**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** November 24, 2024
**NEEDHAM, MA** Needham Residents for Thoughtful Zoning
YOUR VOTE MATTERS
With 3,927 signatures certified and 95 pages (containing over 360 additional signatures) remaining uncounted, the Needham Town Clerk declared the threshold for a referendum election set by the Needham Town Charter met. A Select Board Meeting scheduled for Monday night at 6:00 PM will set the date for the election.
We support housing, compliance with the MBTA Communities Act and thoughtful zoning.
We ask everyone to vote “No” to void the narrowly passed (118 – 90) extreme 3,296 unit plan, nearly double the state required 1,784 units. This overly-compliant plan allows large and dense developments of up to 4 1/2 stories. This plan sacrifices Needham’s control over its zoning while failing to include provisions for senior housing and neighborhoods.
The fully compliant “Base Plan,” was overwhelmingly approved by the vote of Town Meeting in October. It was fully supported by the Select Board, Planning Board and Finance Committee. This Plan allows Needham to comply with the state law and still maintain our ability to encourage development that is good for Needham: senior housing, smaller developments, and starter homes. It better protects our existing small businesses.
We trust the residents of Needham to understand the zoning proposals and to decide what is best for our town. We encourage everyone to get the facts.
After the referendum vote, town meeting can be scheduled quickly to re-enact the “Base Plan”.
The Needham Residents for Thoughtful Zoning represents all age groups, political affiliations, and geographical neighborhoods. What unites us is a shared commitment to a fair and transparent process. We believe that citizens are key stakeholders who deserve a seat at the table.
- Uncontrollable Growth: Property tax increases with $330 mil proposed for Pollard. Unknown amounts for Mitchell and High Rock. Hundreds of millions more for unknown infrastructure projects now being “studied over the next 1-3 years.”
- Property Values Destabilized: Flooding the market with housing 1,868/3,294 housing unit “by-right”rezoning
- Congestion, Traffic and Quality of life: Rezoning was submitted to the state without a traffic study.
- Big City Zoning, Small Town Damage: Urban zoning isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution—what works in the city can be highly detrimental to our small town.
Reference Documents
Certified votes of Town Meeting October 21, 2024-1
Certified votes of Town Meeting October 21, 2024 -2
Certified votes of Town Meeting October 21, 2024 -3
Certified votes of Town Meeting October 21, 2024 -4
Needham Residents For Thoughtful Zoning: Press Release 11/24/2024
No Restrictions on Occupants “lacks common sense” -8 min video 8/14/2024 PB Meeting
Citizen’s letter – Select Board did not support an independent 3rd party engineering study
HONE/RKG survey: 219 Citizen Comments well worth reading