Possible Topics:Cambridge InsideOut - February 16, 2021
Possible Topics:
0) Impeachment and Acquittal
1) A few observations on density
2) In search of a Superintendent of Schools
4) Feb 8, 2021 City Council meeting
5) Feb 3, 2021 City Council meeting
6) Down the road a bit - Growing rumblings of the 2021 municipal election year
7) Fun with Histograms - registered voters, and age of voters in even vs. odd years
8) Public Safety & Populist Politics
Task Force to Examine the Future of Public Safety
Feb 16, 2021 - Several years ago I was thinking about the past, present, and future of Central Square and decided to simply take a walk through the Square with a camera with as objective an eye as I could manage. The result of that walk was something I called "Completing the Square" - a little math joke tied to the main observation that regardless of any opinions about how tall or dense Central Square may be or should be, there were lots of missing teeth and locations which could be improved by the presence of some new or enhanced buildings. That was before the new Mass & Main complex (now Market Central) was built.
In a similar vein, a couple of days ago I had the notion to do something of a virtual walk (in my head) along some streets with which I am quite familiar just to imagine how they might change under the proposed "Missing Middle Housing" zoning proposal. In my opinion, most of these streets function pretty well as they are and many of them (in particular those now zoned as Res C-1) would be considered pretty dense by any reasonable standard. I downloaded the City's Assessors Database (thank you Open Data Portal!) and painstakingly reassembled all the living area information from the many condominiums in order to recreate the total living area to go with the total land area for each respective lot. (This was like reassembling puzzle pieces in some cases.) I then calculated the FAR (floor-area-ratio) for all lots on 28 representative streets (somewhat alphabetically biased as I went through them).
Prior to calculating some statistics on each of these streets I decided to exclude a few anomalies such as parks (no housing will be going there under any zoning revisions), municipal parking lots, City buildings (like City Hall, the Annex, DPW, etc.) as well as some lots that are in zoning districts unaffected by the proposed "Missing Middle Housing" zoning proposal, e.g. the Central Square BB district.
[You can view the data for each of these streets here.]
The summary sheet is below. Since there are already some nonconforming lots with FAR even greater than what is proposed in the petition, the increases noted below actually understate the increases under full build-out. On the other hand, it's not likely that anything close to full build-out would happen any time soon (if the petition were to prevail), so this should be viewed more as a measure of what could eventually happen as opposed to what will happen in the near future.
Note that even a relatively dense C-1 street like Cherry Street in The Port could see a 66% increase in density. Chalk Street (Res C) could see a 72% increase. Cornelius Way could have a 175% increase (that's 2.75 times the current density). Near me, Antrim Street could go up 47%, Maple Ave. could go up 84%, and Lee Street could go up 50%. In the leafy western "suburbs", a Res B street like Appleton St. could go up 137% (2.37 times the current density) and Lakeview Ave. (a mix of Res A-1 and Res B) would nearly triple in density. In contrast, Berkshire St. in Wellington-Harrington might only rise 2%, so I suppose this is the ideal street by the "Missing Middle" standard.
