January 17, 2025
Greetings Fellow Cantabrigians,
Here are my latest Council updates:
Multifamily Housing Proposal
Yesterday, the Ordinance Committee voted to send the two petitions to the full City Council with a favorable recommendation to be passed to a second reading. There is the potential for a second reading on January 27 and there is the potential for a vote to ordain each on February 10. (That is the only possible date to ordain as the petitions expire February 17. Note: They may be further amended before final passage.)
Currently, the proposal allows for MFH in all residential districts and four stories, as of right, with two additional stories if the project includes inclusionary affordable units (20% of floor area ratio for projects of ten units or more). I was the lone vote against it, but I still feel allowing 4-6-story apartment buildings to go up as of right in our residential neighborhoods is bad city planning and will not add enough low-income housing to justify the harm.
Envision Cambridge recommended development along corridors and squares—not in neighborhoods—and while I recognize the need to build more, especially middle class housing, I’m convinced that much of this new housing will be priced over a million dollars and actually displace the very residents it was intended to serve. I am hoping that it won’t be as disastrous as many fear and am committed to working to build the lower and middle-income units that the city needs. If we hope for Cambridge to remain vital, young people and young families must be able to live here.
Over the coming months I will explore creating a Cambridge Housing Production Fund to help create that housing. I will also encourage the City to partner with our local university planning departments to develop density build out scenarios on underutilized lots.
My big takeaway from the Harvard and MIT experts who spoke to my Neighborhood & Longterm Planning Committee last week [add link: https://cambridgema.granicus.com/player/clip/932?view_id=1&redirect=true ]
was that MFH, though a good thing, doesn’t produce lower and middle income units. My other major takeaway was that we should encourage CDD to develop form-based zoning. This type of zoning focuses on the form and mass of buildings, their relationship to the public realm, and the scale and types of streets and blocks. Cambridge has already done some of the groundwork for this and developed form-based zoning for many neighborhoods. CDD already has a lot on its plate—they will be upzoning Central Square, North Mass. Ave and then Cambridge St. next—but they should nonetheless keep it in mind. We need to plan ahead and consider how many units we aspire to create and for whom.
Universal Pre-Kindergarten
On Monday night, the City Council and the School Committee had a roundtable about Universal Pre-K. This program, imagined for ten years, came to be in September, enrolling 281 three- and 583 four-year olds at a cost of $34 million. Like any new initiative, there are kinks to work out—such as placements for children with IEPs and how to offer more after-school extended care. Additionally, non-profit legacy providers are challenged. They often lack business staff, don’t offer extended day, and their enrolled kids are at a disadvantage as they apply to elementary school. It would be very sad if we lost longtime quality preschools as an unintended consequence of this important program.
What else…
Over the past weeks, I’ve toured the Blue River Terps cannabis store to better understand the challenges of the industry; met with members of Mothers Out Front to discuss climate change initiatives; attended a Just A Start meeting about their proposed affordable housing project at 240 Broadway; and attended a CPS budget meeting. I am working to get my head around our almost $1 billion budget—of which about a third goes to schooling.
Later this month, the Council will return to discussing the City’s Charter and I will chair my first Transportation Committee meeting January 28th at 3pm, where City staff will present interjurisdictional transportation projects, including the MBTA’s Bus Network Redesign, Draw One Bridge, I-90 and more.
Please join us here: https://cambridgema.iqm2.com/citizens/default.aspx?. The agenda packet is here: https://cambridgema.iqm2.com/citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=4166&Inline=True.
Thank you for sharing your ideas and concerns. I value and respect your counsel. Please forward my updates to others who might be interested. To subscribe, email me at czusy@cambridgema.gov.
My best,
Cathie
City Councillor