All:
I can’t start a newsletter without a reference to the national elections. I believe it will be a challenging time for the country as we assess what changes are likely to come due to the change in administration in Washington. There will be many changes at the federal level and many of the changes in focus and funding will directly impact our ability as a city and state to get things done. One example: the clear message from the new administration is that the climate crisis is not real and that government spending should be much smaller. While I agree that government spending could be more efficient and focused, I also believe and have seen how important and impactful the government can be. I am certain that our state and city will do what we can to continue to work for a better world; and that to make progress on issues of civil rights, planet livability, and help for vulnerable people, we will likely not get as much support as we would have under a different administration.
Last week I enjoyed Halloween in Cambridge by visiting streets with block parties. The streets get mobbed, although it does mean less traffic at houses far from the action-packed streets. I dressed as a canvasser, pretending that I was knocking doors for the election, as that was something I spent a lot of time doing over the past few months (and I hung out with former City Councillor Craig Kelly, dressed as Captain America). And, although Beacon Hill always does it up for Halloween, a house near me on Appleton Street had the most amazing Halloween display I saw this year. If you saw any better decorations, let me know so I can check out their house next year…
This week, I toured, along with City staff and Councillor Zusy, the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District (GLSD) – the end site for Cambridge’s food waste. GLSD publishes a lot of information about the facility, including details on their environmental and economic assessment and their energy production. We learned about their energy production as well as their PFAS testing, as that has been top of mind for me lately after a number of concerning studies about PFAS contamination. I have requested testing data from the facility, and was assured that they have a rigorous process to protect against contamination in downstream products.
In the good news department, the city has its first Mack LR Electric rubbish collection truck in the fleet. This electric truck is the first fully electric rubbish truck in operation in Cambridge. Three additional EV collection trucks have been fully funded, with the next two due to arrive early 2025. These vehicles are a significant milestone in the City’s commitment to a 100% zero-emission solid waste collection fleet by June 30, 2035. And if you’re not subscribed, I highly recommend the monthly DPW newsletter, for which you can sign up here. This month’s edition has great information on composting data, disposal instructions for pumpkins as we say goodbye to Halloween (the answer is: compost or yard waste – NOT regular trash), and a number of other reduce and reuse tips. Cutting down on waste is a passion of mine and waste reduction is an essential part of our sustainability portfolio.
On Wednesday evening the Human Services and Veterans Committee held a meeting to receive an update on Afterschool programming in Cambridge. You can review the meeting materials here and the recording here. It was a helpful meeting and I have appreciated the consistent updates from the Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP). My colleagues and I all appreciated the work, passion, and progress on afterschool programming. I asked about how program success will be measured, which is still relatively unclear, and I was glad to hear that all students in Cambridge are included in outreach, including those who opt out of our district schools.
At long last, we have an update on the Harvard Square Kiosk. The City of Cambridge announced last week a partnership with CultureHouse and the Cambridge Office for Tourism to activate the historic Kiosk in Harvard Square. Through this collaboration, the recently restored landmark is set to become a vibrant cultural incubator, community gathering space, and visitor information center called the Cambridge Kiosk. The Kiosk is expected to open in early 2025, after a long construction process. There will be multiple opportunities for community members to play a role in the Kiosk’s transformation. Applications are now open to those who wish to serve on the City’s new Cambridge Kiosk Advisory Committee that will oversee the operations of the new cultural facility. Additionally, CultureHouse has posted an interest form for artists, creatives, non-profit organizations, and businesses who want to bring engaging events and activities to the Kiosk.
The agenda for the Council meeting on November 4 was relatively light, but a few important items were delayed until next meeting by Charter Right, including a proposal to create a Jobs Training Trust, similar to the Affordable Housing Trust in Cambridge, as well as a proposal to prohibit unreasonable restrictions on the use of solar energy in condominiums. We also received an update on the PACE funding program, sustainable building heating and cooling plans, and an upcoming “speed hump” program; and we passed policy orders related to mattress recycling and honoring the Massachusett Tribe. If you have any comments on those items or anything else, I encourage you to reach out.
Our regular City Council meeting on Monday is canceled due to the Veterans Day holiday – more info on observance events below. The next regular meeting of the City Council will be on Monday, November 18. Additionally, this Tuesday, many of my colleagues and I will be traveling to Tampa Bay, FL for the National League of Cities conference. This is always a great opportunity to share ideas and strategies with municipal leaders around the country and I look forward to sharing the good work of Cambridge and learning from others where I can.
