Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

Here We Go Again – Select Items on the Feb 24, 2020 Cambridge City Council Agenda

The Big Item is the Return of the Subsidized Housing Overlay, that proposed borderline regulatory taking that caused so much stink and posturing last year. Here are the items that seem to rise from the swamp more than others:

Manager’s Agenda #11. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-14, requesting an update on the Lechmere Station closure, the replacement bus service, and the community outreach that is planned.

Within a few years the entire Lechmere area will be transformed – the Green Line viaduct will no longer cross the highway, and the McGrath O’Brien Highway itself may be reconfigured into an "urban boulevard". First Street will connect directly to the reconfigured boulevard and beyond, and Lechmere Station will be on the north side of the thoroughfare and be just another stop on the Green Line to/from either Union Square or West Medford.

People working in Cambridge may find Somerville and Medford to be very desirable housing options and the entire NorthPoint (Cambridge Crossing) area will be fully built out. While our local City Council fiddles and diddles about flexiposts, the color of sidewalks, whether homeowners should be allowed to have gas stoves or manage the trees on their own property, far more interesting developments are taking shape. Traffic may really suck in that area in the short term, but as long as they create greater connectivity in the end, the short-term hassle will be worth it.

Now if they can somehow get the area around the Museum of Science to feel less like a highway rest stop and more like a part of the Charles River Reservation (which it is), then I’ll really pop the champagne corks when all is said and done.

Manager’s Agenda #12. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a Planning Board recommendation to adopt the Incentive Zoning Contribution Rate Zoning Petition.

Committee Report #2. Report of the Ordinance Committee – Committee Meeting – Feb 12, 2020 5:30pm regarding a hearing on an amendment to the Incentive Zoning Ordinance.

I don’t believe the proposed increases in Incentive Zoning required payments will make or break many proposed projects, but I am always entertained at how spending other people’s money is almost a competition among elected officials and apparently now even among some Planning Board members. That said, the Planning Board’s positive recommendation is quite schizophrenic. On the one hand they suggest that the Council jack up the rate even higher, yet they follow that with: "Board members also urged consideration of how substantially raising the fee could discourage development, cause increases in commercial rents, or otherwise affect Cambridge’s overall economic balance and competitiveness in a regional market."

Unfinished Business #3. A re-filed Zoning Petition has been received from Joseph T. Maguire of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. transmitting a proposed revised amendment to the zoning ordinance by creating the Grand Junction Pathway Overlay District. [PASSED TO A SECOND READING ON FEB 10, 2020, TO BE ORDAINED ON OR AFTER FEB 24, 2020. (Deadline is Mar 9, 2020.)]

This could be ordained either this week or next, but I suspect only if and when a firm commitment is made for the relocation of the Eversource electrical substation that had been planned for Fulkerson Street. Otherwise, expect another can to be kicked down the road.

Unfinished Business #4. A Zoning Petition Has been received from Suzanne P. Blier regarding Harvard Square Zoning Petition. [PASSED TO A SECOND READING ON FEB 18, 2020, TO BE ORDAINED ON OR AFTER MAR 2, 2020. (Deadline is Mar 10, 2020.)]

Communications & Reports #3. A communication was received from Councillor Dennis Carlone, transmitting Proposed Amendments to the Harvard Square Overlay District Zoning Petition.

This petition was the subject of the February 18 Special City Council meeting where it was passed to a 2nd Reading and put in the queue for possible ordination at the March 2 meeting – the last before the deadline. That was an absurd meeting in many ways in that the language of the petition with the proposed amendments from the Ordinance Committee had already been shipped out for publication so that it could meet the legal requirements. The Council could talk and talk but not actually change anything lest it require re-advertisement with the amended language which would run afoul of the deadline for ordination. The Council will be able to propose amendments on Feb 24 or on the night of likely ordination on March 2.

I don’t think this zoning proposal has anything earth-shattering in it despite the ravings of our local goose guy. It will, hopefully, make it easier to do reasonable things in reasonable ways while still keeping the earth’s magnetic field safe and keeping enough of the historic fabric of Harvard Square intact for a few more generations.

Order #1. 100% Affordable Housing Overlay Zoning Petition 2020.   Councillor McGovern, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Toomey

Communications & Reports #2. A communication was received from Councillor McGovern, transmitting a memorandum with comments on refilling the 100% Affordable Housing Overlay Zoning Petition 2020.

The creep of government control continues, and another round of civic discord is again on the horizon. We will once again get to hear about why there should be significantly different zoning rules depending on who owns the property, and why greater and greater percentages of the Cambridge housing stock should be transferred from private ownership into the hands of government and quasi-government control. There’s also that little matter of abutting neighbors having no real ability to respond to what could well be a radical departure from what might otherwise be expected with equitable zoning laws.

Anyone who really understands how the affordability of housing works understands that this can only be addressed with adequate regional housing growth at all economic levels coupled with improved transportation. Instead, the City Council will apparently opt for subsidized housing built at great public expense that will not have any effect on general affordability of housing. Indeed, you should have heard Councillor Carlone at the recent Government Operation Committee meeting on the City Manager’s possible contract renewal where he bemoaned the fact that "we’ve left a billion dollars on the table" that we could have extracted from residential and commercial property owners to pay for more and more projects. So by the time this City Council term is done we may have a new city manager, dramatically increased budgets and tax rates, and a housing policy that makes housing cheaper for those who seek it from the government and even more expensive for everyone else.

Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to confer with Director of Cambridge Public Libraries to determine the feasibility of eliminating late fines.   Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon

This probably makes sense but I am curious about what will be done if someone loses a book or other material or simply chooses to never return it. Do we just keep sending nagging letters and email messages?

Order #5. That the Department of Conservation and Recreation reconsider a road diet and protected bike lane for Gerrys Landing Road.   Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Zondervan, Councillor Nolan

Order #6. That the City Manager is hereby requested to confer with relevant City departments and the MBTA on the feasibility of implementing additional dedicated bus lanes, as well as fully separate protected bicycle lanes.   Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Zondervan, Mayor Siddiqui

I agree that separated paths for bicycles are warranted on roads where the difference in speeds between bicycles and motor vehicles is significant and where slower-speed alternatives are either difficult or nonexistent. This includes DCR roads like Gerry’s Landing Road as well as the McGrath/O’Brien Highway. I also agree that dedicated bus lanes make sense in some places where the frequency of buses warrants it, but there’s nothing more aggravating than being stuck in traffic while significant road space lies empty 99% of the time.

Order #7. That the City Manager is requested to produce a Request For Proposal for the municipal broadband feasibility study that was called for by the City’s Broadband Task Force in August 2016.   Councillor Nolan, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor McGovern

Look for this to be a Big Ask during the discussion on a possible contract extension for the City Manager. I’m still not convinced that the financial exposure associated with a municipal investment in a technology that might become obsolete soon after it’s built is worth the risk. I’m still willing to be convinced and maybe that’s why a feasibility study (as opposed to a commitment to fund the build-out) is warranted.

Committee Report #3. Report of the Government Operations, Rules & Claims Committee – Committee Meeting – Feb 4, 2020 10:00am regarding a meeting to review the City Council’s Rules for the 2020-2021 Legislative year.

I was hoping that they might take a look at restructuring some of the Council subcommittees, e.g. splitting Arts & Celebrations out from Long-Term Planning, but I didn’t see it in the verbose meeting minutes. Ironically, they spent a very long time talking about whether to further limit public comment. – Robert Winters