Cambridge City Council meeting - November 24, 2025

Cambridge City Council meeting - November 24, 2025 - AGENDA
[Azeem, Siddiqui - remote]

CITY MANAGER’S AGENDA
1. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 25-60, which requested a comprehensive report on Gold Star Mothers Memorial Park. (CM25#279) [text of report]
pulled by Zusy; comments by Zusy, Sobrinho-Wheeler, DPW Commissioner John Nardone, Nolan; [Kevin Beutel, Health Commissioner Sam Lipson also in attendance]; Placed on File 9-0

2. Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $1,000,000, from Free Cash to the Public Investment Fund Public Works Department Extraordinary Expenditures account. These funds will support the removal of stockpiled contaminated soil and initiate the design phase for the remediation and reconstruction of Gold Star Mothers Park. (CM25#280) [text of report]
pulled by Zusy; comments by Zusy, John Nardone, Deputy City Manager Kathy Watkins, City Manager Yi-An Huang; Order Adopted 9-0

3. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 25-56, regarding an update on rodent control citywide. (CM25#281) [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; comments by Nolan, John Nardone, Rat Czar Dave Powers (Inspectional Services), Sam Lipson, Wilson, Yi-An Huang, Simmons; Anthony Tuccinardi (Inspectional Services), Toner (on coyotes); Placed on File 9-0

ORDERS
1. Canceling Dec 1, 2025 City Council Meeting. Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern (PO25#160)
Order Adopted 7-2-0 (Azeem, Siddiqui - Absent)

LATE POLICY ORDER
2. Update on Organizational Changes to the Equity & Inclusion Department. Councillor Nolan, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Wilson (PO25#161)
taken up early; comments by Wilson, Nolan, Azeem, Raecia Catchings (“Chief People Officer”), Sobrinho-Wheeler (who expresses desire that City Council should have control over City personnel matters), Siddiqui, Toner, Simmons, City Solicitor Megan Bayer (raises issue of whether any of this qualifies for possible Executive Session), McGovern; remarks by City Manager Yi-An Huang on how this action came about, accountability, investments in “equity and inclusion” - defers responses to subordinates; Deidre Travis Brown (Chief of Equity and Inclusion) on duplication of effort among commissions, efficiency and effectiveness; Rae Catchings (on the “runway needed” for future actions); Zusy, Siddiqui, McGovern (wants to be added as sponsor), Nolan, Wilson, Yi-An Huang (on future restructuring and staffing changes); amendment to add McGovern and one line adopted 8-0-1 (Azeem Absent); comments by Simmons, Zusy; Order Adopted as Amended 5-3-1 (Toner, Zusy, Simmons - No; Azeem - Absent)

ON THE TABLE
1. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 25-22, regarding a request to work with the School Department, the Department of Public Works, and other relevant departments to open the publicly owned parking at the King Open/Cambridge Street Upper School Complex for either residential free parking or commercial parking opportunities during “off” hours. [Tabled – May 5, 2025] (CM25#113)

2. That the City Manager is requested to explore with the Government Operations Committee whether the functions of the Peace Commission may be improved and enhanced by bringing them within another City Commission or Department, such as the Human Rights Commission, and report back in a timely manner. [Charter Right – Simmons, May 19, 2025; Tabled June 2, 2025] (PO25#76)

3. That the City Council go on record thanking SEIU 32BJ for their vigilance, partnership and advocacy on behalf of unionized workers. [Charter Right – Simmons, June 16, 2025; Tabled – June 23, 2025]

APPLICATIONS AND PETITIONS
1. An application was received from MIT Museum requesting permission for a seventy temporary banners along Memorial Drive to Sydney Street, Ames Street and the Longfellow Bridge announcing AI: Mind the Gap, Gene Cultures, Essential MIT and Cosmograph on November 2025 through Summer 2026. (AP25#41)
Order Adopted 7-2-0 (Azeem, Siddiqui - Absent)

2. An application was received from Matt Hayes, requesting permission for a curb cut at the premises numbered 68 Kinnaird Street; said petition has received approval from Inspectional Services, Traffic, Parking and Transportation, Historical Commission and Public Works. No response has been received from the neighborhood association. (AP25#42)
Order Adopted 7-2-0 (Azeem, Siddiqui - Absent)

COMMUNICATIONS
1. Alan Hope, re: Maximizing Municipal Revenue Recovery Under M.G.L. Chapter 40U.