It's also worth noting that there's really nothing in the petition that would in any way ensure that the chief beneficiaries would be middle class residents. The petition is primarily a vehicle for increasing densities and this could just as easily translate into larger homes for those who can afford them or the freedom to add on significant additions to existing homes. In other words, the "middle" part of the "missing middle" petition is missing.- RW
| Street | zoning on street | total land area |
total living area |
gross FAR |
median FAR |
max FAR |
min FAR |
MM factor |
MM increase |
| Amory St. | C-1 | 166187 | 146798 | 0.88 | 0.89 | 2.25 | 0.00 | 1.40 | 40% |
| Andrew St. | C-1 | 39671 | 36841 | 0.93 | 0.94 | 1.46 | 0.44 | 1.33 | 33% |
| Antrim St. | C-1 | 215140 | 182351 | 0.85 | 0.85 | 1.59 | 0.45 | 1.47 | 47% |
| Appleton St. | B | 362349 | 167623 | 0.46 | 0.53 | 1.11 | 0.00 | 2.37 | 137% |
| Arlington St. | A-2,B,C-2 | 162551 | 82694 | 0.51 | 0.51 | 0.94 | 0.31 | 2.45 | 145% |
| Avon Hill St. | A-2,B | 159726 | 86824 | 0.54 | 0.64 | 1.04 | 0.25 | 1.95 | 95% |
| Bellis Circle | B,C-1A | 134257 | 86705 | 0.65 | 0.69 | 1.24 | 0.36 | 1.80 | 80% |
| Berkeley St. & Pl. | A-2 | 335663 | 147702 | 0.44 | 0.44 | 1.08 | 0.18 | 2.87 | 187% |
| Berkshire St. & Pl. | C-1 | 142900 | 162073 | 1.13 | 1.22 | 2.42 | 0.00 | 1.02 | 2% |
| Bigelow St. | C-1 | 98544 | 99178 | 1.68 | 0.99 | 2.48 | 0.55 | 1.27 | 27% |
| Bristol St. | C-1 | 105743 | 98448 | 0.93 | 0.89 | 2.09 | 0.34 | 1.40 | 40% |
| Brookline St. | B,C,BA-1,C-1,BB,SD9 | 462788 | 420848 | 0.91 | 0.88 | 2.59 | 0.00 | 1.41 | 41% |
| Buena Vista Pk. | C-1 | 58147 | 42787 | 0.74 | 0.75 | 1.05 | 0.46 | 1.67 | 67% |
| Centre St. | C-1 | 112030 | 118881 | 1.06 | 0.86 | 1.81 | 0.58 | 1.46 | 46% |
| Chalk St. | C-1 | 59707 | 40178 | 0.67 | 0.73 | 1.35 | 0.30 | 1.72 | 72% |
| Chatham St. | C-1 | 45415 | 43055 | 0.95 | 0.87 | 1.73 | 0.61 | 1.44 | 44% |
| Cherry St. | C-1 | 140624 | 83033 | 0.59 | 0.75 | 1.26 | 0.00 | 1.66 | 66% |
| Columbia St. | C1,BA,BB-CSQ | 419529 | 435148 | 1.04 | 1.01 | 3.33 | 0.00 | 1.24 | 24% |
| Coolidge Hill Rd. | A-2,A-1 | 155629 | 65633 | 0.42 | 0.55 | 1.85 | 0.00 | 2.26 | 126% |
| Cornelius Way | C-1 | 67640 | 31196 | 0.46 | 0.45 | 0.83 | 0.30 | 2.75 | 175% |
| Dudley St. | B | 162444 | 135259 | 0.83 | 0.83 | 1.48 | 0.24 | 1.51 | 51% |
| Hurley St. | C-1 | 185549 | 196004 | 1.06 | 1.09 | 2.45 | 0.42 | 1.15 | 15% |
| Inman St. | C-1 | 386571 | 347610 | 0.90 | 0.88 | 2.36 | 0.34 | 1.41 | 41% |
| Lakeview Ave. | A-1,B | 717287 | 299854 | 0.42 | 0.42 | 1.07 | 0.15 | 2.99 | 199% |
| Lee St. | C-1 | 184726 | 167663 | 0.91 | 0.83 | 2.17 | 0.48 | 1.50 | 50% |
| Maple Ave. | B,C-1 | 198500 | 132455 | 0.67 | 0.68 | 1.57 | 0.36 | 1.84 | 84% |
| Norfolk St. | C-1,B,BA | 445240 | 445634 | 1.00 | 0.88 | 3.31 | 0.00 | 1.41 | 41% |
| Pleasant St. | C,C-1,BA-3 | 387351 | 425992 | 1.10 | 0.93 | 2.27 | 0.36 | 1.34 | 34% |
| all sample streets | 6111908 | 4728467 | 0.77 |
gross FAR = total living area divided by total land area
median FAR = median FAR of all lots on the street
max FAR = largest FAR for all lots on the street
min FAR = smallest FAR for all lots on the street (note that there may be vacant lots with FAR of 0)
MM factor = ratio of proposed "Missing Middle" FAR of 1.25 to current median FAR for street
MM increase = percent increase in FAR from current median FAR under full build-out
Feb 12, 2021 - The Cambridge School Committee is right now (4:32pm) discussing the possibility of having an Ad Hoc Committee identify an internal candidate or candidates to be appointed as Interim Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent. (They even discussed the possibility of simply appointing someone right now.) My impression is that some School Committee members already have a candidate identified.
