Needham Planning Board Continues Chabad Site Plan Hearing, Rescind Utility Recommendation

NEEDHAM -- June 16, 2026, Needham Planning Board continues Chabad hearing to September amid unresolved engineering and access concerns. The board voted unanimously at its June 16 meeting to continue Major Project Site Plan Review 2025-04, the application by the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Needham to build a new facility and residential dwelling at 1195 Central Avenue, to September 15 at 7 p.m., with a revised packet due by September 1. Attorney Walter Sullivan told the board the plans are "a few weeks away" from finalization as the applicant works through fire department access concerns, stormwater management revisions, and Conservation Commission comments. Northerly abutters Robert and Gina Bradley, represented by attorney Kevin Freitak, argued the project's root problem remains its scale: more than 24,000 square feet of building on approximately 31,000 square feet of buildable area, at 183 percent of maximum FAR and 167 percent of maximum lot coverage. The board also received the final parking standards report from consultant Stantec recommending raising the change-of-use waiver threshold from nine to 15 spaces and codifying shared parking arrangements in town center districts, and voted 3-1-1 to rescind a prior recommendation that a Needham Housing Authority affordable housing project bury utility lines underground, citing an additional cost of $110,000 to the project.