Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

March 14, 2024

Springing Forward – March 18, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Filed under: Cambridge,City Council — Tags: , , , , , , — Robert Winters @ 5:23 pm

Springing Forward – March 18, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Here are the things I found interesting this week:First Sign of Spring

Manager’s Agenda #5. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the City of Cambridge retaining its AAA rating from the nation’s three major credit rating agencies. (CM24#42) [text of reports]

This is almost routine at this point. I can’t even remember when we last failed to get a “triple triple”. One thing that struck me in the Moody’s report was: “Cambridge’s assessed value projected to decline by 2% in 2025 before recovering in 2026.” I don’t believe there’s any way that residential assessed values could be falling, so any drop is likely due to lower commercial assessed values. There’s also this: “The city’s assessed value is projected to flatten over the next couple years including a 2% decline in total assessed value that is projected in 2025. The decline in total AV is driven by a projected 7% decline in commercial value in 2025 and projected 2% decline in 2026. The declines are driven primarily by the challenges in the commercial office space sub-sector as a result of work-from-home options that have taken hold in many companies and industries in the city and across the nation. The residential sector is projected to see no change in 2025 values followed by a projected 2% increase annually beginning in 2026 through 2028.” The S&P report has this cautionary note: “We could lower the rating if reserves were to decrease significantly without a plan for restoration or if debt service and retirement costs were to pressure the city’s finances.”

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to recommendations for the block rates for water consumption and sewer use for the period beginning April 1, 2024 and ending March 31, 2025. (CM24#43) [text of report]

The notable increases in the water rate last year and this year actually exceed the increases in the sewer rate, but it has generally been the reverse for some time. It costs far more to lose water than to supply it.

water-sewer rates FY25

*All rates are per CcF. CcF is an abbreviation of 100 cubic feet. One CcF is approximately 750 gallons

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments and meet with the MBTA and City of Boston in advance of the July Red Line shutdown about the implementation of a fare-free 1 bus program.   Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Azeem, Vice Mayor McGovern

Order #5. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Law Department and Community Development Department to study whether the City Council could add maximum lot area per dwelling unit, maximum setback requirements, and minimum floor area ratios in some districts or as part of an overlay in the Zoning Ordinance and whether the City Council could require a special permit for a down conversion in developments that would result in a net loss of housing units.   Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Wilson, Councillor Nolan

I am very leery of this proposal – especially if it is interpreted to apply to existing buildings. During the days of rent control, the requirement that a “removal permit” was required prior to joining units was routinely used to prevent property owners from doing very reasonable things. For example, when I bought my triple-decker, the apartment where I now live had been operated as a rooming house, and the City treated it as 5 housing units. I had to use my tenure dating back to 1978 in the building to be allowed to legally restore the floor back to the apartment it had been for over fifty years. Had I not been able to do this, it would not have been possible for me to continue owning or living in the building. Many years later, I now occasionally consider the possibility of occupying two floors of the building, and I would be outraged if our elected officials took away my flexibility to do that. The devil, as is often said, is in the details. There is a very creepy mindset in the minds of some elected officials that personal freedom should always take a back seat to their political agendas.

Order #7. That the City Manager is requested to direct the Community Development Department to work with the chairs of the Housing Committee on zoning language that effectively promotes multi-family housing, including inclusionary units, citywide.   Councillor Azeem, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Wilson

While I generally agree with the idea of allowing multi-family housing citywide, I really don’t think that this Order should be quoting a class project by a Harvard freshman in making assertions (some of which are demonstrably false) regarding the history of zoning in Cambridge.

Order #9. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments and report back to the City Council with recommendations for adjusting parking permit fees to better align with associated costs.   Councillor Nolan, Councillor Azeem

Once again, if this is simply a matter of adjusting fees to cover the administrative costs of the resident parking permit program, then fine. On the other hand, if the intention is to use increased fees to carry out yet another social engineering program, then I hope this goes nowhere fast.

