Council Updates, Zero Waste, Leaf News, And More

Read below for some fun and important leaf news. Image courtesy of Cambridge DPW

All:

Just time for a quick newsletter today with updates on a number of Council activities. Locally, the city will be flooded with visitors along the Charles River for the Head of the Charles Regatta. Enjoy it if you are in town. Nationwide and in the state and city the election has been dominating the news. The election has started – early voting is happening in many states and in Massachusetts early voting starts next week. If you’re voting in Cambridge, you can find out how to vote on the Elections Commission website.

I have been continuing to have a number of conversations in the community about the residential zoning petition currently being discussed in Council. If you missed it, I encourage you to read my thoughts on the proposal in my recent newsletter. The next scheduled Council meetings on the petition are: Neighborhood and Long Term Planning Committee on October 23Ordinance Committee on November 19, and Ordinance Committee on December 4. If you are interested in the zoning petition, I would encourage you to attend any and all of these meetings to hear the Council discuss and participate in public comment. As I have mentioned and will continue to reiterate, I want to have the entire community to be able to understand and comment on this issue in real time so that we can come to a proposal that meets our goals.

In leaf-peeping news, the City recently released its annual Fall Foliage Map. This interactive map shows the best spots around the city to enjoy the vibrant colors of autumn. Take a minute to explore the map and find some picturesque locations around the city to scope out as the leaves change. In New Hampshire and Vermont, some parks and towns are considering limits on visitors – since there is sometimes so much traffic that dangerous situations result. Closer to Cambridge, there are spectacular leaves on most blocks with trees… And of course that reminds us all of the benefits of trees – not only visual beauty, but a number of public health benefits, including heat island and rain water mitigation.

And speaking of leaves, DPW, in their recent editions of both the Forest Friends newsletter and the Recycling newsletter (both of which are excellent and you should read regularly), put out some great tips for fallen leaf maintenance:

Fall is here, and that means it’s time to rake (or shovel!) some leaves. The benefits of collecting leaves are threefold.

  1. Leaves that get washed down the storm drain cause pollution in our waterways by adding too much phosphorus into our rivers and streams. 
  2. Leaves can contribute to localized flooding in neighborhoods if they clog storm drains.
  3. If leaves are collected for yard waste, they will be composted to make rich soil and sequester carbon.

How you can help: Keep fallen leaves out of the streets, and never blow or rake leaves into the street or down storm drains. Pick-up leaves in your yard, along your sidewalk, and in the curb in front of your home or business and set out as yard waste. Place yard waste in paper lawn bags or in your own personal barrel with a red “Yard Waste Only” sticker on it. Order stickers here. Want free yard waste bags?! For a limited time, sign up to receive the Cambridge Urban Forest Friends newsletter (from our colleagues in the City’s Forestry Division) and you will be gifted free yard waste bags. Two bags per sign up for a limited time only, while supplies last. Sign up then email requesting yard waste bags!

Important to remember that while raking leaves off of sidewalks and roadways is essential and needs to be composted properly to ensure leaves stay out of storm drains, leaving some leaves to naturally mulch on your lawn is important for local insects, birds, and pollinators of all kinds. So do your part to rake leaves and help maintain our storm drain and water systems, but a “pristine” lawn can actually be a negative from an urban forestry perspective.

Below are some 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

Across urban centers, cities are reclaiming the public way, which had been for all modes of transit and which then in many cities gave priority to cars in our public ways. These transformed cityscapes provide a model forward.

City Council Meeting - Monday, October 21, 2024

Zero Waste Master Plan – H&Env Committee
On October 22, 2024 at 11:00am, I am chairing a Health and Environment Committee meeting to review and discuss the updates to the Zero Waste Master Plan (ZWMP). As a part of this discussion we will be hearing from City staff to hear about ongoing and new initiatives to reduce residential and commercial waste. Also as a part of this conversation I will be continuing to push for us to reduce our reliance on plastics, especially single-use plastics, and advocating for a number of pathways to eliminating single-use plastics. We have had conversations over the years about some single-use plastics and have gained some momentum – I want to use this meeting to capitalize on some of that momentum and push forward with proposals that will build on our current ordinances regarding polystyrene and plastic grocery bags. Among those single-use plastics that I want to discuss are plastic grocery bags, like the state of California has taken steps on; plastic cutlery, like Newton, Northampton and others have taken action; plastic water bottles, like Brookline and Arlington; and miniature liquor bottles, like Newton, Chelsea, and Brookline. I hope to put together some proposals that will lead to the elimination of many of these single-use streams of plastics, and others, in our City over time. We know enough about the polluting dangers of plastic production and ill effects that plastic waste and litter have on our own community and we should be able to focus our efforts on eliminating the sources from Cambridge.

