certain dimensional requirements the owners of 100-110 West St. said would increase the likelihood of their moving forward with a multifamily housing development at the site, which has been vacant since 2018.
At the Planning Board’s Aug. 27 meeting, Board Chair Natasha Espada said the board was committed to responding to citizen requests for additional information to inform the decision making.
“I just want to let the community know that we’ve listened to what they’re saying,” she said. “And we’re trying to address all of those items before this public hearing and before Town Meeting.”
Needham is one of 177 communities mandated to create a zoning district of at least 50 acres, located within a half-mile of a commuter rail station and allowing construction of multifamily housing on a by-right basis – i.e., no special permits can be required. The law requires Needham’s district to accommodate at least 1,784 units of housing.
The law does not require the units be built, only that they be allowed by zoning and without onerous additional requirements.
HONE’s two-scenario strategy is scheduled to go before Town Meeting next month for final approval. The “base” scenario is a minimally compliant plan that would satisfy the letter of the MBTA law while the “neighborhood” scenario is a more ambitious plan that would loosen multiple dimensional requirements to incentivize the construction of multifamily housing. Town Meeting will vote first on the base plan. If that scenario passes, Town Meeting would then vote on the neighborhood plan, which would supersede the base plan if both pass Town Meeting. A simple majority vote is required for passage.
Both plans target 100 acres of land on the two-mile corridor along the commuter rail tracks from the Needham Heights T stop to Needham Junction station, with the most significant changes designed along Chestnut Street.
Deputy Town Manager King echoed Espada’s commitment to involving the community as fully as possible. “Needham residents, business owners, and local employees have actively engaged with the town, sharing their housing needs and visions for future development,” she said. “Their voices have been critical in shaping the zoning proposals that will ultimately go to Town Meeting.”
The Planning Board expects to complete the hearing in one session. Time is at a premium, as the board needs to have its proposal finalized in time to meet the deadline for October’s Town Meeting.
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