Greater Boston, including Needham, is facing an attainable housing emergency. Housing options for all but wealthier people are dwindling—or gone. Young people and many seniors are increasingly saying they cannot afford to live in Needham, or other surrounding towns, and they are moving away.
We want to change that.
Moving Forward
With the anticipated adoption of the MBTA Base Compliance Plan at Town Meeting this coming Monday, May 5, Needham is now poised to address our continuing housing crisis. As we learned from the 2022 Housing Plan, a lot of different groups in Needham are not finding housing choices they can afford, like our seniors, young professionals, our public and private workforces, our children with disabilities, and young couples and families who want to join the Needham community.
Needham has historically been a more affordable and diverse community across the economic and ethnic spectrum, but our neighborhoods have been changing before our eyes. Homes that were affordable to many of us just a few decades ago are being replaced throughout Needham with very expensive homes. This closes the door to people without either significant savings or considerable incomes, or both. The pressure is on to find alternative attainable housing choices to serve ALL our community housing needs.
The future of housing development in our town depends on Needham residents to make reasonable changes in our zoning bylaws that will encourage the development of housing we need. Even with the passing of the modest Base Compliance Plan, Needham faces a significant lack of opportunity to see new housing across town. Fortunately, future zoning refinements will not be bound by the restrictions set forth in the MBTA Communities Act. We can now focus our attention on determining what areas of Needham make sense for added housing density, and do so with robust community engagement to ensure we plan thoughtfully for our future.
Onward!
Why Housing?
Housing prices are out of reach
Needham has few reasonable options for seniors who want to downsize, adult children who want to settle here, young families, teachers, firefighters, and other local employees who want to live closer to their jobs, and others.
Supply has not kept up with demand
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts needs 200,000 new housing units by 2030 and 400,000 units by 2050. Needham has added only 540 units of multifamily housing over the past 10 years.
Our commercial districts need foot traffic
Needham would significantly benefit from more convenient, walkable, housing density supporting more vibrant business districts in the center and the heights, attracting visitors from neighboring towns and adding revenue to the town budget.
We all benefit from economic and cultural diversity
Any community benefits from the contributions of people from different backgrounds, different cultures, different experiences, and a variety of professions. Our children are more well-rounded and are better prepared to enter our increasingly diverse society when they enter the workforce when they have the opportunity to meet a variety of fellow students.
Join the conversation.
Subscribe to our NHC newsletter for announcements and information regarding housing-related issues.
Join our Facebook group for relevant articles and meaningful discussion about housing needs and housing solutions in Needham.
Attend our monthly open meetings and events!
Join one of our Working Groups.
Invite us to a Housing Conversation with your group or community — formal or informal.
Email us at needhamhousingcoalition@gmail.com.
Request a yard sign.
What’s happening?
Next NHC Monthly Meeting
Current NHC Newsletter and Events
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
For news about what is going on in Needham, subscribe to our three local online news outlets:
We have copied and repurposed text and other content from other housing advocacy groups with their permission. We especially want to thank Equitable Arlington for allowing us to repurpose much of their content and design.