They have now voted unanimously to have this Ad Hoc Committee proceed in identifying candidates for Interim Superintendent. This committee will be appointed by Vice Chair Bowman. This same Ad Hoc Committee would then continue the process for the regular, i.e. not interim, appointment. - RW
4621 tested positive - This is an increase of 15 testing positive over the previous day and 2911 over 97 days.
118 confirmed deaths (76 in long-term care facilities, 42 in general community.
Click on graph above for latest Cambridge data.
Feb 16, 2021 Breakdown of Cases (757 known current cases).
This is an increase of 14 current cases from the previous day.
Recent 7-day averages were much higher than they have been since April,
but there are strong indications that things are improving.
Harvard University COVID-19 data MIT COVID-19 data
Neighborhoods with highest cumulative case rates since start of pandemic (Dec 21)
All neighborhoods (Dec 12). Charts exclude long-term care population.
February 8, 2021 Cambridge City Council meeting featured attractionsFirst of all, congratulations to Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, and to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their Super Bowl victory. As for those who took the opportunity to disparage Brady for his political inclinations, I just want to remind you that this was just a football game. Manager's Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to an update on Covid-19 vaccination rollout. The Covid-19 numbers have been trending in a good direction lately. That's cause for guarded optimism. Also, even though the start of spring training and the 2021 baseball season will be delayed, a 154 game schedule has been proposed, and hopefully the vaccinated fans will at some point outnumber the cardboard cutouts in the stands. Manager's Agenda #5. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $1,000,000 from the Community Benefits Stabilization Fund to the Grant Fund Human Services Other Ordinary Maintenance for the purpose of entering into grant agreements with nonprofit organizations to provide services to vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 emergency and recovery. Money well spent. It will be interesting to see in a few months what cumulative impact this dreadful pandemic will have on City finances (and taxes). The numbers I have heard for commercial and residential vacancies have been stunning. Charter Right #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-63, which requested a review of the granting of an extension for the 605 Concord Avenue project. [Charter Right Feb 3 - Nolan] Charter Right #2. Policy Order re Renaming Fairmont Avenue. [Charter Right Feb 3 - Simmons] Perhaps this item was delayed when other residents of Fairmont Ave. found out that their address might be changing. Charter Right #3. Eliminating Hostile Architecture. [Charter Right Feb 3 - Nolan] I expect we'll have another parade of clueless Harvard Young Democratic Socialists reading from their script. By the way, none of the examples of "hostile architecture" attached to the Order is particularly hostile. There is such a thing as hostile architecture, but this ain't it. PUBLIC COMMENT TEMPLATE Hi, my name is _____. I live on______. [ State your relationship to Cambridge. E.g. I have lived here for 7 years, I was unhoused, I attend X university, I work in Cambridge, I grew up in Cambridge ]. I’m here today to urge the City of Cambridge to support Charter Right 3 and councilor Zondervan’s amendment to that policy order. Our unhoused community already suffers from lack of non-congregate shelter and resources every single day, and taking away one of the few sheltered places they can safely rest does nothing more than reinforce that harm. We hear the argument often that the hostile architecture installed is actually installed for the benefit of disabled and senior citizens. Unhoused people frequently fall into both of those categories. So I don’t think the council should accept Vice Mayor Mallon and Councillor Nolan’s amendments. Vice Mayor Mallon’s amendment removes the ask to create design guidelines for future projects, the ask to remove existing hostile architecture in the city, and the specific reference to Carl Barron Plaza which will soon be redesigned. Councillor Nolan’s amendment shifts the balance of the order uncomfortably towards housed people. These amendments hide behind legitimate concerns for the elderly and disabled communities in order to act against the interest of the most vulnerable unhoused seniors and disabled people. Members of the unhoused community have supported the specific asks in this