Calendar

LEGAL NOTICE

Planning Board,

TOWN OF NEEDHAM

NOTICE OF HEARING

In accordance with the provisions of M.G.L., Chapter 40A, S.5, the Needham Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. by Zoom Web ID Number 826-5899-3198 (further instructions for accessing are below), regarding certain proposed amendments to the Needham Zoning By-Law to be considered by the Fall 2021 Special Town Meeting. 

To view and participate in this virtual meeting on your phone, download the “Zoom Cloud Meetings” app in any app store or at www.zoom.us. At the above date and time, click on “Join a Meeting” and enter the following Meeting ID: 826-5899-3198

To view and participate in this virtual meeting on your computer, at the above date and time, go to www.zoom.us click “Join a Meeting” and enter the following ID: 826-5899-3198

Or to Listen by Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
 US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 Then enter ID: 826-5899-3198

Direct Link to meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/82658993198

Members of the public attending this meeting virtually will be allowed to make comments if they wish to do so, during the portion of the hearing designated for public comment through Zoom or through calling in.

Persons interested are encouraged to call the Planning Board office (781-455-7550) for more information.  A copy of the complete text of the proposed article is detailed below. The article designation given has been assigned by the Planning Board for identification purposes only.  An article number will subsequently be established by the Select Board for the Warrant.  

ARTICLE 1:        AMEND ZONING BY-LAW – OUTDOOR SEATING

To see if the Town will vote to amend the Needham Zoning By-Law, as follows:

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.1, Applicability, by (i) adding the word “eat-in” before the word “restaurants”; (ii) deleting the words “serving meals for consumption on the premises and at tables with service provided by waitress or waiter is” before the words “permitted under”; and (iii) adding the word “are” before the words “permitted under”; so that it reads as follows:

“Section 6.9.2 shall apply in any business district in which eat-in restaurants are permitted under Section 3.2.2 of this By-Law.”

1. Amend the first sentence of Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, by (i) adding the word “eat-in” before the word “restaurants”; (ii) deleting the words “serving meals for consumption on the premises and at tables with service provided by waitress or waiter” before the words “is permitted during; (iii) replacing the words “Section 7.4.4 and 7.4.6” with the words “Sections 7.4.4 and 7.4.6”; and (iv) replacing the words “Board of Selectmen” with the words “Select Board”; so that it reads as follows:

“Seasonal temporary (i.e. April through October) outdoor seating, including but not limited to tables, chairs, serving equipment, planters, and umbrellas, for eat-in restaurants is permitted during normal hours of operation, subject to minor project site plan review with waiver of all requirements of Sections 7.4.4 and 7.4.6 except as are necessary to demonstrate compliance with Section 6.9 by the Planning Board in the case of (a) below and the Select Board in the case of (b) below, provided that:” 

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, Subparagraph (a) by deleting the words “, licensed,” so that it reads as follows:

“(a) It is within the front yard, rear yard, or side yard of the restaurant’s owned or leased property, but only if said yard abuts a public right-of-way, public property, or other public uses, provided that:”

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, Subparagraph (b) by (i) deleting the words “so long as there remains no less than forty-eight inches (48”), or as otherwise permitted by law, of unencumbered sidewalk width remaining”; (ii) deleting the word “alternatively” before the words “on a public way”; and (iii) adding the word “on” before the words “other public property”; so that it reads as follows:

 “(b) It is within the public sidewalk abutting the front, rear, or side yard of the restaurant’s owned or leased property or on a public way or on other public property abutting the front, rear, or side yard of the restaurant’s owned or leased property, provided that:” 

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, Subparagraph (b) (i) by replacing the words “Board of Selectmen” with the words “Select Board”, so that it reads as follows:

“(i) No temporary outdoor restaurant seating shall be permitted, unless the Select Board authorizes the placement of temporary outdoor seating within the public right-of-way, public sidewalks and/or on public property;”

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, Subparagraph (b) (iii) by replacing the words “Board of Selectmen” with the words “Select Board”, so that it reads as follows:

“(iii) A minimum width of forty-eight inches (48”), or as otherwise permitted by law, shall be continuously maintained and unobstructed for the sidewalk or entrance into the principal building, or any other designated sidewalks or pedestrian paths, as shown on the plan provided to the Select Board;”

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, Subparagraph (b) (iv) by (i) adding the words “shall not be authorized” after the words “Outdoor seating”; (ii) deleting the words “is prohibited” before the words “in designated or required landscape areas”; and (iii) by adding the words “, or in parking spaces located within a public way, except for good cause, and where the Select Board finds, after holding a public hearing, that pedestrian and vehicular circulation, the safety of restaurant patrons and the public, and parking for patrons of restaurants, retail establishments and service establishments in the vicinity of the outdoor seating, shall be adequately provided for;” at the end of the subparagraph so that it reads as follows: 

“(iv) Outdoor seating shall not be authorized in designated or required landscaped areas, parking lots or drive aisles, or in parking spaces located within a public way, except for good cause, and where the Select Board finds, after holding a public hearing, that pedestrian and vehicular circulation, the safety of restaurant patrons and the public, and parking for patrons of restaurants, retail establishments and service establishments in the vicinity of the outdoor seating, shall be adequately provided for;”

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, Subparagraph (b), by adding the following sentence at the end of the section:

“The Select Board may authorize seasonal temporary outdoor seating under this Section 6.9.2 (b) earlier than April 1 and later than October 31 of each year.”

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, by replacing the words “Board of Selectmen” with the words “Select Board”, in the second paragraph of the section so that it reads as follows:

“Items (a)(i), (a)(iii), (a)(v) and (b)(ii), (b)(iv), and (b)(vi) shall not apply during special town-wide festivals or events during the year as designated by the Select Board.”

1. Amend Section 6.9. Outdoor Seating, Subsection 6.9.2, Basic Requirements Seasonal Outdoor Seating, by deleting the last paragraph of the section and replacing it with the following paragraph to read as follows:

“Where there is authorization for the placement of seasonal temporary outdoor restaurant seating and where such seating could be interpreted to be an increase in the number of seats serving a restaurant, such seating shall not be counted toward the off-street parking or loading requirements, provided that (1) such seating remains seasonal and temporary; and (2) such seating does not increase capacity by more than thirty percent (30%) unless such increase is authorized by the Special Permit Granting Authority that granted the special permit allowing the use of the premises as a restaurant, with or without a hearing, as said Special Permit Granting Authority shall determine.” 

Interested persons are encouraged to attend the public hearing and make their views known to the Planning Board. This legal notice is also posted on the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association’s (MNPA) website at (http://masspublicnotices.org/).

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Needham Times, August 5, 2021 and August 12, 2021.

Rec'd and posted by the Town Clerks Office on 7/27/2021 @ 11:40 AM