Planning for May

January 8, 2026
• It may just be January, but in their first session of 2026, the minds of the Needham Planning Board are already being focused on May’s Town Meeting.

At their meeting on Jan. 6, the Needham Planning Board spent the majority of their time considering possible by-law changes that are intended to be proposed at the 2026 Annual Town Meeting. Three separate matters made their agenda, each facing different challenges and tight deadlines to make it onto the warrant.

Adjustments on ADUs

At the head of the evening, the board held a discussion with Town Counsel Christopher Heep on aligning the existing zoning by-law regarding accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, with state law. Last in front of Town Meeting in May 2023, current regulations do not meet the mandates set by the Affordable Homes Act of 2024. Heep presented the latest iteration of those changes, which would ultimately need to be approved by the state’s office of the attorney general.

With the new rules allowing greater flexibility to homeowners and developers, Planning Board members prodded Heep to predict how different scenarios might play out under the law. Heep cautioned that the board cannot anticipate every interpretation of the law or guard against all development that might negatively impact a neighboring property. He reminded them that every case is unique.

“As we are talking through these hypotheticals, we are not generating any, or many, in which I am telling you that the ADU can’t happen,” Heep said. “In almost all of these cases, the ADU can happen in some form.”

Looking to Expand

The board also heard from the management of North Hill, who hope to open the door to expansion through a zoning by-law change of their own. Citing the strong need for increased senior housing options, the nonprofit North Hill is asking the board to put forward zoning that would allow them to build a new, attached, four-story residential building on their site.

Received by the board as a largely positive proposal, the plan detailed four potential sites that could be possible locations for the new structure. Members alluded to the self-contained nature of the property, as well as the fact that the skilled nursing care unit currently stands at four stories, as factors that could work in North Hill’s favor. The concept for the project is still in its early stages, although the residential community is eager to move forward, as waiting lists stand at approximately 100 residents deep.

The language for the zoning amendment is close to complete, reported Director of Planning and Community Development Lee Newman.

“There are still some additional tweaks, I think, that [North Hill’s attorney Tim Sullivan] and I need to work out, but I think that they can be worked out over the course of the next couple of weeks so that, if the board was inclined, we could hopefully move this forward for the Annual Town Meeting,” Newman said.

If adopted by Town Meeting, a special permit process would then have to begin, returning with a more complete proposal to the Planning Board.

“There is no building designed at this point,” Sullivan stated. “It’s more where we could potentially go.”

An Alternative Route to Town Meeting

Also hoping for positive consideration from the board was J. Derenzo Properties, LLC, who is generating a citizen’s petition to change the zoning around the former Hillcrest Gardens Nursery at 888 Great Plain Ave. First brought in front of the Planning Board in 2021, the proponents want to move forward several actions that would allow the development of a mixed-use property featuring commercial and residential space.

The current concept features three retail units and 26 residential units with underground parking. While the board spoke favorably of the design and expressed interest in seeing the property developed, reaction was mixed in regard to supporting or sponsoring the necessary by-law changes. While some thought the proposed map changes should extend past the property to Warren Street, others thought that the current drawings didn’t accurately reflect what the new by-law could allow, as no official designs have been filed.

“When you see something, that’s one thing, but does the by-law actually condition that to have to happen?” Planning Board Chair Artie Crocker asked. “The neighborhoods, they have to weigh in on this. They have to. I know it’s always great when you know they are going to be weighing in on the positive, without question, but I don’t know where that’s going to be, you know? And visuals make a big difference. By-laws matching the visuals make more of a difference.”

“[It] depends on what happens at Town Meeting,” Derenzo Properties attorney George Giunta, Jr. responded. “If Town Meeting, for example, voted to extend the center business district, but not the overlay, well, then this complete thing goes out the window and it’s a whole different thing. [If] they vote to extend the overlay, but they don’t vote for relief on the setback, again, that goes out the window, and it’s a whole different design.”

Ultimately, the board instructed the proponents that they would not be sponsoring the article, but Derenzo could still present their case to Town Meeting through their citizen’s petition initiative.

The proposed language for all of the zoning by-law articles are due to be submitted to the board at their next public session on Jan. 20. The Planning Board would then send the articles to the Select Board to be placed on the Town Meeting warrant, and then public hearings would be scheduled starting in February.

Also to be considered this May are by-law changes that would address concerns about overdevelopment in Needham. The Large House Review Study Committee decided on guidelines for a new by-law at their meeting on Jan. 5. They are scheduled to present those recommendations to the Planning Board at their next public meeting.

The Needham Channel News is 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.