Council Updates, City Dance Party, and More

Broadway Bike Lanes
On June 16 the City Council voted on two policy orders that asked the City manager to delay or permanently suspend the installation of bike lanes on Broadway as part of the Broadway Safety Improvement Project. Many hundreds of residents wrote to the Council and to me personally both for and against bike lanes and the subsequent removal of on-street parking. I sent out a response to all those who wrote to me, which you can read here. It’s a lengthy response, as I wanted to give folks the whole picture of how I came to the decision to keep Broadway as part of the Cycling Safety Ordinance. As with an issue this divisive, there are many residents who are upset with my decision and many who are happy. I spent a significant amount of time meeting with residents, community leaders, my fellow councillors, and City staff before coming to my decision. I sent the response to everyone who wrote to me on both sides of the issue because I believe in transparency and honesty. If you take some time to read my letter, you’ll note that I acknowledge that there is still more work to be done and that this vote doesn’t mean the City has given up on residents who will be impacted by the reduction of on-street parking.

For next Monday I filed a policy order with Councillors Zusy, Siddiqui, and Vice Mayor McGovern that works to explore creative solutions that reduce car dependency, while expanding access to parking options nearby Broadway for those who will still need their cars. Some of this work is ongoing (I have previously filed policy orders to advocate for resident access in City lots, especially school lots), some is new, and some is to reemphasize efforts. I don’t expect all residents to be able to give up their cars and continue to live comfortably. I want to work to get residents who can utilize better public transportation options (hence my efforts on better citywide shuttle options) and to take advantage of more and safer bike lanes to do so. As more residents are able to feel safe in bike lanes and feel comfortable utilizing public transportation, more residents will be able to live without a car, freeing up important space for residents who need it. I hope you will read my letter and the policy order and support me as I continue to work for creative solutions that help all residents.

Welcoming Community Ordinance Updates
In response to a policy order I cosponsored earlier this month, the City Manager has provided language that will amend our Welcoming Community Ordinance in response to growing concerns about the Trump administration’s efforts to harass and harm immigrants in our community and others. This is a complicated conversation and requires close coordination with City staff and the Cambridge Police Department. The Trump administration has made demonizing and attacking immigrants a priority. And of note, we don’t have much leeway to prevent federal agents from operating on our city streets. The Welcoming City Ordinance was adopted by Cambridge in 2020 in order to protect residents from undue persecution and ensure that the City of Cambridge does not assist in enforcing federal immigration law. Further, it ensures that all personas are treated equally by the City, without consideration of immigration status. This ordinance was adopted prior to recent and increasingly aggressive federal actions, and we need to consider ways of strengthening the ordinance to ensure the continued safety and protection of all Cambridge residents. I want to note that the City does follow federal law, despite false claims by the federal government about our sanctuary city status as being in violation of federal law. What we don’t do is have our local officials do the job of the federal government. That fact often gets lost in the discussion. We believe, with strong police support, that such a policy keeps our community safer. Additionally, please be aware that the City publishes extensive information on the Know Your Rights page and offers training to help residents and service providers better protect themselves and their neighbors and ensure that Cambridge remains a welcoming and supportive community for all residents.

Report on Multifamily Zoning
This week I am sponsoring a policy order asking for an interim report on housing production trends in the first six months since the Council passed the Multifamily Housing Zoning amendments. Since the zoning changes were adopted, several projects have begun to pop up in the city. Many are still in the early stages of development and will most likely change substantially before actual construction takes place, but it’s still important to take a deeper look at what kinds of projects are happening and whether the zoning changes are having the intended effect. The zoning changes do include a structured process for ongoing review and public reporting of housing production across the city, with an annual housing report beginning in 2026 to track year-over-year changes in the housing stock, and a five-year evaluation beginning in 2030 to assess on longer-term trends as well as other public planning objectives, but an interim report after six months would provide a timely update to the Council and the community on the changing housing production landscape and an early understanding of whether newly proposed projects align with the goals of the Multifamily Housing Zoning amendments, which include the creation of more housing overall and increased affordable housing, as well as the preservation of existing affordable housing. I hope you will support this policy order asking for a report on demolition requests and building permit applications, in order to facilitate a discussion on the outcomes observed during the first six months of the new zoning.

Pedestrianization in Harvard Square
Over the years, the City Council and the community have expressed support for more pedestrianization opportunities and street closures in the area of Harvard Square and I have been working with community leaders, local businesses, and City staff to come up with creative solutions to enhance the area by piloting street closures when possible. This week I am sponsoring a policy order to build on growing momentum towards a pedestrian-only area on lower Bow Street in Harvard Square. Lower Bow Street, which has been closed to vehicle traffic due to construction for over a year that is expected to be completed soon, provides a timely opportunity to consider a pedestrian zone with possible options for timed deliveries modeled after the success of Winthrop Street. The local business owners are in favor, and Harvard is included in discussion.  These places are a good opportunity to utilize permanent automatic bollards for ease of maintenance. City staff are actively working with local property owners to assess operational needs for vehicle access in the area to ensure that this experiment works for everyone. I hope you will support this policy order and ask City staff to continue to push for creative street activations and pedestrian options.

Inclusionary Zoning
On Monday night we will continue to discuss housing production under the inclusionary zoning policy and work to address barriers to production of both affordable and market rate housing. As per a policy order I filed several weeks ago, the report from City staff outlines a number of factors that go into housing production. The inclusionary zoning rate is one of several options to be considered per the policy order (others include tax abatements, expedited permitting processes, and funding for additional affordable units).  Inclusionary is a lever under our control – that has seemed to impact the creation of housing of all kinds in recent years. The reality is that as a city, we are struggling to build multifamily housing due to economic factors. The 20% inclusionary requirement appears to exacerbate that struggle, as noted by a recent report from Housing staff. The request to consider lowering the inclusionary housing rate is not to dilute affordable housing production, but to ensure we continue to get affordable housing for middle income folks especially  in market rate buildings. Many affordable housing experts across the state agree that 20% may be a significant barrier to affordable housing production in market rate development under current economic conditions. There are several large multifamily projects under development throughout the city – good projects with significant numbers of affordable units – that are floundering at the finish line, in large part due to funding issues related to the inclusionary zoning rate. I want to consider the total number of units we could create (affordable and market rate) with a lower, or perhaps scaled, inclusionary rate. If we can create more housing under a lower rate or a scaled rate, we really need to consider that as an option. And in addition to that, can we find ways to incentivize higher inclusionary unit contributions than required with other kinds of benefits. The bottom line for me is the need to create housing of all types, but especially the middle income housing that comes with inclusionary housing, and per the figures provided by City staff, that is not currently happening. I also want to continue to press to find ways to fund other social housing means, through tax abatements, the affordable housing trust, or other state funding. It will take some time to study the impact of inclusionary housing, but I believe we should do something soon, even as we wait for the full study. We need to develop more affordable and market rate housing than is currently being created.