Order #10. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments to develop ways to fund support of decarbonization and clean energy projects and technical assistance for property owners of all types especially those with limited resources, with an initial focus on work associated with BEUDO emissions reduction requirements.   Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Pickett, Councillor Siddiqui

As I have said before, if the City wants to provide incentives to change energy sources or provide greater efficiencies for homeowners, then I’m totally on board with that. I am, however, mindful of the woefully inadequate electrical infrastructure in Cambridge (look up sometime to see how many streetlights are connected to extension cords over the street to get their power) and the potential consequence of increased electrification. I also encourage everyone to read the recent March 14 New York Times article “A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals”. – Robert Winters

March 5, 2024

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 611-612: March 5, 2024

Episode 611 – Cambridge InsideOut: Mar 5, 2024 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on Mar 5, 2024 at 6:00pm. Topics: Super Tuesday; Iran voting boycott vs. campaign for “No Preference”; Trump vs. Biden; ward committees; City Council less dysfunctional, more collaborative w/City Manager; Finance Committee – levy projections, call for restraint, need to maintain excess levy capacity; use of operating budget for affordable housing has consequences; anticipated 10%+ annual increases in levy coming; fewer building permits – revenue not subject to Prop 2½ limits; commercial values relatively flat – shift of levy from commercial to residential; within residential, condos get sweetest deal after residential exemption and most of the increases borne by single-, two-, and three-family properties; need for intervention now to avoid future need for overrides; councillors had luxury for years in not having to think about limitations; FY24 consolidated spending categories; note that every stick of affordable housing (deed restrictions) has de minimis tax revenue – receive far more value in services that tax generated. Host: Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 612 – Cambridge InsideOut: Mar 5, 2024 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on Mar 5, 2024 at 6:30pm. Topics: Mar 4 City Council meeting; PERF report – police-involved shooting, good recommendations, positive evaluation of CPD practices, less-lethal options, CPD to be first in Mass. with policy on releasing names of involved officers; Central Square Lots Study in parallel with zoning changes; other assets, adjacent properties; everyone loves Central Square until they don’t; demise of current Starlight Square, need for replacement; contradictory signals on whether to gather more information or take action; exclusive focus on “affordable housing” creates net financial negative in perpetuity – math doesn’t work; plan in concert with privately-owned adjacent lots, e.g. Bishop Allen/Prospect, Green/Pleasant lot and Needle Exchange building; 44 years and 24 studies – the never-ending study of Central Square; not just about making everything bigger – need to make things better, more creative and more interesting; death of Paul Ryder; Charter Review update – next steps, desire to control process, facets of City government via Special Acts that should be part of Charter or at least be referenced – License Commission, Election Commission, Traffic Board, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge Housing Authority, Cambridge Redevelopment Authority; housing-related orders re: real estate transfer tax and municipally-funded vouchers (a real budget buster); the more we fund affordable housing the wider the gap in affordability. Host: Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

March 4, 2024

Marching Fourth – March 4, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Marching Fourth – March 4, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Lion and the LambPerhaps this is the year we’ll march in like a lamb and out like a lion. There are some interesting things circling around – notably the recent Feb 28 Finance Committee meeting where City staff made it abundantly clear that the City Council might want to be just a bit less ambitious and expansive in their requests to fund everything under the sun. They are anticipating tax levy increases for the next few fiscal years in excess of 10%, and this may translate into very large jumps in property taxes – especially for single-, two-, and three-family homes. [Don’t worry, condo owners, you will likely continue to get the sweetest deal in town. The main message was “The City is at a critical inflection point and will need to take action to preserve future financial stability.”

Perhaps the two most substantive items on the week’s agenda are the final report from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and the Central Square Lots Study Report.