BEUDO Update
On October 8 I chaired a meeting of the Health and Environment Committee to receive an update from city staff on BEUDO implementation and to review and discuss regulations, elements of BEUDO, and possible future updates. This meeting was an important benchmark and a review of current progress. City staff are still working through regulations as well as support for building owners. The presentation outlined a number of important deadlines this year for promulgating regulations and gave an overview of the work to come in the next few years. Additionally, I have requested an update from City staff on PACE implementation, which will be essential as building owners seek to finance energy efficiency upgrades that will allow them to rely on renewable energy supplies. I expect that update in the coming month.

Finance Committee Schedule
After the tragic passing of Councillor Pickett this summer, Councillor Toner has joined me as the other co-chair of the Finance Committee. This week we provided a schedule of committee meetings for this fall. We intend to build upon the work of the last two budget cycles, which offered the council and the community opportunities to give input before budget adoption in the spring, when the budget is officially presented and essentially finalized. Over the last two budget cycles, I have worked to hold meetings earlier in the fiscal year which have allowed for deeper discussions with City staff on budget priorities and long-term fiscal planning. By holding additional meetings this fall we will be able to give more constructive input into the formation of the FY26 budget. Through meetings this fall, we will work with City staff to continue to inform the Council and the public about the City’s financial planning and sense of the future financial picture for the city.  We expect to discuss how the decisions we make throughout the year affect our long-term financial planning. We will not be able to fund everything we want. We will have to prioritize spending, be judicious in choices on spending, and be aware of options to economize. The meetings this fall will build on that long-term financial planning and outline many of the choices we will have to make as we enter a new macroeconomic climate. Additionally, Mayor Simmons will be hosting a roundtable discussion with both the Council and the School Committee in lieu of the regular City Council meeting on Monday, October 28 to have a discussion on macroeconomic trends and how they will affect City finances. We hope that discussion, which will build on the Finance Committee discussion from February 28, 2024, will provide an appropriate framework for our later discussions in November and early December.

Cycling Safety Ordinance (CSO) Extension
The discussed update to the CSO to provide more flexibility in timing for the completion of several streets on the east side of the city is on the agenda along with the accompanying update to the PTDM Ordinance. This proposal is contentious since for some it is seen as a compromise in safety, and for others it is seen as a needed adjustment to a rigorous and difficult to meet deadline. I remain in support of providing more timing flexibility in the CSO, as I discussed this Spring. For safety, the Council charged the city to focus on intersection improvement and infrastructure changes for safety improvements across the most dangerous intersections, a much needed emphasis. It is imperative that the City staff have the bandwidth to do that well as implement bike lane miles. The data is clear that intersections are where most crashes happen, including the two* tragic deaths on City streets this year – both at intersections with protected bike lanes leading up to the intersection. We need to address how to improve safety and staff has been charged with reviewing possible updates. I hope that work leads to recommendations to implement infrastructure changes to intersections across the city in addition to ongoing bike lane improvements in order to improve safety. We also need state and federal action on truck safety, noting that both deaths were due to collisions with trucks. (*Note: the third death, on a state road at Memorial Drive, was a different circumstance – one where infrastructure is needed, and the state has moved quickly to address the lack of infrastructure there. I support and have advocated for additional changes along Memorial Drive, which is not in our direct control.)

