January Tidings – Featured Items on the January 23, 2023 Cambridge City Council Agenda
Note (Mon, 7:15pm): I just left City Hall where the petulant children of the Party for Socialism and Liberation disrupted the City Council meeting forcing the meeting to be relocated to a Zoom-only meeting. Their endless chants were variations on “Justice for Faisal” and “Release the Name” (of the officer involved in the Jan 4 officer-involved shooting), but it was abundantly clear that few of the protesters were from Cambridge, few (if any) of them knew the young man who was killed, and all of them were there to promote their twin agendas of socialism and the abolition of police. It was particularly noteworthy that Cambridge City Councillor Quinton Zondervan and his taxpayer-funded political activist aide Dan Totten chose to stand with the protesters as they broke up the meeting. Honestly, it shows complete dereliction of duty that the City Council and their City Manager continue to allow taxpayer money to be used to pay for Zondervan and Totten’s activism in pursuit of their socialist and anti-police agenda. It’s one thing to hold a contrary political philosophy and to exercise your free speech, but it’s an entirely different matter when taxpayer dollars are being used to shut down a City Council meeting and to advocate for vigilantism in regard to a Cambridge police officer.
I don’t generally make statements here about who Cambridge residents should or should not vote for in the municipal elections, but I will make an exception. Nobody, and I mean nobody, who cares about Cambridge should vote for Quinton Zondervan. Furthermore, if the City Manager continues to employ Dan Totten as a paid City Council aide, then the tenure of the City Manager should also be questioned.
I’ll have a few words to say soon about the January 18 Special Meeting “to discuss protocols, processes, and training of the Cambridge Police Department”, but in the meantime here are some interesting items for the regular Monday meeting:
Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Policy Order 2022 #283, regarding the feasibility of banning turns on red signal indications.
pulled by Mallon; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Siddiqui ABSENT)
Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Policy Order #312, regarding the feasibility of conducting street cleaning without towing. [text of response]
pulled by Carlone; Placed on File 5-3-0-1 (BA,AM,PN,QZ,SS-YES; DC,MM,PT-NO; DS-PRESENT); Toner Late Order – Charter Right (QZ)
Manager’s Agenda #5. Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $390,000 from the Mitigation Revenue Stabilization Fund to the Public Investment Fund Public Works Extraordinary Expenditures account. These mitigation funds have been received from the sources below and will be used for the design of a transportation connection between Terminal Road and Wheeler Street.
pulled by Carlone; Order Adopted 9-0
Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Planning Board report recommending that the City Council adopt the Climate Resilience Zoning Petition.
Referred to Petition 9-0
Charter Right #2. That the City Council adopt the Specialized Stretch Code, as outlined in 225 CMR 22.00 and 225 CMR 23.00, with an effective date of July 1, 2023. [Charter Right – Toner, Jan 9, 2023]
Toner motion to Table Failed 2-7 (DS,PT-YES); Order Adopted 7-1-0-1 (DS-PRESENT, PT-NO)
There’s also this thoughtful request from Patrick Barrett:
Mayor Siddiqui and Cambridge City Council,
Last year a policy order was unanimously passed in November requesting CDD to “report in a timely manner” on the effect of linkage increases, parking minimum reductions, BEUDO, and other legislation that may be passed considering its impact on development, the effect on cost, competitiveness with other cities, and the overall consequence of putting all of these regulations in place all at once. To date no report has been provided and yet we passed a reduction in parking minimums and have tried to pass the specialized stretch code without so much as a presentation to anyone about how that might impact housing construction or anything else. I am asking that no further regulations be passed until the Director of CDD and City Manager provide this requested report. Further I’d like the Director of CDD to give her professional opinion on the stretch code, BEUDO, lab ban, gas hookup ban, linkage increases, and climate resiliency zoning and how she feels we compare to other cities and towns and what effect these proposals will have on development in our city. It seems a very low bar that we at least understand the impact of something prior to passage especially when we have market conditions that do not comport to those anticipated through older studies and competing interests such as the need for housing and viable small and large businesses, and support for our cultural district in Central Sq which, when under so many competing pressures, will undoubtedly feel the impact of these proposals disproportionately to any other district.
Regards,
Patrick W. Barrett III
Unfinished Business #5. An Ordinance has been received from Diane P. LeBlanc City Clerk, relative to Ordinance #2022-23 Removing the Limit on BZA Compensation. [Passed to 2nd Reading Dec 9, 2022; To Be Ordained on or after Jan 9, 2023; Expires Mar 14, 2023]
Lotsa Communications on the Brown Zoning Petition and the police-involved fatal shooting in Cambridgeport and related matters.
Order #1. That the City Manager ask the City Solicitor to provide a legal opinion concerning (1) whether there is a two-year ban on considering repetitive zoning petitions that have been unfavorably acted upon by the Council, (2) if so, whether that ban on repetitive petitions would prohibit the Council from moving forward with a Council initiated lab use zoning petition if there is unfavorable action on the pending Callender, et al. Petition, and (3) if so, what types of changes to zoning petition would be necessary for it to no longer be considered a repetitive petition. Councillor McGovern
pulled by McGovern; Rules suspended to take with Committee Report #6; Order Adopted 9-0; Referred to Economic Development & University Relations Committee and to NLTP Committee 9-0
Committee Report #6. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on Jan 4, 2023 regarding the Citizens Zoning Petition from Duane Callender, et al. Cambridge Lab Regulation Zoning Amendment – AP22#53. The Committee voted favorably to forward this petition to the full City Council with a recommendation to forward to the Economic Development and University Relations Committee and to the Neighborhood and Long-Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts and Celebration Committee. The Committee voted favorably to request a legal opinion concerning (1) whether there is a two-year ban on considering repetitive zoning petitions that have been unfavorably acted upon by the Council, (2) if so, whether that ban on repetitive petitions would prohibit the Council from moving forward with a Council initiated lab use zoning petition if there is unfavorable action on the pending Callender, et al. Petition, and (3) if so, what types of changes to zoning petition would be necessary for it to no longer be considered a repetitive petition. [Note: This request appears on this agenda as a policy order.] [report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File; Referred to Economic Development & University Relations Committee and to NLTP Committee 9-0
Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate City personnel to explore the special permitting fees and bicycle parking requirements that are required of local recreational cannabis dispensaries, to provide a report on how these requirements may impact these businesses, and to determine whether these requirements may need to be modified or eliminated. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Toner
pulled by Simmons; Order Adopted 9-0 as Amended
Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate City staff to determine the feasibility of purchasing the property located at 37 Brookline Street, former home of Peter Valentine, with the intent of utilizing this as a community arts space. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Zondervan, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Azeem
pulled by Simmons; Order Adopted 8-1 (Toner-NO)
Just a Little Late…
Committee Report #1. The Ordinance Committee conducted a hearing on Sept 10, 2019 at 12:00pm regarding AP19#75: Refiled Zoning Petition – Grand Junction Pathway Overlay District. [report] [Note: This meeting was already reported Sept 23, 2019.]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0
Committee Report #2. The Ordinance Committee conducted a hearing on Sept 26, 2019 at 2:00pm regarding PO19#206: Zoning Petition on Special Permit Criteria. [report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0
Committee Report #3. The Ordinance Committee conducted a hearing on Nov 12, 2019 at 12:00pm, regarding a proposed amendment to Article 22 of the Zoning Ordinance – Green Building Requirements. [report] [Note 1: This meeting was already reported Nov 18, 2019.] [Note 2: The report actually shows testimony from “Councillor Patricia M. Nolan” – even though she did not assume office until January 2020.]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0