All:
Happy Solstice and Happy Holidays! I doubt I will do a newsletter next week with all the holiday hustle and bustle – Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah all coincide this year, may the world also have peaceful coexistence. The extreme weather on Wednesday certainly broke up the week a little bit. For those of you watching the Finance Committee on Wednesday afternoon you may have even seen the paintings in the Sullivan Chamber rattling in the wind. More regular extreme weather events are, of course, a reminder of the dangerous effects of the climate crisis and a call to action as we continue to invest in important climate resiliency projects like stormwater diversion and reducing combined sewer overflows. Those kinds of investments are essential and will need to continue to invest in climate resiliency.
On Tuesday morning at the City Manager’s annual Holiday Breakfast it was great to see the stellar City staff and enjoy some yummy food. And I always appreciate an opportunity to wear a favorite holiday sweater – Llamakah. Dion McNeal, an internal communications manager in the CM’s office matched me with a terrific Christmas dinosaur sweater. I loved the Employees’ choir and a solo performance by Maura Mendoza, a community arts administrator in the Cambridge Arts Council. Perhaps they can perform in next year’s PorchFest/DeckFest that will happen this summer after my policy order passed.
I was thrilled to see Cambridge’s own Zeyneb Magavi and HEET get well-deserved recognition as climate champions and Bostonians of the Year. I put in a resolution in recognition of the award, with Mayor Simmons and Councillors Siddiqui and Wilson. Their work on transitioning off gas is critical to our future.
Yesterday I made it to another great event: the ribbon cutting for the re-opened Boomerang/More Than Words store in Central Square. I have supported and patronized More Than Words for many years – when it was an outpost only in Waltham – and am thrilled that the Cambridge store is open. Economic Development Secretary Hao and Mayor Simmons gave heartfelt and wonderful remarks, and the staff and leaders who spoke were impressive and inspiring. Not only do they help young people at risk learn jobs and develop skills, they also recycle goods: books, clothes, records (as in vinyl!) – highly recommended for holiday gifts. At the bottom of this newsletter are some other great opportunities for local giving and volunteering as well as ideas for local shopping to support our local businesses.
It’s a bit of a light agenda this week as much of the focus of staff and council are on the Multifamily Zoning Petition, but there are a number of items – and below the council items is a statement on another major issue which affects the community, but is not in the Council’s domain: the recommendation to close the Kennedy-Longfellow school.
Below are comments on a few top line items and a few quick notes for Monday’s meeting. If you have questions or comments on these or anything else I’ve been working on, please feel free to reach out at any time.
Patty
Council Updates
Multifamily Housing Zoning Petition
On Thursday, December 19 at 5:30pm the Ordinance Committee will hold another meeting to discuss the Multifamily Housing Zoning Petition. This meeting will not have any public comment and will just consist of Council discussion. I want to note that this meeting was previously noticed to include public comment and the 5:30pm start time was important to include people who cannot attend Council meetings in the middle of the day. I was disappointed that the schedule was changed and I will ask that the Ordinance Committee chairs work to schedule another opportunity for public comment during an evening meeting. Regardless, this will be a good opportunity for the Council to discuss in detail many of the concerns that we have heard over the last few months. As I have written about in this newsletter and other places I am committed to ending exclusionary zoning and allowing multifamily housing development citywide, and I have concerns about affordability, open space, urban design, and protection of existing solar energy systems. I am committed to finding a way forward to those ends through communication with the community and collaboration with my colleagues. I have been working with my colleagues and City staff in recent weeks to address those concerns by focusing on inclusionary requirements, retaining setbacks and design review, and creating solar protections. I also want to ensure we are addressing housing goals in the most efficient and beneficial way possible. I am including below a number of charts from previous meetings which highlight expected housing growth through different scenarios and want to point out again the significant percentage of growth that will inevitably occur in corridors like Mass Ave and Cambridge Street and in squares – for any of the projected scenarios. So we need to keep that in mind: if we don’t expect to see significant residential growth in neighborhoods, why would we zone for it? We should zone with expectations in mind and with intentionality. I want to ensure that we are zoning to incentivize development in neighborhoods, but not to unrealistic expectations. If we do not want and are stating we don’t expect a six-story building to be built on smaller lots throughout the city, then we shouldn’t zone for it, since it may/could/will happen depending on a private developer’s financials. If we want to be intentional about retaining affordability, then we need to zone to require it. If by relaxing development standards we are incentivizing housing development, we should use those incentives to protect affordability through inclusionary zoning. This meeting will be a good opportunity to discuss all these factors.
