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Planning board asks ZBA to examine height, setback and blank‑wall impacts for 120 Mason Road ADU
Summary
The Planning Board recommended Aug. 4 that the Zoning Board of Appeals consider height, setback and blank (no‑window) westerly and northerly facades when it reviews the 120 Mason Road ADU application; the recommendation passed unanimously and the ZBA hearing is set for Aug. 20.
Needham's Planning Board voted unanimously Aug. 4 to recommend that the Zoning Board of Appeals consider height, setback and blank facades when it evaluates an ADU application at 120 Mason Road.
Board member Oscar expressed concern about the project's scale and proximity to neighbors: "I am concerned about 2 story height of this building on on this close setback," he said during the board's discussion, noting potential impacts of two‑story walls close to property lines.
Discussion ranged from whether the planning board should limit its comments to planning and zoning (rather than building‑code or fire‑protection details) to whether the building's two‑story massing, lack of fenestration on certain elevations, and a possible need for a fire‑rating review warranted explicit comment to the ZBA. The board ultimately adopted a motion recommending that "the zoning board of appeals consider the height, setback, westerly, and northerly exterior walls with no windows, and any other potential violation of the zoning by law." (Motion text read into the record and adopted by unanimous roll call.)
Board members reiterated that the ZBA will hold a noticed public hearing on Aug. 20 (abutters within roughly 300 feet will be notified) and that the building commissioner and ZBA will address building‑code and fire‑protection questions as part of that process.