Manager’s Agenda #5. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the final report from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). [text of report]
pulled by Wilson to announce that there will be a Public Safety Committee meeting on this on Apr 2, 3-5pm; Referred to Public Safety Committee 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the Central Square Lots Study Report. [text of report]
pulled by Wilson – a says outreach was unsatisfactory, loss of Starlight Square; Yi-An Huang responds to questions about representation, nature of process of the study, role of councillors in facilitating community feedback; McGovern questions about Request for Information (RFI), Melissa Peters responds about RFI and planning for Central Square rezoning, trade-offs, housing options; Yi-An Huang refers to Lots Study as a “test fit”, desire for housing, including “affordable”, need to bring Cambridge Redevelopment Authority into process, possibility of joining with adjacent (privately-owned) properties [Note: this was exactly the point I made in the Central Square Advisory Committee (CSAC) meeting on this – especially in regard to the privately-owned lots at Prospect/Bishop Allen and building on Green Street adjacent to parking lot at Pleasant (currently hosting Needle Exchange)]; McGovern on Starlight (Lot 5) and how its loss would be upsetting to many; Yi-An Huang notes that he has discussed with with CSBID, City financial support for Starlight/Popportunity – uses phrase “square within the square”, possibility of housing, performance space, and parking at this location; Siddiqui expresses disappointment that there will be a limited Starlight season this year with an early end, notes ARPA award to support it, says there is community support to extend it; Pickett wants to reconcile Lots Study and planning for zoning changes; Melissa Peters says Lots Study and zoning planning are parallel processes, RFP will come after the zoning is completed; Pickett asks about continuing community engagement; Nolan concerns about long-term planning [Hey, isn’t there a committee with that name?], suggests citywide survey, impacts on City budget – both capital and operating budgets, quantifying value of Starlight Square; Azeem bemoans loss of Starlight, need for alternatives, offers comments on various lots and properties; Sobrinho-Wheeler uptalks; Simmons wants to refer to NLTP Committee, expresses hope for Starlight, notes decades of studies on Central Square – brings up slide (from CCJ site), Central Square as a cultural district, how this fits in with ongoing MAPC study, shallow referencing of “people of color”, dissatisfaction with degree of outreach, 44 years with 24 studies – “hurry up and wait”; Yi-An Huang notes that this “test fit” utilized past studies; disagreement about whether there is a call for action or additional feedback and study; Yi-An Huang (correctly) notes that Starlight was built as a temporary structure during Covid and that focus now should be on future alternatives; Wilson references long gap between ideas/suggestions and actions; Pickett speaks to how NLTP will take this on; McGovern expresses a “blitz” of meetings on this; Referred to NLTP 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-4, regarding recommendations and legal opinions for adjusting transportation related fees and other considered changes based on the conversations in committee on Dec 6, 2023. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan – wants to raise resident parking permit fees w/low-income discounts, fees based on vehicle size; City Solicitor Megan Bayer responds; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #8. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a communication regarding the American Rescue Plan Act’s (“ARPA”) definition of “Obligation.” [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler – what happens to unspent ARPA funds; Magan Bayer says these go back to U.S. Treasury if unspent; Matt Nelson provides additional information; Nolan asks if this has been communicated to nonprofit organizations; Yi-An Huang responds in the affirmative; Pickett wants to know what unallocated funds remain; Wilson comments; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #9. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-7, regarding a review of the Final Report of the Charter Review Committee. [text of report]
pulled by Pickett – reminder (from Toner) to councillors to forward their questions to Councillor Toner; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

Resolution #4. Condolences on the death of Paul Ryder.   Councillor Toner

Order #1. That the Executive Assistant to the City Council confer with the Dedication Committee to consider a request for a dedication in a suitable location in honor of Paul Ryder.   Councillor Toner
Order Adopted 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

Order #5. Tenant Protection Resources.   Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Wilson
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui, McGovern, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Nolan, Wilson, Simmons; Order Adopted as Amended 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

Committee Report #1. The Economic Development and University Relations Committee held a public hearing on Thurs, Feb 15, 2024 to discuss the current lab, office, and retail vacancies in Cambridge and their expected impact on City revenues in the near and long term. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Toner Absent)

February 24, 2024

Gently Stepping Forward – February 26, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Gently Stepping Forward – February 26, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

City HallThe previous meeting featured some rather obvious jostling for position in the process of evaluating the recent Charter Review Final Report and deciding any charter change proposal. This week should bring even more of this power struggle when the question of “next steps” is taken up. The report has already been sent to the Law Department, the Election Commission, and perhaps more departments for review, but the question now is whether this should be initially vetted within the Government Operations Committee (chaired by Councillor Toner) or if Councillor Nolan (and perhaps others) will try to bypass that initial review by creating some kind of ad-hoc committee-of-the-whole so that she can gain more control of the process. This, of course, is intertwined with the election of Mayor Simmons who appoints all the City Council committees – and those appointments were done with some care.