I also want to note our shared values (of which there are many): it’s great to see so many in the community agree with the basic principle that we should undo exclusionary zoning (areas where only one and two-family units can be built) by allowing multifamily housing to be built anywhere in the city. More than that, we agree on the need to maintain and protect affordability, the need to support the affordable housing production of the Affordable Housing Trust with inclusionary development through private development, the need to protect and develop open space, and the need for design guidelines and design review while also streamlining the process by removing common variance issues. On legitimate concerns throughout the community on open space, height limitations, solar concerns, and affordability, we can address those through specific solutions such as retaining setbacks, requiring permeable and ground floor open space, installing protections for existing solar arrays, including inclusionary housing incentives, and tailoring heights to intended outcomes through lot size requirements – and I have been working with residents, colleagues, and City staff to pursue and advocate for these solutions.
I repeat what I wrote last week and continue to acknowledge – this process has its limits. No matter what we pass, it is unlikely that rents and housing costs will go down a lot here in Cambridge without surrounding communities doing more. It hopefully will curb some of the growth of housing costs, but until demand is met throughout the greater Boston region, housing costs in Cambridge will continue to be high and will likely continue to rise. It is important to be honest about expected results so that we can make good choices. I do not see this conversation as a binary choice between housing costs and the status quo. I am looking at this process through a range of expected outcomes and balancing a range of competing goals. I am committed to ending exclusionary zoning, and committed to maintaining open space and good urban planning. I don’t see those as diametrically opposed, and I understand that it requires balance. By focusing on broad agreement and working towards specific solutions to legitimate concerns, we can find a way through this process and hopefully benefit the entire community.
Thank you to everyone I have been able to speak with in the past few weeks who has attended one or more of my recent office hour zoom meetings. They have been productive conversations and helped outline some of the concerns around the proposal. Over the coming weeks I will continue to ask City staff to address those concerns so that we can have an inclusive and productive conversation around zoning and housing. If you would like to meet to discuss the proposal at all, please reach out to my aide, Patrick, at phayes@cambridgema.gov, and he will work to find time. I will have another office hour next week, so please continue to reach out if you would like to attend.
And another reminder on the process, my expectation is to vote on some proposal sometime in January or early February, so if you are interested, now is the time to get involved. You can sign up for email updates from CDD on the proposal here, and I have been writing about the proposal in my regular newsletters. Additionally you can see an overview of all previous meeting and meeting materials on the dedicated CDD website here.
Garden Street Traffic Configuration
On Monday Councillor Toner sponsored a policy order which I co-sponsored, with Councillors Wilson and Zusy, which asked the City Manager to restore Garden Street to two-way automobile traffic while preserving protected bike lanes in both directions. The switch to make Garden Street a one-way road for car traffic has had a number of unintended consequences on neighborhood traffic, including school buses, Harvard delivery trucks, and other large vehicles. This change will have no effect on access to bike lanes on Garden Street, but will reduce parking availability on Garden Street. We have heard from City staff in the past that the additional traffic disruption has not been entirely due to the one-way change, but it is no doubt a large contributing factor and we need to return the street to two-way car traffic to alleviate those disruptions. Part of the value of quick-build bike lanes like the ones installed on Garden Street is the ability to pivot to other designs if that is what is best for the entire city. This is one instance where we should revisit the design after seeing many unintended consequences. This policy order was amended slightly to request an analysis and implementation options before next spring. The order ultimately passed unanimously and I look forward to reviewing specific implementation options for two-way car traffic and two-way protected bike lanes.
Alewife Asbestos Concerns
Two weeks ago I sponsored a policy order asking the City Manager to work with the MBTA to address local asbestos concerns in Alewife construction related to a new access tunnel for the Red Line. After a few weeks of discussion with stakeholders and City staff, I was pleased to have passed this policy order unanimously. The policy order directs the City Manager to work with the MBTA to ensure they are meeting Cambridge Ordinance requirements during their construction, including and especially, the Cambridge Asbestos Protection Ordinance. I am grateful to the residents who have been meeting with the MBTA about the need to protect public health. In particular, the Alewife Study Group has been the lead convener of an inclusive process with the T, landowner IQHQ, Mass Audubon, the Conservation Commission, and other neighborhood groups. I am deeply appreciative of the time it takes to have input, and I know that we will be the better for this volunteer effort. This project is very important to the continued effectiveness of the Red Line, but it can and should be done in accordance with the important protections of the Asbestos Protection Ordinance, and it’s important that we, as a city, enforce our ordinances to best protect the public health of our residents.
