The debate in North Cambridge’s Trolley Square

    Several weeks ago the City Council received a recommendation from the Community Development Department calling for the development of 35-45 units of affordable housing to be built on a parcel of land in Trolley Square on north Mass. Ave. obtained by the City from the MBTA. There was an extensive community process that led to the recommendation, but neighbors and participants of that process came out in force to protest the recommendation, claiming that their wishes were not heeded by CDD. The City Council subsequently referred the issue to a negotiation committee that includes Mayor Sullivan, Councillors Galluccio and Reeves, the City Manager, and representatives from the neighborhood committee and the Affordable Housing Trust.
    Now there's a twist. A letter from 27 North Cambridge neighbors supporting the recommendation for affordable housing is on the agenda for this Monday's City Council meeting. What is the will of “the community?” As is often the case in Cambridge, you can never really tell by who steps up to the microphone. - RW 

April 9, 2003
To the Honorable City Council:
     We are North Cambridge residents who support the City Manager’s recommendation to develop the Trolley Square site primarily for affordable housing in our neighborhood.
     We are concerned that Cambridge is becoming less and less affordable as a place to live. The City’s report indicates that the 2002 median sale price here for a single-family home was $642,000, and for a condominium $349,000. The City’s survey of advertised rents showed an average of $1,300 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,900 for a three-bedroom apartment. Even middle-class families cannot afford these prices and rents, and the problem is worsening every year.
     Our city’s only hope of addressing this problem is to seize every chance to develop affordable housing as our top priority. The Trolley Square site, acquired by the city from the MBTA for a “public benefit purpose” as part of a land exchange, presents an unparalleled opportunity, because no land cost will stand as an obstacle to housing affordability. Under these circumstances, the city’s proposal for 35-45 affordable units, including publicly accessible open space, seems very reasonable to us.
     Therefore, while we appreciate and respect the dedicated efforts of our neighbors on the advisory committee, we simply cannot agree with their recommendation that a portion of this unique site be squandered for retail uses that are already prevalent along north Mass. Ave. This land is a public trust, and it must be used to the maximum extent for what we regard as our city’s most important development need, more affordable housing.
     We urge you to transfer this land to the Affordable Housing Trust as the City Manager has recommended, without reducing the number of affordable housing units. Thank you for considering our request.
David Albert, Rindge Ave. 
Meg A. Bond, Dudley St. 
Barbara Brammer, Sargent Street 
Larissa Brown, Madison Ave. 
Barbara Cooney, 30 Churchill Ave. 
Peter Costanza, Sargent St. 
Ed Cyr, Cogswell Ave. 
Brenda Engel, Pemberton St. 
Monroe Engel, Pemberton St. 		 Stephanie Engel, Pemberton St. 
Robin Finnegan, Hubbard Ave. 
Karen Friedman, Dudley St. 
Arthur Goldhammer, Pemberton St. 
Tim Groves, Rice St. 
Betsy McAlister Groves, Rice St. 
Mary Ann Hart, Hollis St. 
Emily Lyons, Rindge Ave. 
Bill Madsen, Dudley St. 		 Geneva T. Malenfant, Harrison Ave. 
Janet Malenfant, Harrison Ave. 
Gerry McDonough, Hollis St. 
Lynne Molnar, Harvey St. 
Catherine E.M. Sullivan, Notre Dame Ave. 
David E. Sullivan, Notre Dame Ave. 
Paul Toner, Newman St. 
Mary Ann Walsh, Madison Ave. 
Barbara Zimbel, Sargent St.