I will say right now that some of the proposed Charter recommendations are virtually assured to be dead on arrival at the State House, but I don’t yet know if the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (or whatever committee takes up such matters) can take an à-la-carte approach to proposed city charters or if it’s all-or-nothing. Before any modified Charter can go before Cambridge voters, it must first clear this hurdle.

I will also say that there are some aspects of the structure of Cambridge government that really should be rolled into any new Charter but which the Charter Review Committee never considered, e.g. the Special Acts that established/empowered the License Commission, the Election Commission, the Traffic Board, the Cambridge Health Alliance, the Cambridge Housing Authority, and the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority. It is commendable that the Committee chose to consolidate most of the charter specifics that were only referenced in the Plan E sections of M.G.L. Chapter 43 (sections 93-116) – at the suggestion of the Collins Center staff who were advising the Committee – but this was incomplete, probably because of lack of expertise on those specifics within the Collins Center staff. This is especially true of matters involving our proportional representation elections (an essential component of Plan E). There may be good reasons to leave some of these out of the Charter, but since they are part of how we do business, these questions should at least be part of the current discussion. [Needless to say, this should have been discussed within the now-dissolved Charter Review Committee, but that’s another conversation that has much to do with how that committee was formed.]

Here are the agenda items that caught my eye this week:

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to appointments and reappointments of members to the Cambridge Bicycle Committee.
pulled by Nolan; PN wants committees to be “commissions” so that City Council would gain more control over these appointments, asks about whether diversity of opinion is a factor in appointments; Iram Farooq claims there is some diversity, but acknowledges that these committees are primarily advocates rather than representatives; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to appointments and reappointments of members to the Cambridge Pedestrian Committee.
pulled by Nolan; no additional comments; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, Policy Order Response #24-15 dated Feb 12, 2024 regarding drafting zoning language and related changes to allow for and encourage the continued growth, redevelopment, and evolution of Central Square. [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; JSW wants to know when this would go to Planning Board; Farooq says it goes to PB when petition is filed and during the process; Toner asks if this will build upon work already done; Farooq says YES, and that advisory committees need not be consulted (really?); Nolan suggests that better methods of informing community should be considered; Pickett asks if Central Square Lots study will be integrated and how; Farooq says study in its final stages; Wilson agrees re: communication with residents; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem Absent)

Charter Right #1. That the Final Report of the Charter Review Committee be referred to the Government Operations, Rules and Claims Committee. [Charter Right – Simmons, Feb 12, 2024]
Toner says conversation should start in Gov’t Operations Committee; Nolan OK with starting there, but says it should not stay there – noting that she and Siddiqui are “deeply involved in this” (quite the understatement); Pickett draws parallel with how possible Rules changes are now being considered in committee; Siddiqui OK with starting in committee, but will participate and “brainstorming” with suggestion of a robust process; Toner explains process of culling ideas from councillors, legal questions, timeline; Wilson wants a community conversation around this; Referred to Gov’t Ops. 8-0-1 (Azeem Absent)

Resolution #6. Resolution on the death of Charles Fried.   Councillor Nolan


Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to present recommendations for the refinement and improvement of the housing permitting process to the City Council, with a focus on reducing delays, minimizing costs, and enhancing clarity and accessibility for all stakeholders.   Councillor Azeem, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Nolan
pulled by Toner; Toner proposed amendments; JSW wants to keep “affordable” language, wants to add other groups for consultation; Toner motion to change “affordable housing” to “housing” Fails 2-6-1 (MM,PT-YES; PN,JP,SS,JSW,AW,DS-No; BA-Absent); Toner motion on simplifying processes to all housing and not just “affordable” housing, McGovern says middle-income housing should be included; Adopted 8-0-1; JSW motion to amend Toner motion to add two additional groups Adopted 8-0-1; Toner motion as amended Adopted 8-0-1; Order Adopted as Amended 8-0-1 (BA Absent)