Charter Review
On Monday, December 9, the entire Council met as part of the Special Committee on Charter Review to discuss the status of the Charter Review process and develop a timeline and plan for advancing recommendations. This meeting built on the meetings on June 5th and June 25th where the Council made a few determinative steps. As part of that meeting we took a number of votes to recommend (or not recommend) changes to the full City Council. Robert Winters has a summary of the votes on his website. The goal of this meeting was to help weed through a number of the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee and begin to decide which changes the City Council will recommend to the voters. This process will continue through a number of other meetings as we unpack the recommendations in more detail. As the councillor who worked closely with then Mayor Siddiqui to get the charter review process started, I do wish we were further along – it has been slow.
City Council Meeting - Monday, December 16, 2024
City Manager Review and Contract Renewal
On Monday morning, the City Council met as part of a special meeting to review the City Manager’s Performance Evaluation. I am grateful to City Manager Huang for his willingness to commit to a thorough annual review of goals and expectations including a 360 review, with his direct reports able to provide anonymous feedback. I reached out to community leaders for feedback and the Council all provided input. The openness to a thorough review is indicative of his leadership style and shows a willingness to lead through example. There hadn’t been a review of the City Manager for close to a decade, which did not set a good example for the city staff. On Monday, we will vote on a policy order which finalizes that review. Performance reviews are essential for improving function in any organization and a 360 degree review, where direct reports have a part in the process, is a best practice that we are hopefully modeling for the rest of the City. Accountability and goal setting are paramount to my work on Council, and this process was an important part of that. Additionally, we also have a policy order on Monday which will start the process for renewing City Manager Huang’s contract, which we will begin work on shortly. The process will include hiring outside counsel and working through some details in executive session. Hiring a city manager is perhaps the most important role of City Council in Cambridge, and I am looking forward to discussions to renew City Manager Huang’s contract.
BZA “Dormer” Petition
Earlier this fall, the Board of Zoning Appeal (BZA) submitted a zoning petition to the City Council to formalize in zoning the practice of adding “dormer” additions to existing buildings. Dormers are an important part of maintaining a healthy housing ecosystem as it is a flexibility mechanism for existing property owners to add additional units to their homes without teardowns or significant disruption. Overall I think the petition is well intentioned and will certainly help property owners avoid difficult and unnecessary trips to the BZA to discuss relatively benign variance issues. The Council asked the Law Department to review the petition and suggest amendments based on the conversations in the Ordinance Committee, and on Monday, the Law Department returned with suggested amendments. I look forward to discussing the amendments with the full Council.
Local Events/Notes
Holiday Donation Drives
Cambridge Volunteers and Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition are excited to present the 2024 Guide to Cambridge Holiday Donation Drives! Nonprofits throughout the Cambridge area are seeking donations for their material aid campaigns, as well as volunteers for holiday initiatives. Check out this year’s Guide for all the details on where to donate gifts-in-kind, holiday gifts for neighbors in need, and other material aid locally, along with seasonal volunteer opportunities!
Sparklefest Harvard Square
The Harvard Square Business Association is excited to announce the schedule for Sparklefest 2023! Sparklefest is a five-week celebration of the holiday season in Harvard Square that culminates on New Year’s Eve. With stunning holiday lights adorning the trees and street lamps, Harvard Square becomes the perfect festive location to shop and dine during the holiday season. Harvard Square is more than just a world-class destination for shopping and dining. Set aside time to enjoy all the holiday events offered this season!
Black Business Holiday Pop-up
Hosted by the Cambridge-Somerville Black Business Network, in partnership with the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts, and Cambridge Local First, invites you to the 3rd Annual Passport to Black Business Holiday Pop-up at One Brattle Square in Harvard Square. Explore unique, hand-crafted gifts, soaps, sauces, bags, jewelry, and more from than 16 amazing vendors over three festive days! Don’t miss this opportunity to find one-of-a-kind holiday treasures while supporting Black-owned businesses. The Pop-up will be open on Friday, Dec. 13, from 12:00pm – 7:00pm; Saturday, Dec. 14, from 11:00am – 7:00pm; and Sunday, Dec. 15, 12:00pm – 6:00pm. Learn more here.