Below are some comments on a few top line items. 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 Update
There have been a number of meetings since I last wrote about the zoning proposal to allow multifamily buildings across all residential districts. If you are following this process closely, the best place for the most up-to-date information, including meeting details and recordings of previous meetings, please visit CDD’s dedicated webpage. You can also sign up to receive email updates on the zoning proposal here. I have written in much greater detail about the proposal in previous newsletters, like this one here. You can read all my previous newsletters at https://pattynolan.org/news/. In the last few weeks, CDD held two information sessions on the proposal, on October 24 and 29. The Council has also held a few meetings: the Neighborhood and Long Term Planning Committee held a meeting on October 23 to speak with neighborhood leaders, and the Economic Development Committee held a meeting on October 31 to discuss the expected impacts on Cambridge services and the economy. Both meetings were informative and led to constructive discussions. It was especially helpful to hear directly from City staff during the Economic Development Committee meeting about the expected impacts on other local issues like tax rates, water use, tree canopy, school enrollment, transportation planning, and more. It is essential that we continue to ground this discussion in the real and expected results of the zoning so that we come to a solution that does what we want it to do: ending exclusionary zoning districts, and jump-starting housing production while maintaining and improving on our other citywide goals of sustainability, transportation, and other resident services. Upcoming meetings about the multifamily housing zoning proposal include: Planning Board Meeting on November 12 and City Council Ordinance Committee meetings on November 19 and December 4. The November 19 meeting will have no public comment in order to make time for staff and Council discussion, but the December 4 meeting will begin with public comment. I encourage you to stay involved and informed about this process, because there are a lot of meetings coming up and a lot to discuss.
If you are interested in talking with me directly about the zoning, I have been working to schedule a few times to meet with residents to share ideas and concerns as we work through this process. If you are interested in joining me for an office hour, please email my aide, Patrick, at phayes@cambridgema.gov.
Transportation Enforcement Updates
An essential part of reducing accidents and making our streets safer is improving enforcement of dangerous actions. In addition to safer infrastructure, which is essential but takes a lot of time and resources, we also need to improve road-user behavior through enforcement of existing rules and regulations. I have sought to improve this in a number of ways, including asking City staff to publish the long awaited Rules of the Road and the 2023 Street Code, requesting a Home Rule petition for automated traffic enforcement, pursuing automated parking enforcement options, and urging all our City departments to improve communication to residents and road users about rules, expectations, and best practices for getting around the city safely. Additionally, at Monday’s Council meeting we appropriated a grant that will fund additional high-visibility traffic enforcement of motor vehicle laws related to impaired driving, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and education for all road users. This is a good and important part of a holistic approach to improving road-user behavior. Unfortunately, many of the communications that I saw about the safety campaign were confusing and not in line with the City’s other communications on road safety. I have reached out to City staff and the Police Department and urged them to improve upon some of the flawed and confusing information in the initial press releases so that we can effectively promulgate the same, consistent, and essential safety information that we have worked hard to develop and address Cambridge’s specific and unique concerns. If all our city departments are not promulgating the same, important safety information, we risk sending mixed messages and adding unnecessary confusion to our changing streetscape. I encourage every resident and community member to review in detail the 2023 Street Code if you haven’t already – it is an important document and builds upon universally regarded best practices and tailors them to our Cambridge streets.
A few more spooky Halloween setups, courtesy of Beacon Hill
Local Events/Notes
Veterans Day Observance
The City of Cambridge Department of Veterans Services will host a Veterans Day Observance event on November 11, from 11:00am – 12:00pm, at the Cambridge Common. Please join us as we welcome Retired Justice Shannon Frison (USMC Major) as our keynote speaker. An informal gathering and free luncheon will follow from 12-3 p.m., at the Sheraton Commander Hotel, Liberty Revolution Ballroom, 16 Garden Street, Cambridge, adjacent to the Cambridge Common. More info
NetZero Transportation Plan
The City of Cambridge is creating a Net Zero Transportation Plan (NZTP). This plan will help remove greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in Cambridge. CDD and the Office of Sustainability will be hosting two community meetings to update folks on the progress thus far. City staff will describe the rationale behind planning, share updates on the process, discuss proposed draft actions, and listen to reflections from community members. The two options for attending are November 12, from 6:30 – 8:00pm, via zoom (please register in advance), or November 13, from 5:30pm – 7:00pm, in person, at the Citywide Senior Center (806 Mass Ave).
Mass Ave Planning Study Community Meeting
The Community Development Department (CDD) will be hosting an in-person community open house about ideas for North Mass Ave on Thursday, November 14, from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Lesley University Hall, Second floor atrium (1815 Mass Ave). This will be the second community meeting focused on the North Mass Ave study area between Porter Square and Alewife Brook Pkwy. CDD will be sharing a draft vision and potential ideas for the planning area. Learn more about the event and about the ongoing process on CDD’s dedicated webpage here.
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/