Short Term Rentals Update
After sponsoring a policy order last month, the City Manager has delivered a report on the use of short-term rentals in Cambridge (i.e. AirBnb, etc.). The intent of the Short-Term Rentals (STR) Ordinance, which passed in August 2017 and made the operation of short-term rentals legal for Cambridge residents, was to enhance the city by supporting residents wanting to operate STRs without compromising housing availability or affordability. While there are state and municipal requirements for short-term rental operators, there are examples from other places with different rules which might be appropriate for Cambridge, now that the experience of the past seven years can be reviewed. There have also been a number of instances reported to the City Council of neighbors who have provided their evidence that some residents are not following the rules, yet determining whether the rules are being followed and enforcing them can be challenging. This report will help us understand the landscape of short-term rentals in Cambridge. I look forward to discussing the recommended changes and determining how we can improve enforcement.

Automated Parking Enforcement
I have been advocating for implementing automated parking enforcement as well as automated traffic enforcement to be utilized in Cambridge. Currently, state law restricts us from implementing both of these ideas, and the legal opinion from the Law Department confirms some next steps we can take in order to pursue automated parking enforcement. Automated parking enforcement is something I and the council fully support. Parking violations, it’s important to note, are not victimless crimes and can affect disability parking access, transit service, loading zones, bicycle safety, and emergency vehicle access, especially in our commercial squares. The law department has suggested that we need a home rule, which I am happy to support. However, I would like to consider a shorter way to implement this program, per the legal memo provided by the firm that makes the equipment. If we go ahead with the program, we could institute automated ticket enforcement of parking violations – and it would cost the city nothing.

Memorial Drive
After much discussion the last few weeks, we passed a policy order that had a number of important short and long-term actions to improve safety on Memorial Drive. Cambridge Day covered the discussion. I also attended a meeting on the redesign of the BU bridge rotary the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association hosted. The project for the rotary became more important with the death of a cyclist on the sidewalk. I am glad the state is moving fast with some changes, and I look forward to continued discussion on how to use our riverfront. I believe it should be more of an open space, with a parkway with slower traffic, instead of the current mini-highway. That question of what to do will be a long term project, especially with the I-90 change happening soon, which will impact traffic for a while. My vision would be for a transformed waterfront which many cities around the world have done or are moving towards.

Ballot Question 2: On Repealing the MCAS Graduation Requirement
The policy order from last week to go on record supporting Question 2 failed, in a 4-4-1 vote. I voted no, and believe we need a replacement for the graduation requirement before throwing out the one statewide requirement we have in MCAS. I wrote in last week’s newsletter why I am voting No. And this week Governor Healey, Lt. Gov Driscoll and AG Campbell all hosted an event urging a No vote on Q2. The Governor’s brief statement: (there is a longer statement from the Governor- if you want it, ask and I will forward):

I’m voting No on 2 because no matter the community, every child deserves the highest quality education.  If Question 2 passes, we’ll become one of two states that don’t have a statewide standard for graduation. The only standard remaining would be four years of gym. Of the 70,000 graduating students each year, 99% of them meet our current standard for graduation. Our goal should be to help get that 1% of students over the goal line, not throw out a standard that improves schools for all of our kids. I was proud to join Andrea J. Campbell and Kim Driscoll today to urge people to vote No on 2.

Local Events/Notes

Head of the Charles
The Head of the Charles is always a wonderful weekend and I encourage all of you in the area to take advantage of all the festivities along the river. https://hocr.org/

Halloween in Harvard Square
There are a number of fun and exciting Halloween-themed events this October sponsored by the Harvard Square Business Association. Check out some of them here.

October is National Women’s Business Month
The City of Cambridge will celebrate National Women’s Business Month during October to recognize the importance of women-owned businesses and highlight the women entrepreneurs who contribute so much to the local Cambridge economy. National Women’s Business Month commemorates the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988, which authorized the federal government to issue loans to businesses controlled by women. Before then, many states required a male co-signer for women to access capital via a business loan. There will be hosting a number of City-sponsored events throughout the month. Check out the City of Cambridge website to register for a number of fun and educational events, including the Mapping Feminist Cambridge walking tours, which highlight the impact local individuals and organizations had on the feminist movement from 1970s-1990s.

Central Square Rezoning Block Power
The Central Square Rezoning team is concluding the community engagement phase for the project with a Block Party on Saturday, October 19th (rain date October 20th) from 1-5pm on Norfolk St between Mass. Ave. and Bishop Allen Drive. There will be art, activities, dancing, and more.

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/

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