Order #2. City Council support of H.4138, The Affordable Homes Act, and urge legislators to retain the provisions for a location option transfer fee.   Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Mayor Simmons
pulled by Toner; Toner will vote NO on proposed transfer fee; Nolan says Council has supported transfer fee in the past, delivers a prepared speech, says that this would not enact a tax or fee but only permit that local option (this is unbelievably naive), notes that legislation would set the range of possible fees, says this is about local control (but this begs the question about other proposed “local control” proposal to allow municipalities to create their own rent control laws); Nolan suggests motivation for supporting this is so that other municipalities would enact such a tax (again, very naive); McGovern concurs with Nolan, quotes David Kale in asserting that commercial transactions are lion’s share and that some residential exemptions could be made, expresses desire to take in as much revenue as possible; Pickett asks how this relates to existing Home Rule Petition now before the State Legislature, notes that there is already a $4.56/thousand stamp tax by state and that this would be on top of that; JSW uptalks that Legislature could act on our and Somerville’s and Cambridge’s petitions or pass current legislation, deflects by asserting that revenue raised could be used for other purposes; Pickett wants homeowners to gain maximum value in the sale of their greatest financial asset; Wilson offers generalities and suggestion that this might not lead to a tax; Simmons notes that we do use CPA fund for this but characterizes this as a “shortfall” and that (unlimited) more money is needed, notes Envision report and suggests that what we are doing is not enough; Order Adopted 6-2-1 (JP,PT – No; BA Absent)

Order #5. That the City Manager is hereby directed to confer with the City Manager’s Housing Liaison, Community Development Department, and the Cambridge Housing Authority on the feasibility of municipally-funded housing vouchers.   Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Wilson
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Wilson, Pickett (who offers amendments); Nolan supports order and JP amendments; McGovern asks of motion-makers are OK with the amendments; Wilson supports amendments; both JP amendments adopted 8-0-1; Order Adopted as Amended 8-0-1

Order #6. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council with the data analysis included in the Economic Feasibility Analysis provided to EOHLC as part of Cambridge’s MBTA Communities final compliance submission.   Councillor Toner, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Nolan
pulled by Toner; Order Adopted 8-0-1

February 21, 2024

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 609-610: February 20, 2024

Episode 609 – Cambridge InsideOut: Feb 20, 2024 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on Feb 20, 2024 at 6:00pm. Topics: Local News – Cambridge and beyond; Valentine’s Day – 46 years; City Council Goals & Objectives; the ordeal of facilitation and training; the value of informality and interaction in committee meetings; 311 vs. SeeClickFix vs. an Ombudsman vs. a simple phone call; benefiting from the existence of a problem; pros and cons of a good idea; upside-down priorities – the essential difference between a city manager and a strong mayor system. Host: Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 610 – Cambridge InsideOut: Feb 20, 2024 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on Feb 20, 2024 at 6:30pm. Topics: Ambiguity in affordable housing – buy vs. rent, market vs. subsidized; the DEI lens – one lens in addition to effectiveness, efficient delivery of services, and transparency; Envision – quote it when it suits you, ignore it when it doesn’t; the mythology of Central Square progress; Cycling Safety update – drawing conclusions from the inconclusive; Community Safety update – tiptoeing around the HEART problem; foreign policy or not; Charter Review Report gets political right out of the gate. Host: Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

February 14, 2024

Random Thoughts – February 14, 2024

Random Thoughts – February 14, 2024

In addition to the romanticism of Valentine’s Day, this day also marks the day I moved to the Cambridge/Boston area – 46 years ago. While this means that I can never be a True Cantabrigian, my consolation is that many lifelong Cambridge residents have adopted me as a kind of lost cousin. In fact, my move to Cambridge happened on the first day that buses were running from New York to Boston after the Blizzard of ’78, so it’s always easy for me to remember when I first washed up on the shores of the People’s Republic.RW

I spent a couple of hours yesterday attending a Special City Council meeting called for the purpose of updating the City Council Goals that were most recently updated over 5 years ago in October 2017. It’s likely that the statement of Guiding Principles and City Council Goals will change little, though perhaps they’ll get a bit more specific than the rosy generalities issued in 2017.

