14 September 2025
Dear Fellow Cantabrigians,
Here’s what’s ahead for the City Council—as well as for me:
My Re-Election Campaign Momentum
I am so grateful to all of you for your support—hosting signs and parties, canvassing, and making donations. It takes a team to win and mine are champions. Welcome to those just joining! I am happy to report endorsements from the Cambridge Citizens Coalition, Bicycle Safety Committee and CARE Housing! HERE is the link to the September 7 CCC Forum.
The Cambridge Historical Commission Yields to Two Developments
The CHC meetings have been a source of drama. Since the Multifamily Housing Ordinance erased zoning constraints, development is now mostly as of right. To get an empty lot, developers want to tear down existing buildings. The CHC, with its power of demolition delay, is now the last obstacle. At their September 4 meeting, the CHC reviewed two proposed projects: a 67-room hotel/50 unit condo at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Story Streets and 74 units of rental housing at the site of the Spears Funeral Home on Western Ave.
The hotel/condo: The CHC granted a demolition request for the triple decker at 129 Mt. Auburn St. in principle contingent upon the applicant’s responding to commission’s concerns about the project’s height and scale. In mid-August, the CHC voted to do a landmark study of the Harriet Jacobs House at 17 Story, the centerpiece for the hotel. The project will preserve the Jacobs House exterior.
Spears Funeral Home: While the CHC determined in August that the buildings were significant, they allowed for demolition to build housing.
My takeaways:
Developers will develop as big as zoning allows to reap the greatest profit.
- Developers will develop as big as zoning allows to reap the greatest profit.
- Neighbors are screwed. The hotel/condo will cast Hilliard Street neighbors into shadow despite the fact that Hilliard is in a “protected” Neighborhood Conservation District. But armed with Council support for building housing at all costs and the Multifamily Housing Ordinance, developers were able to easily counter the CHC’s concerns about neighborhood context and scale. I was the lone vote against the MFH Ordinance.
At the Spears Funeral Home development site, Western Ave. neighbors will be cast in shadow and lose their privacy. Residents are worried about the impact of this six-story project on nearby foundations and the underground water table. While the developer is technically liable for abutting property damage, it’s hard to imagine that neighbors will be compensated satisfactorily. Ozan Dokmecioglu and his wife, officers of DND Homes LLC, just paid off a $5m tax lien from the IRS for a different Cambridge property.
In each case, the project could have worked if the developers weren’t so greedy. The numbers had penciled out at Mt. Auburn/Story St. at 6 stories before the MFH Ordinance bonus allowed them to build to up to 8 stories.
I hope my colleagues on the Council come to recognize the brutal consequences of this ordinance. I worry that many residents will find the declining quality of life unbearable and abandon hope, leaving Cambridge to rich outside investors.
Envision Cambridge had recommended protecting our unique and charming neighborhoods by focusing development along the corridors, squares and in transition districts. Building larger projects where there are currently parking lots and 1-2 story industrial buildings would be far less painful and more productive.
Zoning for Short-term Rentals: Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.
Less than 1/3 of our short-term rentals are City registration compliant. Why is this? Inspectional Services suggests because the other 2/3rds don’t comply with our regulations. Community Development (CDD) is working on making our regulations more stringent—e.g., an operator must be present when renting out individual bedrooms and adjacent to rent out up to four units in a residential building. A 2019 legal settlement between Airbnb and Boston required Airbnb to require hosts to have with a city-issued registration number. Cambridge will need to do the same. I don’t see short-term “innkeepers” complying unless we get serious.
Regulating Maximum Lot Sizes with the MFH Ordinance
Some developers are using the MFH Ordinance to tear down older housing stock, often “naturally affordable units,” to build higher and bigger luxury housing. While we have long known this was a possibility, the February MFH ordinance was passed without addressing this huge flaw. CDD is working on zoning language to lower the entitlements of housing projects that only produce luxury units. Note: At the September 15 Council meeting, CCD will share the MFH Ordinance’s impact to date.