2. Mothers Out Front Cambridge Leadership Team, re: MOF in Support of Policy Order 2025 #159.

5. Cynthia Hibbard, re: Support for Policy Order #1 - Statement Opposing Rep. Cusack’s Climate Bill.

6. Susan Stewart, re: thank you for passing a resolution in opposition of H4744.

RESOLUTIONS
1. Congratulations to Lieutenant Joseph Murphy on his retirement from the Cambridge Police Department. Councillor Toner, Councillor Wilson, Mayor Simmons

2. Congratulations to Gladys Martinez on her retirement from the Cambridge Police Department. Councillor Toner

3. Congratulations to John Bouzan on his retirement from the Cambridge Health Alliance. Councillor Toner, Mayor Simmons

4. Congratulations to Cambridge’s Michelin-recognized restaurants, Jahunger, Pagu, Sumiao Hunan Kitchen, Giula, Moëca, Oleana, Pammy’s and Urban Hearth, for their outstanding contributions to the cultural and culinary landscape of our city. Councillor Wilson

COMMUNICATIONS & REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICERS
1. A communication was received from Paula Crane, Interim City Clerk, transmitting an update regarding legislative activity. (COF25#145)
Placed on File 7-2-0 (Azeem, Siddiqui - Absent)

Tues, Dec 2
5:30pm The Ordinance Committee will hold a public hearing to continue the discussion on two Zoning Petitions by the Cambridge City Council. This meeting will be a continuation of the meeting that was held and recessed on Oct 30, 2025 and reconvened and recessed again on Nov 13, 2025. There will be public comment.

Wed, Dec 3
3:00pm The Housing Committee and Finance Committee will hold a joint public hearing to discuss the feasibility and potential impacts of implementing residential development incentives - such as tax incentives, public equity financing, and reduced fees and requirements - on housing production and city finances.

Thursday, Dec 4
1:00pm The Human Services and Veterans Committee will hold a public hearing to review and discuss the Executive Summary from the Community Benefits Advisory Committee which was presented to the full City Council on May 19, 2025. (CM25#128)

Tues, Dec 9
12:00pm The Public Safety Committee will hold a public hearing to further discuss the implications of deploying automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) and to discuss whether adjustments should be made related to the deployment of ALPRs since approval in February of this year, CM25#257 in City Council Oct 20, 2025.

Thurs, Dec 11
3:00pm The Health and Environment Committee and Housing Committee will hold a joint public hearing to review and discuss PO25#137, which asks the Community Development Department to draft zoning language to reduce the impact on solar energy systems, based on the recommendations discussed in the September 16, 2025 Health and Environment Committee meeting.

Tues, Dec 16
3:00pm The Housing Committee will hold public hearing to begin a discussion around social housing as referenced in PO25#131.