I have to say that I have never enjoyed meetings like this where participants stumble about trying to say something relevant that might get the attention of the facilitator. I will add that these exercises often seem more like justifications for keeping “facilitation companies” going than actually producing anything useful. I might say the same thing of most “team building” exercises and virtually all “trainings” – online or in-person. Especially in the context of elected officials who are endlessly competing for credit or attention, the notion that you can train competition into collaboration seems a bit naive. They’ll either do it or they won’t.

That said, there were a few moments of wisdom, reality, and perhaps even redefinition. For example, at least one councillor noted the difference between City Council orders and committee work. This is something I appreciate – over the years I have come to view many policy orders as “drive-by orders” where some random idea is tossed into the public arena or perhaps lifted from some other municipality. Committee work used to be more like a serious detailed discussion that welcomed public participation. That hasn’t really been the case in recent years – unless you are one of the privileged few who function more like “10th councillors” thanks to your affiliation with a lobbying group that also endorses candidates in the municipal election. Everyone else just gets their two or three minutes to make a short statement before being terminated by the Chair. I liked it better when if you actually offered constructive ideas at a committee meeting you might actually be involved in a back-and-forth discussion with the councillors. Nowadays you just perform and exit – unless you are among the politically privileged.

One suggestion made at yesterday’s meeting was that the City Manager and staff should send out weekly general updates of current topics being worked on by City staff. City Manager Yi-An Huang welcomed the idea but also expressed concern about “granularity” as he noted that at any given time there are ~2000 employees working on different things. Was the suggestion to have “weeklies” really be just about getting updates on the usual “hot topics” like bike lanes, BEUDO, and plans for recently-acquired City properties? It was also not made clear if these “weeklies” would be just for councillors or if they would be publicly available. Also unanswered was how such a protocol might mesh with the current daily updates to which many of us are subscribed.

One suggestion was that there should be a 311 system – a single point of contact for resident complaints and inquiries. This brought two things to mind. First, this sounds a lot like SeeClickFix – which is supposed to be the place for residents and elected officials alike to report problems. There seemed to be some sense that this system may not be functioning as well as it should be, and that when there is no response or action the calls go to city councillors. My experience has been that some kinds of SeeClickFix reports get an almost immediate response, and others languish for months or even years. It doesn’t help that some people view SeeClickFix as just another social media outlet on which they can bitch and moan about things that often go well beyond what the City can or should do. The other thing that came to mind was the proposal from over 20 years ago to create an Ombudsman Office that would respond to resident requests. That proposal went down in flames when councillors realized that responding to such complaints was an essential part of their political existence and that transferring that responsibility would only hurt their role in providing “constituent services”. In short, councillors often benefit from the existence of a problem.

Yesterday’s facilitator suggested that city councillors should be asking questions more than making statements. The response from some councillors was that this really doesn’t work in the context of a City Council meeting where you have to wait your turn to be recognized by the Chair and where technically all remarks are made through the Chair. I would note that in committee meetings this kind of questioning and back-and-forth conversation at least used to be common (and useful). It was also pointed out that the Open Meeting Law actually thwarts this kind of questioning and collaboration.

When the facilitators displayed their distillation of apparent City Council priorities (presumably based on some kind of questionnaire), the results were both predictable and misleading. The same can be said of the periodic Resident Surveys conducted on behalf of the City. Affordable housing always tops the list but rarely, if ever, is there any clarification of what that actually means. In one sense, it’s likely that 100% of residents want their housing to be affordable, but does that mean that they want to be able to buy a home on the open market at an affordable price, or does it mean that they want the City to subsidize the purchase? The same goes even more significantly when it comes to renting an apartment. I believe most renters simply want to see more affordable rents, and not necessarily that they want the City to subsidize those rents, but you would never know that from the Resident Survey or from the councillors’ prioritization.

