Acting Chair Howard Goldman and a quorum of Needham Zoning Board of Appeals members unanimously found multiple small changes to the Chestnut Village comprehensive-permit project at 339 Chestnut Street to be insubstantial, allowing the developer to continue without a new advertised hearing.

Attorney George Junta Jr., representing the applicant, told the board the modifications were limited to interior mechanical-room reconfiguration and relocation of an egress window, removal of certain transom windows on a third-floor unit, a six-inch shift of the building footprint to the north and east, and a six-inch reduction in a front roof overhang. "No change to the overall size of the footprint or the size of the building," he said, adding that no new waivers beyond those already granted are required.

The board asked how the six-inch shift would affect adjacent parking and nearby properties; architect Scott Melchie explained the front overhang reduction preserved the agreed parking dimensions. Board members repeatedly characterized the changes as modest and within the thresholds cited in the state regulations for distinguishing "substantial" versus "insubstantial" modifications.

A board member moved that the changes be found insubstantial and the chair seconded. The board approved the motion by voice vote and the chair said the board would issue a letter to the building commissioner confirming the finding so that construction may proceed.

The decision does not include new waivers or unit-count increases; the board recorded the vote as unanimous among the members voting on the matter. The applicant is awaiting the written letter to proceed with building permits and construction staging.

Next steps: the board will transmit a written finding to the building commissioner and the project team will use that confirmation to continue with their plans.