Council Updates, Childcare Access Task Force, and More

Multifamily Zoning Review
A year and a half after passing the Multifamily Housing Ordinance, the Council has been working through the annual review process, which I worked to require in the ordinance. At this point we have had three separate meetings (which you can rewatch here) that included City staff as well as outside experts. Our last meeting was in June and we reviewed several changes that would add more transparency to the process and hopefully create more functional open space requirements. The next meeting will be on September 16 at 11:00am. As I have stated, I fully support allowing multifamily housing in every neighborhood of the city. And I still wish that the council had adopted a very bold and not as extreme proposal. At this point, the City presented some possible amendments that would create just as much housing, while mitigating some of the negative aspects of some proposals. More housing is good, and as we build, we must also preserve public health, ensure stormwater mitigation happens, consider impact to existing solar, and urban design, planning and livability. I hope that we adjust the zoning to continue to build more housing, without extreme projects. One step in analyzing the impacts of the zoning changes is better communicating the actual rules of the new development, which includes much more than zoning – it also includes stormwater regulations, traffic impacts for large buildings, green factor calculations, fossil fuel free regulations, and more. One important part of that is the work I’m doing to update the Urban Forest Master Plan with lessons learned from the last 5 years. Those recommendations will also inform the zoning changes. It’s important for all residents to understand what protections are in place for local neighborhoods and the environment so we can have clear conversations about impact. I will be advocating for a suite of changes, including implementing CDD’s recommendations which will adjust design setbacks, improving open space requirements and permeable requirements, putting limits on large unit sizes, improving the notification and public process, and making other clarifying edits. In addition to that, I am still working with DPW staff on the Urban Forest Master Plan Update which will have a suite of recommended actions, I am still supportive of the solar zoning I worked to develop last year, we are still moving forward with updated and improved stormwater mitigation regulations, and we have more work to do to implement changes to the resident parking program to limit permit access for newer buildings that I have urged the council to consider, in line with the Somerville model.

Finance Committee
As the co-chair of the Finance Committee for many years now, I have been working to prioritize Council and community input, transparency, and long-term planning. A large part of that work is in standardizing our year-long budget development process, offering more opportunities for input, and clarifying the role of Council in budget formation. This week I published a memo outlining a proposed Finance Committee process and calendar leading up to the FY28 budget cycle. It also notes the date for the FY27 Tax Rate Hearing (September 28, 2026), which sets the tax rate needed for the FY27 Budget that was passed in June 2026. With commercial development slowing and the impacts of the federal government on our city and local economy, it is more important than ever to conduct this work with long-term planning in mind. That is why we have nearly a dozen meetings leading up to the budget hearings to discuss economic development, City-owned assets, Council priorities, and budget previews.

Health and Environment Committee
As chair of the Health and Environment Committee, I remain energized and focused on a number of essential items. One exciting project I have been working on for many years is how to bring Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) to Cambridge. Following my lead and following several policy orders, the City has been studying whether a shared local network of underground pipes could provide safe and reliable heating and cooling for buildings without using fossil fuels. A thermal energy network connects multiple buildings and often uses geothermal energy, which is the Earth’s natural temperature, as a source of clean energy. This is a way forward to improve energy costs, provide safer and more reliable heating and cooling, and get off fossil fuels. There will be a H&Env Committee meeting scheduled for October to discuss progress and there will also be a webinar on September 29 at 6:00pm with staff to discuss the feasibility study (more info below). The H&Env Committee will bring regional partners and experts to the table as well to discuss the future of TENs in Cambridge. There are a number of other H&Env related meetings and initiatives on the docket for this fall/winter as well including the Net Zero Action Plan, residential decarbonization efforts, the Urban Forest Master Plan, data centers, and PFAS/microplastics.

Short Term Rentals Ordinance Updates
The Council is still working through changes to the Short Term Rentals Ordinance. Our last Ordinance Committee meeting was cancelled (sadly, due to lack of quorum), so another meeting will be scheduled in September or October. Keep an eye on the open meeting portal for scheduling updates. Long-story-short: There had been no review of the ordinance and its impact until a couple of years ago when I started looking into some resident concerns. And upon review, it became clear that more than half the STRs advertised in Cambridge are illegal. The updated language is meant to allow better enforcement, and to clarify types of STRs allowed. I am proposing some changes to the recommended language which I outline here. I wrote in more detail about the Short Term Rentals Ordinance in my last newsletter.

Violence Prevention and Shotspotter
As mentioned above, the Council held a special meeting to discuss violence prevention on July 23 in response to the tragic killing of a DPW employee the morning of July 4. There were four policy orders discussed in that meeting that were also discussed at the Summer meeting. One related to temporarily restoring shotspotter, one related to implementing recommendations from the Feb. 2026 violence prevention report, one to evaluate violence response and prevention strategies and support services, and one to expand the overt camera pilot. As I wrote in my statement, I remain skeptical about the actual efficacy of shotspotter technology and have serious concerns about data collection policies for audio recordings we do not have direct control over – in line with concerns expressed by the ACLU. I also remain supportive of expanding public safety cameras in the city in public spaces in line with the covert camera pilot which has been operational in Central Square for almost two years now. These cameras are owned and operated by the City of Cambridge and the data collection is done in a responsible way and lawfully under both our Surveillance Technology Ordinance and our Welcoming Communities Ordinance. The final amended policy order that the Council voted on included language asking the City Manager to pilot a community outreach process known as a Civic Assembly to discuss the issue with a selection of community members to help unpack the nuance and build consensus around a path forward. You may have already gotten a letter in the mail about the process. You can read more about the Civic Assembly process the City will be running here.

Zero Waste Master Plan 2.0 Ordinance Updates
At our summer Council meeting we finally adopted several new and updated ordinances to help Cambridge reduce waste, lower trash disposal costs, reduce climate impacts, and address rodent activity, as part of the Zero Waste Master Plan 2.0. The new policies apply to residential and commercial buildings throughout Cambridge and will take effect on February 3, 2027. In support of this, the Department of Public Works will launch an outreach and education campaign before the new policies take effect and continue it throughout the first year of implementation. The campaign will help residents, property managers, and businesses understand the changes and what they need to do. I am excited that the entire council voted to ordain these changes. This path was not easy, as there were many critics and skeptical councillors, the sustained advocacy from experts and advocates really helped, as well as a consistent message from City staff about the importance of these changes. I wrote to the entire Council about the specific changes and why they are important here. The bottom line is that these changes will save money for the City and for commercial property owners on expensive trash hauling, control rats by separating food waste, and encourage less trash through waste management plans for large buildings.