O-2 Nov 24, 2025 amended
COUNCILLOR NOLAN
COUNCILLOR SIDDIQUI
COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER
COUNCILLOR WILSON
VICE MAYOR MCGOVERN
WHEREAS: The City of Cambridge is home to a diverse system of more than fifty boards and commissions, each playing important roles in shaping City policy, advising City departments, and providing meaningful opportunities for civic participation; and
WHEREAS: The City Council has discussed the need to review, standardize, and where appropriate consolidate or update these boards and commissions to streamline operations, eliminate redundancies, and strengthen resident engagement, and has expressed an openness to staffing changes, ultimately adding to the City Manager’s 2025 goals the directive to “review boards and commissions and produce recommendations on strengthening engagement with members who are serving”; and
WHEREAS: On November 14, 2025 the City Manager submitted his annual performance review to the City Council, providing an update on this goal and noting that staff have worked to strengthen the processes for recruiting, onboarding, and engaging residents who serve; and
WHEREAS: At the same time, the City has been navigating a challenging macroeconomic environment, with the City Council beginning public FY27 budget discussions at a November 10, 2025 Roundtable Meeting of the City Council and School Committee, during which the City leadership communicated the need to achieve $12 million in savings, including a targeted 2.1% departmental savings goal; and
WHEREAS: On November 20, 2025 – less than ten days after the Council’s initial public budget conversation, and less than seven days after the update on the boards and commissions work – the City Council was notified of the decision to restructure a number of commissions, and to eliminate seven positions, the first round of layoffs in many years, described as part of a consolidation of certain boards and commissions under the Equity and Inclusion Department (EID); and
WHEREAS: The City Council recognizes that authority for administration and staffing lies with the City Manager, and the Council and City Manager have also affirmed the need for collaboration in decision-making, especially where Council and City administration work intersect, such as in Commissions established by ordinance; and
WHEREAS: A commitment to fair treatment of all employees is a shared Council and City goal, and transparency is further necessary in light of recent federal actions by the Trump administration that condition certain grants on ending or limiting DEI programs; now therefore be it
ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to provide an update to the City Council on the following:

1. Why a decision was made within the current fiscal year cycle and prior to delivering recommendations to the Council;

2. The decision-making process that led to the restructuring of positions within the Equity and Inclusion Department, including the rationale for eliminating the seven positions, for the treatment of the impacted employees, and the criteria used in determining which positions would be cut;

3. The current status of the boards-and-commissions review, including:

o the scope of work completed to date;

o the staff carrying out this work;

o any preliminary findings, frameworks, or decisions; and

o whether the November 20 staffing decision emerged from or is independent of this review process;

4. How will the work of these commissions continue under the new structure.

and be it further

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council clear and detailed responses to the questions outlined above, if necessary by executive session, by the special meeting for annual review.

AWAITING REPORT LIST
25-12. The City Manager is requested to work with all appropriate Departments to develop language to create an “Affordable Rent Incentive Program” program for Cambridge and to report back to the City Council with option, including the percentage of possible tax abatements.
Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Azeem, Mayor Simmons, Councillor Wilson, Councillor Zusy, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Toner (O-5) from 3/3/2025

25-29. That the City Manager is requested to work with the School Department, the Department of Public Works, and other relevant departments to ensure that all city owned parking lots, with a focus on school complexes, including the still under construction parking at Tobin/Darby Vassal school complex, could be made available for after-hours use by residents.
Councillor Nolan, Councillor Toner, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Zusy, Councillor Wilson (O-2) from 5/12/2025

25-32. That the City Manager is requested to meet with the leadership of the Harvard Square Business Association to discuss the proposal and to take the necessary steps to facilitate the release of $72,000 to fund the RFP development for the tunnel engineering study. [this no longer appears on the agenda]
Mayor Simmons, Councillor Toner, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui (Calendar Item #1) from 5/19/2025

25-33. The City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments to provide a legal opinion outlining, in light of current zoning including the most recent Multifamily Zoning Amendments, the ability of Cambridge to regulate institutional and religious uses in C-1 residential districts and what state and federal law allows in terms of local restrictions, if any, for institutional and religious uses. [this no longer appears on the agenda]
Councillor Nolan, Councillor Azeem, Vice Mayor McGovern (O-3) from 6/2/2025

25-40. The City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the City Solicitor, in consultation with relevant City departments and the Community Benefits Advisory Committee, to draft amendments to the Community Benefits Ordinance that allow for the use of funds for capital expenses, provided that such expenses clearly advance the goals of the Community Benefits program.
Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Wilson, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor McGovern (O-3) from 6/23/2025

