Council Updates, Summer Meeting, and More

Health and Environment Committee Updates
It has been a busy year so far in the Health and Environment Committee. I have continued to utilize committee time to focus on a number of long-term planning initiatives that will continue to live on long after my time on council is over. In the winter I held a hearing to receive the annual report on the Net Zero Action Plan (for buildings). I have held a similar meeting every year I have chaired this committee, and annual reporting is essential in ensuring goals are being met. The last two years have been especially important as we continue to implement BEUDO requirements for large buildings. I also held a meeting in late February to review draft plans for the inaugural Net Zero Transportation Plan (NZTP). I have been working all year long with City staff, experts, and community advocates to refine the plan to make it as effective and comprehensive as possible. I expect the final draft to appear on the Council agenda in September. In March I held meetings to pass updates to our Floodplain Regulations and to finalize updates to the Zero Waste Master Plan (ZWMP 2.0). The Floodplain Regulations were passed in the spring and the ZWMP 2.0 were adopted by Council in June. In April I held a meeting to discuss protections for existing solar energy systems. I have been continuing to work with City staff on potential strategies and hope to have a formal report in early September.

I have three tentatively scheduled meetings for this fall which also continue to focus on long-term planning. I am planning a meeting (likely in September) to go over efforts to reduce and eliminate Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). This is an issue I have followed closely and monitored with City staff. Many community advocates have been great about holding the city to its commitments and I will work with them to have a productive meeting. I held a meeting last spring which discussed a range of climate resilience issues including dam construction and coastal flooding, but this meeting will focus more exclusively on eliminating CSOs.

Similar to the work I have done around NZAP, ZWMP, and NZTP, I will be holding a meeting this fall (likely October) to begin the process of updating the Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP). This meeting will include looking back on the status and effectiveness of the original UFMP and looking forward to consider what changes or adjustments to make to improve our urban forest and urban tree canopy. The third meeting will focus on electrification and energy capacity planning. This meeting will continue my ongoing work to expand electricity capacity, expand renewable energy production, discuss thermal energy network planning, and check in on BEUDO energy requirements. Meetings like this are essential in ensuring we meet citywide goals of electrification and energy reduction.

Multifamily Zoning Updates
Since the Multifamily 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. Due to concerns about what is happening as a result of the zoning change, I sponsored a policy order several weeks ago asking for an interim report on housing production trends in the first six months since the Council passed the zoning amendments. 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 have been meeting with residents, City staff, and development professionals over the past several months to look into many of the projects popping up in different places. I want to emphasize that not all these projects are created equal, and so I want to be intentional about each one. I am happy with some and believe they are in line with the intent of the zoning changes. For others I have concerns and hope that we assess the impact and keep an eye on the goal of more housing, and more affordable housing, while maintaining a livable and welcoming city. The report will be important to understand the scope and timeline of individual projects – many of which may not end up being built due to financing issues. There are specific projects – from Ellery Street to Western Avenue to Lakeview Avenue that are raising concerns, and we should be open about how they are or are not meeting the goals of the city.

Home Rule Petitions
In Massachusetts, local cities like Cambridge need to rely on the state legislature for many municipal powers. The Home Rule process is what we use to formally ask the state for municipal authority. One example was a home rule petition we filed in March asking for the ability to end the practice of passing on broker fees to tenants. I was proud to cosponsor that policy order, which passed unanimously. I am grateful to my colleagues who led on this issue. The actual home rule petition didn’t pass, since it ended up being not necessary due to  action at the state level and a law change. As of August 1, 2025, broker fees can only be paid by the person who first engaged and hired the broker to list or find a rental property. Formerly, broker fees were often being passed along by default to tenants.

Another important home rule petition the Council has sent to the state legislature is our new city charter. I have been advocating to update our charter for a long time and I hope we have a new charter in front of voters this November. Having a clear and updated charter document (after 80 years of using the same charter) is essential to improving oversight, clarifying statutory authority, and improving accountability. I wrote about the new charter more substantively in a previous newsletter here. And finally, another pending home rule petition I have been championing is the ability for Cambridge to utilize automated parking enforcement technology. This is technology that is allowed in other cities in the state and in the region and will allow us to better enforce dangerous parking violations in bus stops, crosswalks, and other high-use areas. Somerville has had success with their recent program for automated enforcement at several bus stops and has improved issues related to pedestrian safety, congestion, and dangerous driving. This is a no-brainer and I look forward to passing the home rule and piloting our own system. I spent some time last week testifying in front of the state legislature in support of our home rule petition (tune in to minute 47 to hear me speak if you are interested).

Short term rentals
For several years now I have been working to improve our local regulations for Short-Term Rentals (AirBnbs). I filed a policy order back in September 2023 after working with dozens of residents over the years who have struggled to deal with illegal STRs in their neighborhoods. On August 27 the Ordinance Committee will meet to discuss zoning amendments in order to better regulate STRs. The City originally began regulating STRs in 2017, but we haven’t had any comprehensive reporting on the impact since then, and many residents have struggled with unregulated or illegal STRs in their neighborhoods. Many cities since 2017 have taken steps to better regulate STRs – we should be on the cutting edge as well, as STRs, when unregulated, can impact housing availability and have negative neighborhood impacts. When STRs work well, they can be a great opportunity for local residents to supplement their income by renting spare rooms. When they are unregulated they can take away important long-term rental opportunities and upset neighborhoods with constant turnover, partying, trash issues, and other ill-effects. I’m excited to get to a point where we can improve enforcement of existing regulations and ensure that rental units within the city are benefiting the people who live (or want to live) in the city.