Defining the Need Before Designing the Solution

Before Siting. Before Design. What Do We Actually Need?  

Good decisions follow good process.  As the conversation about Montclair's municipal facilities continues, there’s an important step that deserves more attention—needs assessment.

Before debating siting and design or new vs. rehab, we should be clear about something far more foundational: what problems are we actually trying to solve?

That question isn’t philosophical.  It’s practical, and it shapes every decision that follows.

Needs Assessment Is About Defining the Problem

A real needs assessment is not about:

• Adding up existing square footage.

• Picking a site.

• Paying for pretty renderings.

• Assuming that everything we have today must be replicated tomorrow.

Instead, it’s a forward-looking analysis focused on understanding:

• How is municipal space actually used today?

• What functions truly require physical space, and which can be consolidated?

• How might our needs change over time?

Without this step, conversations about size, location, or cost risk putting solutions before questions.

Why This Matters

Municipal operations aren’t static.  Staffing changes.  Technology changes.  Workflows evolve.  What made sense decades ago may not make sense now.

A needs assessment helps distinguish between:

• What’s essential vs. what’s inherited.

• What’s used vs. what simply exists.

• What needs to be co-located vs. what doesn’t.

When that work hasn’t been done - or hasn’t been shared publicly - residents are left reacting to proposals without understanding the assumptions behind them.

The Risk of Skipping This Step

When needs aren’t clearly defined:

• Square footage can become arbitrary.

• Design concepts can quietly dictate outcomes.

• Momentum can replace deliberation.

Slowing down to define our needs is how course corrections and the cost overruns that follow can be avoided.

Define the Need First

Then, study the options.  Then, ask the public to weigh in. 

Which brings us to…

Key Questions for the Workshop

• Has the Township completed a current needs assessment that defines how space is actually used today, what functions require physical space, and what has changed since these buildings were last evaluated?   If so, can residents review it?

• How were the current space assumptions developed?  Are they based on actual, operational use or on existing square footage and legacy layouts?

• What guided our determination of future needs?  Was it based on a vision for Montclair’s future or shaped by assumptions other than demonstrated need?

• To what extent have technology upgrades, workflow modernization, and digitization been evaluated as ways to improve productivity within existing space, rather than expanding physical space?