April 24, 2025
• On Thursday, April 17th, the Needham Zoning Board of Appeals opened a hearing to consider an application to redevelop a property on Chestnut Street. This would add residential apartments to the business district, but there are some hurdles. When zoning laws were conceived and implemented over the early part of the 20th century, the rules were superimposed over existing properties with varied owners. As a result a number of unusual and non-complying lots were formed. While the town tries to encourage development that will bring those lots closer to that vision, it can be a significant challenge. Even if a developer has a plan that is favored by the town, the correct mechanisms need to be used to assess whether it is a good fit, and how the property could be modernized without causing problems for the town or neighbors of the land in question. Such cases are heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and they recently took on a case which would add six apartments to the Chestnut Street Business District. The developer is proposing it as a “Friendly 40B”, adding an additional designation of an affordable unit, and giving the town some control over how the two planned affordable units are rented. Needham Enterprises is hoping that will be enough to make the project a reality.
• On Thursday, April 17th, the Needham Zoning Board of Appeals opened a hearing to consider an application to redevelop a property on Chestnut Street. This would add residential apartments to the business district, but there are some hurdles. When zoning laws were conceived and implemented over the early part of the 20th century, the rules were superimposed over existing properties with varied owners. As a result a number of unusual and non-complying lots were formed. While the town tries to encourage development that will bring those lots closer to that vision, it can be a significant challenge. Even if a developer has a plan that is favored by the town, the correct mechanisms need to be used to assess whether it is a good fit, and how the property could be modernized without causing problems for the town or neighbors of the land in question. Such cases are heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and they recently took on a case which would add six apartments to the Chestnut Street Business District. The developer is proposing it as a “Friendly 40B”, adding an additional designation of an affordable unit, and giving the town some control over how the two planned affordable units are rented. Needham Enterprises is hoping that will be enough to make the project a reality.
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