It is worth noting that many, perhaps most, things that residents care about are not directly addressable by city councillors, the City administration, or from any level of government. Kindness, mutual respect, neighborliness, and voluntarism form the glue of society and likely have more to do with the satisfaction of living in a town or city than anything that was ever woven into a City Council policy order.

I was especially impressed when Deputy City Manager Owen O’Riordan noted that a major portion of City expenditures are in infrastructure, yet there was not even a mention of this in the list of City Council priorities. Perhaps this serves to highlight the difference between the politics of being an elected councillor and the management by City administration. Indeed, one of the greatest problems with a popularly-elected mayor as CEO is that it almost guarantees a greater share of attention and resources toward popular concerns and a corresponding decrease in focus on matters like infrastructure and municipal finance. I hope our current group of councillors keep this in mind as they debate possible Charter changes. It is, in fact, this focus on such matters by City management that allows the elected councillors to focus on more visible populist concerns.

Mayor Simmons bemoaned the fact that DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) was way down on the list of priorities, but stated that “this should be the lens through which we look at things.” It’s certainly one such lens, but fiscal responsibility, effective service delivery, responsiveness, and transparency are also pretty good lenses through which to look at and evaluate what we do as a city.

There was an interesting back-and-forth about the Envision plan and how it is often quoted or ignored depending on what you want or don’t want. There also continues to be a lot of misinterpretation of the goals and metrics in that report – especially in the area of housing.

Regarding Central Square, City Manager Huang stated that many of the goals contained in past studies have already been implemented – noting, in particular, bike lanes and outdoor dining. In fact, there is little mention of bike lanes in these past studies (perhaps due to how long ago the studies were produced), and much of the outdoor dining came about not from past studies but as an emergency response to the Covid epidemic as a means of helping some local businesses to economically survive. Indeed, the only significant new developments in Central Square happened independently of past studies, e.g. the Mass & Main (Normandy/Twining) zoning petition. It is my understanding that some new zoning proposals may be forthcoming based, in part, on some of the considerations of the C2 Study (from over a decade ago), but we’ll have to see where that road leads. – Robert Winters

January 29, 2024

How Can We Miss You When You Won’t Go Away – January 29, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Filed under: Cambridge,City Council — Tags: , , , , — Robert Winters @ 1:27 pm

How Can We Miss You When You Won’t Go Away – January 29, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Aug 1974 National LampoonCapitulation is the featured item on this week’s menu, and we’ll see if there are enough votes to send the Gaza stew back to the kitchen for revision. This meeting will take place entirely with Zoom for reasons that require explanation only for the extremely clueless. It will be interesting to see how many people sign up for Public Comment, and I do hope the Mayor asks each of them to state their home address (or at least their city of residence).

Here are the items worth noting for serious analysis and/or comic relief:

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to PO24#4, regarding the possibility of acquiring the property located at 727 Massachusetts Avenue.
pulled by Simmons; comments by Simmons, City Manager Huang, Deputy City Manager O’Riordan; Placed on File 9-0

Charter Right #1. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments to review the Across Sidewalk Electric Vehicle Charging (EV) Permit Pilot Program, eliminate the $200 annual permit fee and determine if the process can be simplified. [Charter Right – Simmons, Jan 22, 2024]
comments by Nolan, Azeem, Simmons, O’Riordan, Maura Pensak, Nolan; Referred as Amended to Transportation & Public Utilities Committee 9-0

Resolution #1. Resolution Congratulating Lisa Peterson.   Mayor Simmons

Resolution #2. Resolution Congratulating Sam Corda.   Mayor Simmons

Resolution #3. Condolences to the family of Maureen C. Morris.   Mayor Simmons, Councillor Toner, Councillor Pickett

Order #1. That the Community Development Department report back with any necessary edits to the attached zoning language that would allow unrelated people to live together in the City of Cambridge.   Councillor Azeem, Vice Mayor McGovern, Mayor Simmons, Councillor Siddiqui
Order Adopted 9-0

This was previously introduced as a citizen petition several years ago by an especially unhinged individual. It was pointed out at that time that restrictions on the number of unrelated persons living in a dwelling unit originally came about as a matter of public safety caused by unscrupulous landlords packing apartments with unrelated persons. That’s quite different than the situation of a reasonable number of unrelated persons choosing to live together as housemates. I do find it creepy that this proposal chooses to redefine the word “family.”


