Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Needham ZBA approves private, invitation‑only athletic facility at 60 Kendrick Street with parking limits
Summary
The Needham Zoning Board of Appeals granted Paisley Boney a special permit to operate a private indoor athletic facility at 60 Kendrick Street, approving waivers to parking and design rules with conditions including a 25‑person cap, invitation‑only participation, hours limits and proof of lease and LLC organization.
The Needham Zoning Board of Appeals on a voice vote approved a special permit and associated parking and design waivers that allow a private indoor athletic facility to operate at 60 Kendrick Street.
Attorney George Junda Jr., representing applicant Paisley Boney, told the board the proposal converts about 10,500 square feet inside an existing multi‑tenant building in the New England Business Center Zoning District into an indoor athletic/exercise space. Junda said the space previously held a gymnastics academy and will be used primarily for school‑aged children in small groups with private coaches, not as a public gym. “It’s not going to be advertised to the public. It’s not going to have public memberships,” Paisley Boney said, describing the plan as “almost like a private club.”
Junda and the applicant explained that the lease reserves 15 dedicated parking spaces for the tenant; the building’s physical layout contains about 80 parking places in practice though a recent site plan shows 69 striped spots. The town’s building commissioner recommended a 23‑space requirement for this indoor athletic use based on prior gymnastics precedent. The board and applicant agreed that the project would need a parking waiver because of the technical code calculation that produces a larger building‑wide demand (the applicant’s attorney cited a code‑calculated demand of 150 spaces for the whole building). The board agreed that, in practice, site parking is rarely fully occupied.
In deliberations board member Howard moved to grant the permit and to waive strict adherence to the off‑street parking requirements and certain design requirements, with conditions including: documentation of a lease granting access to non‑exclusive spaces; the operation remain private and invitation‑only (not advertised to the public); hours limited to roughly 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and a cap of 25 people on site at any time. Howard also asked that the decision list the applicant’s LLC (60K Training LLC) and that the applicant submit the certificate of organization to the town clerk. Peter seconded the motion, and the board approved it by voice vote.
Town staff comment letters were minimal: the planning board, public health division, fire and police provided no substantive comments; the building commissioner provided the parking analysis and the town engineer submitted standard utility comments. The attorney noted some design noncompliance on the site (faded striping, absent bike racks, parking lighting below a one‑foot‑candle standard) and discussed AAB (architectural access board) review history for locker rooms; the board included standard conditions to ensure the permitted use remains as presented.
The chair told the applicant the written decision typically takes about 30 days to prepare, sign and file with the town clerk, and reminded the applicant to provide the LLC organizational certificate for the decision record. The applicant said turf for the facility is on order and that work will proceed pending filing of the decision.
The board’s approval permits the proposed private athletic use at 60 Kendrick Street under the stated conditions; the decision reserves the board’s ability to review any material change in operation that would increase intensity or public access.
