Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

Featured Items on the Feb 22, 2021 Cambridge City Council Agenda

Here’s my Broadway view of this week’s Civics in Cambridge:

Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to an update on COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
Placed on File 9-0

Communications & Reports #2. A communication was received from Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, transmitting questions for the COVID-19 Update.
Placed on File 9-0

The numbers continue to look better and vaccination opportunities are slowly opening up. I suppose I should go seek a jab or two one of these days.

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the Final Landmark Designation Report for the St. Augustine’s African Orthodox Church at 137 Allston Street.
Adopted 9-0

This building clearly needs landmark status as the report recommends, but I’ll say once again that I always love reading reports like this from the Cambridge Historical Commission. I went on a tour of this church and other Cambridgeport churches a couple of years ago and I got to explore just about every corner of this building right down to the plumbing. I even received a blessing in the basement. This church is the real deal.

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a proposed amendment to Section 8.66 of the Municipal Ordinance relating to Tree Protection and related Order.
Rules Suspended 7-2 (DS, TT – NO) to allow ordination in a single session;
Ordained 7-2 (DS, TT – NO)

Committee Report #1. The Health & Environment Committee met on Oct 13, 2020 to conduct a public hearing to discuss amending the Tree Protection Ordinance based on the findings of the Urban Forest Master Plan Task Force.
Charter Right – Zondervan

The City Council will officially kick the can down the road another 60 days to April 29. I sincerely hope that when they do finally come around to finalizing an ordinance that it will have sufficient flexibility for homeowners to make reasonable decisions without incurring unreasonable costs or having to face unnecessarily burdensome procedures.

Manager’s Agenda #5. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-64, requesting Home Rule language to allow for acoustic live entertainment performances in small businesses under certain conditions without a license.
Tabled 9-0

Late Order #4. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to instruct the Law Department to draft a home rule petition and a zoning amendment to allow acoustic music performances without a license.   Vice Mayor Mallon
Adopted 8-0-0-1 (Toomey – PRESENT)[Note: The City Council’s failure to consider unintended consequences here is a spectacular failure. Perhaps that will be discussed at a future meeting.]

In short, the License Commission recognizes that it has an important role to play in ensuring that Cambridge businesses and residents can peacefully coexist. Anyone who lives in a mixed-use area of the city (like I do) understands this. Only one of the current city councillors lives in such an area.

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 19-144, regarding the feasibility of creating a Fire Cadet Program.
Home Rule Petition Adopted 9-0

Good plan, but it’s remarkable that a Home Rule Petition is even necessary to do something like this. Civil service laws may have been created with the best intentions, but they should never thwart good initiatives like this. It must be pointed out, however, that there are many laws passed with the best intentions that can have serious negative consequences.

Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a further response to Calendar Item Number 2, regarding a report on reviewing the granting of an extension for the 605 Concord Avenue project, which was previously answered as Awaiting Report Item Number 20-63 on Feb 1, 2021.
Tabled 9-0 (after Councillor Nolan exercised her Charter Right initially even though this was obviously not new business).

Late Order #5. That the City Solicitor report back to the City Council on whether or not the City can require written notice be sent to all abutters, both property owners as well as tenants, regarding the scheduling of a hearing regarding the extension of a building permit request to the Planning Board.
Adopted 9-0

The previous communication on this was as clear as an unmuddied lake or an azure sky of deepest summer. One of the oldest and most important rules is that you don’t change the rules in the middle of the game. If a development proposal secures financing based on a certain set of requirements, retroactively changing those requirements jeopardizes the financing and viability of the project. In this case it’s the Planning Board’s authority to grant extensions "for good cause" and they voted to do so. It’s not the place of the Cambridge City Council to second-guess those decisions.

Order #1. Policy Order re: Services for the Unhoused.   Councillor Simmons, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Toomey, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Carlone, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Zondervan, Mayor Siddiqui
Adopted as Amended 9-0

In short, it’s been a while since the City did a comprehensive review of how such matters are addressed and it’s overdue, especially in light of some of the extraordinary pressures caused by the pandemic. The City has done a very good job in devising short-term solutions in an emergency setting, but it would be helpful to take a step back and look at these matters more holistically – and not just as a shallow political response to phone-in democracy.

Committee Report #2. The Neighborhood & Long-Term Planning; Public Facilities, Arts and Celebrations Committee held a public hearing on Wed, Nov 18, 2020 to discuss the Municipal Broadband Feasibility Study RFP.
Placed on File 9-0

My prediction is that by the time the City decides on a course of action and invests mightily in such infrastructure, the technology will be rendered obsolete by space lasers. – Robert Winters