Needham Board of Assessors announces grants and denials on exemptions and abatements after executive session

The Town of Needham Board of Assessors entered executive session March 19 to consider exemption and abatement applications and later announced the results in open session.

The board’s chair moved the body into executive session to discuss applications that are not open to public inspection and to consider litigation strategy. After returning to open session, the Clerk recited the results of votes taken in private and read a list of parcels that were granted, denied, or withdrawn.

Clerk announced multiple grants, including 21 Prince Street; 18 Saint Mary Street; 181 Saint Mary Street; 18 Horace Street; 29 Ellicott Street; 67 Greenwood Ave; 20 Norfork Street; 321 Brookline Street; 565 Greendale Ave; 145 Laurel Drive; and 257 Hillside Ave. The clerk also announced denials and withdrawals, for example: 40 Bancroft (deny); “159 marked tree” (deny); 12 Hoover Road (deny); 10 Kearney Road (deny, withdraw); 145 Rosemary Street (deny, withdraw); 20 Pickering Street (deny, withdraw); 26 Cross (denied). The clerk prefaced the list by saying staff would provide parcel numbers and follow-up details at a later time.

The meeting transcript records voice votes of "Aye" when the motions to enter and to leave executive session were taken, but does not identify individual members who moved or seconded the motions. The board did not read detailed findings or legal reasoning into the public record when announcing the outcomes.

The board’s next steps: staff indicated they will bring back four parcels for further review at a future meeting and will circulate parcel numbers and any supporting documentation to the board prior to the next session.

The board adjourned following the announcements.