Charles River Regional Chamber's letter to Needham Town Meeting in support of the Neighborhood Housing Plan

Dear Town Meeting members, 

I’m writing with two requests:

First, when you go to vote on the MBTA Communities Act zoning articles before you at the Special Town Meeting on Oct. 21, please keep in mind the beloved small independent restaurants, shops, and nonprofits that help make Needam special.

Second, please also keep in mind our large and mid-sized employers. Located in our office parks and across town, these companies provide tax revenue that supports our schools, police, fire, roads, and other local services. Many also donate generously to our local nonprofits and youth leagues. They shop and dine locally too.

Both groups – our smallest and our largest -- have different challenges. But there is no greater common challenge facing nearly every business today than the problems that arise from our shortage of housing.

Employers tell us that hiring and retaining workers has rarely been harder. Between 2020 and 2022 over 110,000 residents left Massachusetts. Many cite the cost of housing and living as the main reason for leaving. Three-fifths of those who’ve left are between the ages 25 and 44. That’s made hiring the next generation of workers even harder and increases the risk of losing more companies like PTC which left Needham for the Seaport after nearly two decades because it could not attract the young talent it needed.

Meanwhile, we’ve said goodbye to too many beloved Needham shops and restaurants, including Taylor’s Stationery, Perennial Designs, Bertucci’s, Harvey’s Hardware, Stacey’s Juice Bar, RFK Kitchen, Abode, Lizzy’s Ice Cream, Lola Tortola, Not Your Average Joe’s, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Sweet Rue’s, Peacock Feathers, Lisa’s Boutique, Acorns Bakery, Friendly's, Joel's Gifts & Confections and many others.

Many of our current restauranteurs, shop owners, and other merchants say a lack of foot traffic and staffing keeps them from having longer hours and leaves some questioning their longevity. A study by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts survey found that 70% of small businesses plan to sell or retire in the next decade.

Unless we do more to make Needham Center, The Heights and Highland Ave more enticing (businesses in walkable communities generate 80% more in sales on average than businesses in car-dependent neighborhoods), we risk losing more existing businesses. And we lose the ability to attract the next generation of Needham’s restauranteurs and store owners.

Because growing the supply of housing is so critical to the success of both our small and large businesses, the Charles River Regional Chamber’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the four amendments in support of the Neighborhood Housing Plan.

For the same reason, more than 25 Needham businesses – from some of the town’s smallest to largest –

have signed a separate letter to you also in full support of the Neighborhood Housing Plan.

• The Neighborhood Housing Plan unlocks the greatest opportunity to gradually add the small multi-family homes employers of all sizes need to be successful. It unlocks opportunities for our future. It provides a chance to revitalize Needham's downtown core. It supports our cherished local businesses. It helps keep Needham’s office parks competitive.
• The Neighborhood Housing Plan also opens opportunities for Needham’s adult children to stay and raise their own families in the town where they grew up. It creates much-needed opportunities for seniors to downsize in the community where they raised their families. It embraces the best of us by accommodating those who want to be part of us.
  
  

Finally, a word for anyone advocating for waiting until the Supreme Judicial Court rules on the Attorney General’s case against Milton. It’s important to note that Milton is not contesting the Legislature’s zoning authority. Nor is Milton contesting the state’s authority to withhold significant grants from non- compliant communities. Milton’s arguments focus only on the AG’s authority to force the town to comply and a disagreement over whether its subpar trolley system qualifies their town as a Rapid Transit Community. In other words, even if the court ruled in Milton’s favor, the MBTA Communities Act will remain law. The state’s authority to withhold grants will remain. And the trolley issue does not apply here.

Meanwhile, Needham has an exciting opportunity to make the town more welcoming while nurturing our small merchants and maintaining a healthy commercial tax base. This opportunity to reimagine zoning does not come often. Our businesses cannot afford to "wait and see."

We urge Town Meeting to approve the four amendments that make the Neighborhood Housing Plan a reality.

Sincerely,

Greg Reibman, President & CEO