Mixed Public Reaction to Proposed NHA Project

December 14, 2023 • Laying the groundwork for a major update to community housing yields both supporters and critics to a Needham Housing Authority and Planning Board meeting.

On December 6th, the Planning Board held a joint meeting with the Needham Housing Authority to garner community feedback on their plan to replace the complex of affordable units on Linden Street and Chambers Street. Public reaction was strong, both for and against the design. Ostensibly, the community meeting was geared to inform the public of necessary zoning changes needed to set-up the reconstruction of the Linden/Chambers development, which are expected to come before Town Meeting this spring. With the amount of detail being presented, however, concerns about traffic, safety, and the changing character of the neighborhood was as large a focus of the evening as the need to replace the existing structures and improve upon the number of units available to Needham. As Municipal Producer Yuxiao Yuan reports, strong emotions were brought up on both sides of the argument.

 

This story ran as part of the Needham Channel News, a weekly newscast airing on The Needham Channel every Thursday at 7:30pm. The Needham Channel News can be found on the Community Channel: Comcast 9, Astound 15 and Verizon 29. Most Thursdays it also can be viewed on our HD Channel on Verizon 2129, Astound 613 and streaming on this site.