Communications & Community Engagement
The City’s recent presentation on citizen engagement revealed that it currently employs 41 people, including interns, to do this work. While I believe that outreach is essential, that’s a lot of people! Community engagement should be part of the City’s DNA and should not be PR, used to drum up support for City positions. The community should have multiple authentic opportunities for input and feedback.
Elder Services
Mayor Simmons and I hosted a meeting with elder service providers to discuss how best to help seniors navigate offerings, connect isolated seniors, and prepare them for the impact of the federal administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Combined Sewer Outfall Mitigation: Reducing Pollution in our Rivers
DPW provided updates about work to mitigate CSOs at a recent Environment Committee meeting. Since the 1980s the City’s been steadily working to improve the situation, but this is expensive work and there’s more to do. (Our sewage system dates from the 1860s.) Cambridge, Somerville and the MWRA are developing a plan. A draft is expected by the end of 2025 and they hope to have a final proposal to the EPA and Mass. DEP by January 2027. Register to learn about the proposed alternatives Thursday, September 25 at 6pm here. In the meantime, Cambridge is exploring putting an underground 1.5mg to 2mg tank at Bellis Circle on Sherman St. This could cost $30m.
Magazine Beach Park Phase II-2 is Underway
Last Monday’s formal groundbreaking kicked off much needed improvements. Soon the sunken parking lot between the pool and river will be transformed into a grassy beach with both a dock and water outlook. I am deeply proud to have led this effort as the former President of Magazine Beach Partners and so grateful to the City of Cambridge for helping to fund these improvements, and to DCR for prioritizing this project. This will yield another usable acre of parkland for Cambridge.
CDD Updates List of Community Spaces to Meet, Indoors and Out
See: https://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/planud/neighplan.
I introduced the policy order requesting this inventory.
Around Town
I’ve been meeting with constituents about the Raymond Park redesign, the EV charger install at 1580 Massachusetts Ave, and needles found regularly in and around Russell Field. I also attended many delightful events including a teen program on Harriet Jacobs at the Foundry, a Longfellow Park MacBeth performance, a Port BBQ, the opening of the Metro Mobility station at Davis Square, and a Bread & Puppet performance on Cambridge Common. Happy 50th birthday to both the Cambridgeport Children’s Center and the Sacramento Community Garden!
IMPT: Corridor Upzoning is on the Agenda at Tomorrow’s Council Meeting
CDD will present zoning petitions to upzone residential:on Cambridge St.: Generally, to 8 stories, with 10 stories at Inman Square, 12 stories at Webster and Windsor Streets, and 15 stories at Lechmere.
On North Mass Ave.: Residential heights are allowed up to 12 stories with active ground floor uses and up to 18 stories in the Porter Square area.
We want smart growth along the corridors, but these heights seem high to me.Sign up to give public comment here: https://cambridgema.iqm2.com/citizens/default.aspx?
I’m proud to represent you and look forward to re-election success with your support.
Thank you, all, and please email me if you want a sign or can help in other ways!
Cathie
Cambridge City Councillor
A few important upcoming City events:
Monday, Sept. 15, 5:30pm Open Data Workshop September 2025 – City of Cambridge
Thursday Sept. 25, 2025 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Health Care Proxy Clinic (Main) – City of Cambridge
Thursday Sept. 25, 2025 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Cambridge Volunteer Fair – City of Cambridge
Thursday Sept. 25, 20252:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Empowerment in Your Later Years: Staying Strong & Independent (Virtual) – City of Cambridge, MA
Tuesday Sept. 30, 2025 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Estate Planning for All (Virtual) – City of Cambridge
Saturday, October 14 @ noon at Brattle Theater, Harvard Square
Premiere Screening of Massachusetts Avenue: Life Along Cambridge’s Main Artery with filmmaker Federico Muchnik See: https://brattlefilm.org/movies/massachusetts-avenue/
Copyright © 2025 Zusy for Council. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
202 Hamilton St., Cambridge, MA 02139 cathie@votezusy.org
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