policy order, and they should remain. I am glad that the city has provided some services to the unhoused community already in the face of the pandemic. We have never said that the city has done NOTHING for the homeless community. We understand that the city spent $10 million on supporting non-profits who address homelessness, but the city has spent $0 dollars on non-congregate shelter, and that is what we want to highlight. Instead of spending Cambridge taxpayer funds to support unsafe shelter, the city should have used federal FEMA funding over the past year to support safe non-congregate shelter. Unlike what was said in last week’s meeting, Spaulding is a congregate shelter, and not a non-congregate one. What homeless community members have explicitly asked for are private spaces, and Spaulding definitionally does not meet this demand. Thank you for your time. I have never been a fan of robots. Order #1. Retail Table of Land Use Update PO. Vice Mayor Mallon, Mayor Siddiqui This is important.... and complicated. Order #4. Redesigning Cambridge Voting Stickers. Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler Apparently having a sticker that says simply "I Voted" is insufficiently woke. Order #5. That the City Manager instruct his staff to develop a ten-year infrastructure plan for the City Council that outlines all future needs and plans for infrastructure, public safety and public services. Councillor Carlone, Councillor Nolan I agree with this Order completely. Waiting for utility companies such as Eversource to plan in any comprehensive way is a hopeless quest. Perhaps we should should energize the City's Pole and Conduit Commission. - Robert Winters |
Pre/Post-Groundhog Day featured attractions – Feb 3, 2021 Cambridge City Council meetingHere goes — A lot to chew on..... The Feb 1 meeting was postponed to Wed, Feb 3 due to the Snow Emergency. Starting with The Plague Order #2. Policy Order re: Establishing an On-Site Vaccination Program. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor McGovern Order #4. Policy Order re: Covid-19 Protocols at Affordable Housing Worksites. Councillor Simmons Order #7. Vaccinating CPS Staff Plan PO. Vice Mayor Mallon Order #8. Supporting the School Committee. Councillor Nolan, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Toomey, Councillor Simmons Stay Positive and Test Negative. Seriously, we should get all teachers and school staff vaccinated and able to do their jobs without fear as soon as humanly possible. Coronagenda This now obsolete Order (the space on Green Street has been rented as state-funded temporary housing for a some time now) was contained in the Nov 12 committee report of a public hearing on homelessness. The New England School of English apparently made available their dormitory space on Green Street that had been vacant due to the current pandemic. It was never meant to be a long-term arrangement. Activists are using this opportunity to push an agenda centered on the demand that the City establish and fund non-congregate shelter/housing for unhoused individuals. Not addressed in their demands is the fact that without similar facilities being established in Boston and elsewhere this effectively becomes a regional facility drawing people from all over the Greater Boston area. Also not addressed by the activists are the staffing and logistical challenges associated with a clientele with a high incidence of substance abuse and mental health challenges. Indeed, during the relatively short time the Green Street facility has been open there have been several drug overdoses and one suicide (jump from the parking garage across the street). One of the great luxuries of activism is that you rarely have to deal with the hard stuff. A little open space while we still can.... and the joys of mitigation Manager's Agenda #10. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $3,174,389 from Free Cash to the Mitigation Revenue Stabilization Fund which will be used to fund specific future projects, which will require separate individual appropriations by the City Council. Zoning and legal matters Manager's Agenda #8. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-63, which requested a review of the granting of an extension for the 605 Concord Avenue project. Manager's Agenda #9. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a Planning Board recommendation to adopt with comments and suggested modifications, the Alewife Quadrangle Northwest Overlay District (Srinivasan, et al.) Zoning Petition. "The Board encourages the City Council to carefully consider to what extent a bridge may or may not be guaranteed as part of a Quadrangle Northwest Master Plan Special Permit and what types of alternatives would be acceptable to the City." – Ideally, this area should have its own commuter rail stop and multiple crossings over the railroad tracks, including at least one crossing that would permit shuttle buses and possibly other vehicles. The Alewife Triangle and Quadrangle should be united rather than forever remain separate oversized cul-de-sacs. Property owners and developers should recognize the value in this or seek another line of work. Unfinished Business #5. A Zoning Petition has been received from Cambridge Redevelopment Authority regarding a Zoning Ordinance to reflect the proposed changes to the KSURP. [PASSED TO A SECOND READING IN COUNCIL JAN 11, 2021. TO BE ORDAINED ON OR AFTER JAN 25, 2021] [Petition and Memo] [Draft Letter of Commitment] Communications #1. A communication was received from Tom Evans, Cambridge Redevelopment Authority, submitting a Letter of Commitment to accompany the MXD Zoning Petition and Kendall Square Urban Redevelopment Plan submission. Ordination seems likely at this meeting. I'll leave the details as a reading assignment. And then there's this The organization that calls itself "A Better Cambridge" (ABC) has now fully earned its alternative name "A Bigger Cambridge". The crux of this petition is the merging of the Residence A-1, A-2, B, C, and C-1 districts into a single unified Residence N district with dramatically increased allowable density (FAR 1.25 - Floor-Area-Ratio, the ratio of built living area as a fraction of the land area of the lot) and greatly diminished front, side and rear setbacks. It also permits additional height to allow 3 stories across all these combined districts. The appellation "Missing Middle Housing" has, in fact, nothing to do with this proposal other than as a sales pitch. In addition to allowing multi-family housing in all zones, this is simply a petition to increase - by a factor of 2 to 3 in many cases - the amount that can be built across the city - a real Gold Rush for property developers. For example, the Res A-1 and A-2 districts currently permit a 0.5 FAR; Res C permits a 0.6 FAR; and Res C-1 permits a 0.75 FAR. This proposal simply blows the lid off all of these allowable densities. Apparently, the fact that Cambridge is already one of the densest cities in the United States is simply not enough for the Sim City players who form the core of "A Bigger Cambridge". In terms of affordability for the "missing middle" there is simply nothing in this petition that would indicate this as a likely outcome. The affordability of the traditional two-family or three-family home in years past came with the responsibilities of being a landlord with the rents helping to cover the mortgage. This proposal would more likely result in even larger single-family homes (McMansions) and a greater stock of high-end condominiums and investment properties. It's true that Cambridge has a lot of nonconforming buildings that could not have been built under current zoning, including my own triple-decker (land area 3,133 sq ft, total living area 3,978 sq ft, and an FAR of 1.27 with negligible side setbacks and a very small yard). If I were proposing changes to Cambridge zoning I would likely allow some additional density where it makes sense, but I certainly would not recommend the replication of my own situation on my tiny lot as the new standard. What exactly is the goal of ABC? New York City ranks 6th with a population density of 27,016 per square mile. San Francisco ranks 21st at 17,246. Somerville is 16th at 18,432. Cambridge ranks 26th in the USA at 16,355. Boston is 51st at 13,321. Chicago is 75th at 11,868. Philadelphia is 95th at 11,234. Berkeley is 110th at 10,753. Cambridge is not Belmont (5,317/sq mi). Suffice to say, I think the general lay of the land in Cambridge today is actually quite good - an interesting balance of densities and housing types. Some greater flexibility for property owners might be a good thing, but wholesale redefinition of the city would not be a wise choice. Bikes, bikes, and more bikes and other transportation matters Manager's Agenda #12. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $452,600 from the Mitigation Revenue Stabilization Fund received from various sources to the Public Investment Fund Community Development Extraordinary Expenditures account which will be used for the purchase and expenses of Bluebikes bikeshare equipment. Manager's Agenda #14. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number Awaiting Report 19-75, regarding the feasibility of partnering with a local research institution to conduct a study that determines how many ridehail vehicles are on the roads during both on and off-peak times and their impacts on congestion and safety. Manager's Agenda #15. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 19-151, regarding the feasibility of making Porter Square and Massachusetts Avenue between Roseland Street and Beech Street a quick-build complete street with bus priority. 2013 Cambridge commuter shares: 28% transit, 24% walk, 7% bike, 4% carpool. The numbers have likely shifted a bit since 2013 but even with BlueBike stations and various infrastructure changes across the city it's unlikely that the share of residents biking will ever rival transit or walking. At any given time are there more bikes on Cambridge roads or Ubers? If electric vehicles and or/autonomous vehicles proliferate, what do you think will be the result? 21st Century Commerce Resolution #14. The Cambridge City Council, hereby assembled, urges Amazon to meet and confer with the Cambridge community, included, but not limited to, representatives of labor unions including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25. Councillor McGovern, Councillor Carlone, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Toomey Order #1. Spending Disparity Study PO. Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Toomey, Councillor Nolan Thank You Notes Resolution #15. Thank You to Lisa Peterson. Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Carlone, Councillor Nolan Resolution #17. Thank You to Elizabeth “Liza” Malenfant Paden. Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Carlone, Councillor Toomey I have known all of these Great Women of Cambridge for decades. Susan Fleischmann is the one who pushed me to start doing TV broadcasts - initially with Election Night coverage and then eventually the sequel to the original Cambridge InsideOut. I first met Lisa Peterson when she worked in the City Manager's Office during Bob Healy's tenure. She was our point person during the early days of Cambridge Recycling about 30 years ago. Liza (and, really, all you have to say is Liza in Cambridge civic circles and everyone knows who you mean) has been a friend in and out of City government - along with her extended family - for close to 30 years. The total hours I kept Liza from getting back to work on Inman Street over the years gabbing about life and politics and how the city operates is something we'd better not talk about lest they dock her retirement. A growing chorus of voices from Fairmont Avenue Oh, the hardship. I guess we'd also better start worrying about Washington Ave. vs. Washington St., Highland Ave. vs. Highland St., Oxford Ave. vs. Oxford St., and Wyman St. vs. Wyman Rd. Life in Cambridge is just so difficult. Luxury Seating Methinks the sponsors of this Order (and the activists who inspire them) wouldn't know the difference between hostile and helpful. Cambridge City Council on Hallucinogens This Order may actually explain a lot about the behavior of the Cambridge City Council. Perhaps when the pandemic winds down they can decorate the Sullivan Chamber with Peter Max posters and pipe in some Donovan songs like "Mellow Yellow" and "Sunshine Superman". Bringing back black lights would also be a nice touch. Carrots or Sticks Greater efficiency is always a good thing, but incentives are always better than mandates when it comes to private homes. I don't think enough councillors fully understand this. - Robert Winters |
Dec 14, 2020, updated Jan 17 – I really hate to get started on this topic so early in the game, but there are already rumors of possible candidates for 2021 and several potential candidates have already filed the paperwork with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) so that they can start raising campaign donations. At least one incumbent city councillor has already sent word out to supporters that he'll be seeking reelection, but most or all of the incumbents are likely to follow. Here's a brief list:
| Name | Address | Filed w/OCPF | Notes |
| Frantz Pierre | 22 Water Street #808, 02141 | Nov 10, 2020 | not listed as registered voter as of Nov 2020 at given address, case worker at Margaret Fuller House |
| Tonia Hicks | 337 Pearl Street, 02139 | Nov 13, 2020 | campaign Chair lives in Colorado, Treasurer lives in North Carolina |
| Dana Bullister | 155 5th Street #1, 02141 | Nov 23, 2020 | listed as own campaign Chair and Treasurer, was rumored as candidate in 2019 |
| Joe McGuirk | 314 Columbia St. #1, 02141 | Dec 7, 2020 | bartender at Highland Kitchen in Somerville, and the Lexington at Cambridge Crossing |