25-44. The City Manager is requested to direct the Community Development Department, in collaboration with the Finance Department, to conduct a comprehensive review of current permitting fees for residential development projects, with a focus on identifying opportunities to create a tiered fee structure that reduces or eliminates fees entirely particularly for smaller-scale and affordable housing developments.
Councillor Toner, Mayor Simmons, Councillor Wilson, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Nolan (O-1) from 8/4/2025

25-46. The City Manager is requested to coordinate with the Community Safety Department, the Cambridge Police Department, and other relevant parties to ensure that the overnight use of the garden area between St. James Episcopal Church and the Beech Street condos is actively monitored.
Mayor Simmons, Councillor Toner from 9/8/2025

25-48. The City Manager is requested to consult with the appropriate City departments, including the City Solicitor’s Office, to establish a formal policy that clearly defines the City’s role and financial responsibilities in supporting large-scale public events hosted by Cambridge-based non-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Toner, Councillor Wilson from 9/8/2025

25-49. the City Manager is requested to work with the Community Development Department, the City Assessor, and all other relevant departments to develop a comprehensive policy for future private development projects in the city.
Councillor Toner, Mayor Simmons, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Zusy from 9/8/2025

25-51. The City Manager is requested to work with all relevant departments to seek input from the community as well as direct outreach to condo owners and short-term rental operators and develop additional recommendations based on the discussion in the Ordinance Committee.
Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui from 9/8/2025

25-54. The City Manager is requested to work with the Cambridge Police Department to review current crisis prevention protocols, strengthen them by clearly defining the role and deployment of mental health professionals.
Councillor Wilson, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui from 9/15/2025

25-56. The City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments to provide an update on rodent control measures citywide and especially how the City addresses rodent mitigation through large construction projects, both public and private. See Mgr #3
Councillor Nolan, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Wilson from 9/15/2025

25-57. The City Manager is requested to work with the Cambridge Police Department, the Law Department, and relevant stakeholders to develop and present to the City Council a proposed policy for the timely release of body-worn camera footage.
Councillor Azeem, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Siddiqui from 9/15/2025

25-58. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the Community Development Department, Finance Department, Law Department, and other relevant departments to explore all steps towards advancing social housing in Cambridge.
Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Wilson, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Azeem from 9/29/2025

25-59. The City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments to provide a recommendation on the site conditions of 25 Lowell Street and considerations and process for determining the future use of the property.
Councillor Nolan, Councillor Toner, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui from 9/29/2025

25-60. The City Manager is requested to work with the Department of Public Works, the Department of Public Health, and any relevant environmental consultants to provide a comprehensive report on Gold Star Mothers Memorial Park. See Mgr #1
Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Toner (O-1) from 10/6/2025

25-61. The City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments, state agencies, and the property owner IQHQ to provide an update on efforts to maintain cleanliness and safety in the area on Alewife Paths near Russell Field.
Councillor Nolan, Councillor Wilson, Councillor Toner (O-5) from 10/6/2025

25-63. That the City Manager is requested to reach out to representatives from Eversource to coordinate at least four public open-house meetings in the coming weeks re: heat and electricity costs.
Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern (O-2) from 10/20/2025

25-64. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments to report back to the City Council on current efforts towards poison ivy control in the Fresh Pond Master Plan as well as recommended improvements for signage and regular maintenance planning.
Councillor Nolan, Councillor Toner, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Zusy (O-5) from 10/20/2025

25-65. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Cambridge Department of Transportation and other relevant departments to examine how to improve connectivity north of Rindge Avenue during the Linear Park Reconstruction Project so that vulnerable road users can bypass Rindge Avenue and Cedar Street where possible.
Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Toner (O-2) from 10/27/2025

25-66. The City Manager is requested to confer with the Executive Director of the Council on Aging and other relevant City departments to explore the feasibility of creating a dedicated position or function focused on triaging and directing senior residents to appropriate services and supports.
Mayor Simmons, Councillor Toner, Councillor Zusy (Calendar Item #1) from 11/17/2025