Order #2. Calling for an Immediate Negotiated Ceasefire in Gaza.   Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Wilson, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui who wants to remove most or all of the “Whereas” clauses as a substitute order (capitulation), opposes other proposed amendments; comments by McGovern who seems to think that the protesting mob is representative of Cambridge residents, claims to not want to make any statements that alienate anyone (doubtful), supports the substitute order; comments by Wilson; comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler who says this is just about opposing violence; Siddiqui moves the Substitute Order; comments by Nolan who states that all councillors want peace and to question that is unfair, notes that the loudest voices don’t necessarily represent all residents of the city, agrees that most residents likely do want a negotiated cessation of hostilities, acknowledges shared blame toward Hamas and Netanyahu, notes personal attacks and bullying and need for people to treat each other with respect; Nolan offers amendments acknowledging Hamas as a terrorist organization and more; Azeem would keep original Order and amend that rather than the Substitute Order; Toner ready to vote; Pickett says we’ll never satisfy all those who spoke on this; Siddiqui withdraws substitute fearing it lacks the votes; Nolan moves amendments with Toner; amendments taken up one-by-one (some pass, some fail); eventually Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

I encountered some interesting pole decorations Inman Street on Saturday. Perhaps this goes under the category of “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. I took the liberty of redecoration. Heck, it’s not like I was tearing down posters of hostages. I consider Denise Simmons to be a personal friend, and I stick up for my friends. The proposed resolution is relatively benign, but I would still move to amend it to modify the phrase “support for an immediate, negotiated ceasefire by both Hamas and Netanyahu Administration” to something more like “support for a negotiated end to hostilities – conditional on the release of all hostages and the demilitarization of Gaza.” Then again, there’s no rational basis for the Cambridge City Council chiming in on this. On the other hand, there is a long history of the Cambridge City Council ineffectively chiming in on world affairs. See Boston Herald note from Aug 21, 1935, for example.

DefamationNaziResolution1935

Late Order #5. That the topic of discussing foreign policy resolutions by the City Council be referred to the Government Operations, Rules & Claims Committee.   Councillor Azeem, Mayor Simmons
Comments by Azeem; Charter Right – Siddiqui


Order #3. Supporting An Act establishing the municipal reforestation program (S.452/H.869).   Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Pickett
pulled by Nolan; Nolan wishes to finalize; Order Adopted 9-0, Reconsideration Fails 0-9

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Traffic & Parking Department to take immediate action and make safety improvements to the intersection of Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Binney Street, and Bristol Street as soon as possible.   Councillor Azeem, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler
pulled early by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by JSW, Huang, O’Riordan; Order Adopted 9-0

This is Zondervan’s corner. It’s worth noting that both sponsors of this Order donated money to the campaign of Boston City Councillor Kendra Lara after she crashed her car into a house in Jamaica Plain (Sobr.-Wheeler $10, Azeem $100). So much for commitment to traffic safety. – RW

January 17, 2024

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 605-606: January 16, 2024

Episode 605 – Cambridge InsideOut: Jan 16, 2024 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on Jan 16, 2024 at 6:00pm. Topics: Shout out to DPW; OCPF reports due Jan 20; Council committees pending; Clean Slate at Jan 8 Council meeting; Jerry’s Pond; dealing with the nonresident protesters and bad political theater. Host: Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 606 – Cambridge InsideOut: Jan 16, 2024 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on Jan 16, 2024 at 6:30pm. Topics: Looking back at the 2022-23 City Council term and ahead to the 2024-25 term; single-issue advocacy at the root of the problem, need for cost/benefit analysis – examples with transportation, housing, energy; Charter considerations; phantom Traffic Board; confounded analysis of slate voting; and a Big Wish for better Squares and more fun. Host: Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

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