Kennedy Longfellow School
Superintendent Recommends Closing Long-Struggling Cambridge Elementary School | News | The Harvard Crimson
Leader confirms: School Committee will be asked to close 51-year-old Kennedy-Longfellow school – Cambridge Day
On Tuesday, interim superintendent David Murphy announced his recommendation to close the Kennedy Longfellow School (K-Lo) for the start of the 2025-2026 school year. This recommendation will have to be voted on by the School Committee. I recognize that this decision will be a challenging one for the School Committee and the K-Lo community. The City Council doesn’t have a role in this decision, but as a former School Committee Member, as a City leader, and as a parent of former CPS students, I wanted to share some of the context for this recommendation and on controlled school choice. I am careful not to overstep – it is not my decision. This statement is meant to provide the community with some background for such decisions. This issue of controlled choice and schools is one I have followed for decades. It is what got me involved in School Committee back in 2003 when there was a massively disruptive school consolidation plan. I thought it would be useful to provide some context and background. I have lots of reactions to the idea of closing K-Lo, below I try to keep it objective – addressing some of the questions raised.
Three (at least) separate studies of controlled choice have been done in the last 15 years. One was from 2013 chaired by Alice Turkel and Fred Fantini, one in 2010 was chaired by Richard Harding and myself, and another was done by outside consultants hired by the district. Every study has reached the same conclusion: that under chosen schools should be addressed and that the goal districtwide is for schools to be roughly equally chosen. Each study noted that controlled choice is meant to be used to both keep schools balanced by SES (used to be racial balance until court decisions led to the SES) AND to use choice data to bring programmatic change to any under chosen schools. Another confirmed conclusion is that perceived school quality guides families’ choices. The program is meant to provide data on SES balancing and choices and to guide decisions on schools. The best proxy for perceived school quality is the choice data.
After each of the previously mentioned studies, the School Committee voted a directive for the superintendent to bring forth a recommendation for programmatic change to address under chosen schools. For the last 10 years, that hasn’t happened and the superintendent at the time did not follow the directive. The question of changing under chosen schools is discussed every year and should not be a surprise to anyone who follows CPS.
There have been past successful actions taken to address under chosen schools, always with programmatic change: King and Tobin were both the lowest chosen and lowest performing schools, and change was brought: Montessori to Tobin and Chinese Immersion to King. If you look at choice data over the last 20 years and you will see the change. Now both schools are at the top of performance, as evidenced by recent awards. Low chosen schools have often been the focus of attention and resources over the years. To my knowledge and experience, without a known and clear programmatic change those attempts have not worked (it was tried at Tobin before Montessori was brought in, and I should note that Tobin did have a great program Follow-Through that was dismantled by the district, leading to school decline in choice). Budget and additional staff have been deployed in addition to programmatic change. Anyone who has followed achievement data (mostly based on MCAS and also on some other measures) and choice data by schools knows that some schools have struggled and without programmatic change continue to struggle.
A note on timing of this recommendation: the consolidation of 2003 involved closing two schools (CPS used to have 15 elementary schools when my youngest entered K in 2002), merging two and moving four others. That plan was made public March 18, voted April 1, and put into effect that September. The plan was proposed by an interim superintendent and it followed four months of discussions and many alternative plans which were proposed and debated. The plan caused uproar – equal to the uproar over the middle school proposal (so-called Innovation Agenda).
As for data: with school choice based on perceived quality, no surprise that K-Lo has consistently been a low chosen school for more than a decade. For at least the last 15 years, based on MCAS data (imperfect, but it does allow comparisons across schools), K-Lo has been among the lowest performing in the district. Other schools which were low – the King and the Tobin – had programmatic change and the schools turned around. This year, K-Lo was again the lowest: by far the lowest in MCAS performance AND growth for ALL students. PLUS, the data on High Needs students is the same.
MCAS 2024 high needs students only:
ELA:
K-Lo: 1% Adv, 9% prof for total of 10% A&P
CPS: 5% Adv, 26% prof for total of 31% A&P
Math:
K-Lo: 1% Adv, 18% prof for total of 19% A&P
CPS: 4% Adv, 27% prof for total of 31% A&P
CPS supported all low chosen schools with extra staffing and resources. At this point, K-Lo is in an impossible situation since families won’t choose a school with that record, which leaves it the only one with open seats for mid-year entrants and people who may leave if given the chance. This means the staff face greater challenges than other schools.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone for reading. If there are any topics you want me to cover in future newsletters, I’m always happy for the input! As always, please feel free to reach out to my aide, Patrick (phayes@cambridgema.gov), or me for any of your City Council needs.
You can find all previous newsletters on my website. Please share with anyone you think would be interested: https://pattynolan.org/news/