| Santos Carrasquillo | 188 Harvard St. #3B, 02139 | Jan 11, 2021 | occupation unknown |
| Rumored possible candidates - either new or returning | |||
| Nicola Williams | 8 Brewer St. #5, 02138 | not declared, ran in 2019 | business owner, community activist, organizer of the Cambridge Carribean Carnival, serves on the board of several Cambridge non-profit and neighborhood organizations |
| Patrick Barrett | 41 Pleasant St., 02139 | not declared | prime mover for Central Square BID, author of multiple successful and well-received zoning petitions, owner/builder of new hotel/restaurant in Central Square |
| Theodora Skeadas | 988 Memorial Drive #185, 02138 | not declared | Executive Director of Cambridge Local First; reliable sources suggest she'll be a 2021 Council candidate; filed w/OCPF in Dec 2016 as a candidate but did not pursue at that time |
| McNary, Jeffery | 116 Norfolk St. #201, 02139 | expressed interest | ran in 2019 w/o accepting donations |
| Incumbents who have declared intention to seek reelection or are actively fundraising (there are certainly others) | |||
| Dennis Carlone | 9 Washington St. #6, 02140 | declared | first elected 2013, 4 terms on City Council |
| Marc McGovern | 17 Pleasant St., 02139 | declared | first elected in 2013, 4 terms on City Council |
| Quinton Zondervan | 235 Cardinal Madeiros Ave., 02141 | raising money | first elected in 2017, 2 terms on City Council |
| Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler | 187 Brookline St. #3, 02139 | actively fundraising | first elected in 2019, 1 term on City Council |
Please send me any additions, corrections or credible rumors at Robert@rwinters.com.
If you know of any great potential candidates for either Cambridge City Council or School Committee, please encourage them to consider being a candidate in the 2021 municipal election.
Registered Voters by Age: 2012-2020
Distribution of Residents who Voted by Age: 2012-2020
Distribution of Residents who Voted in Municipal Elections by Age: 2013-2019
Jan 7, 2021 – City Manager Louis A. DePasquale today announced he has appointed a new Task Force to examine the future of public safety in Cambridge. “The City Manager’s Task Force to Examine the Future of Public Safety in Cambridge” will be co-chaired by Councilors E. Denise Simmons and Marc C. McGovern and consists of 14 members who live and/or work in the City. The group will seek to examine ways to reform community safety in Cambridge by mitigating police response to select calls for service, while enhancing community cohesion to include restorative processes.
The following were named to the Public Safety Task Force:
Khalil Abdur-Rashid, Imam Dr. Chandra Banks, Ed.M. Loren Crowe Leo Gayne Samuel M. Gebru Christina Giacobbe Rev. Jaron S. Green |
Tina-Marie Johnson Rev. Irene Monroe Catherine Pemberton Christopher Schmidt Rae Simpson, PhD Queen-Cheyenne Wade Pastor Ellis |
“I want to thank each member of the task force for their willingness to play a pivotal role in helping shape the future of public safety in Cambridge,” said City Manager Louis DePasquale. “This work will impact generations to come and improve the overall quality of service our public safety agencies provide our community. I am grateful to Councilors Simmons and McGovern for agreeing to serve as co-chairs of the Task Force. I cannot think of two more passionate leaders to facilitate the Task Force’s proceedings.”
“I am very excited by the work of this task force, because as a City, Cambridge must continually be willing to explore how we keep our residents safe, and how we can build up greater trust and a sense of partnership between our public safety agencies and the public they serve,” says Councilor E. Denise Simmons. “I know the members of this new task force are going to help us take some important steps in those endeavors.”
“As a social worker for the past 25 years, I know the importance of clinical responses to people in crisis,” said Cambridge City Councilor Marc McGovern. “I'm honored to be co-chairing this task force that will work toward implementing such a program in Cambridge.”
“My staff and I look forward to working closely with the City Manager and new Task Force on this important work,” said Police Commissioner Branville Bard, Jr. “I have long been supportive of creating an alternate or non-police response for appropriate non-emergency situations, particularly those involving individuals experiencing mental illness, and this group is an important step in moving ahead in that direction.”
Members of the new Public Safety Task Force will meet virtually at least twice a month. The first meeting is scheduled to take place in January 2021.
CIVIC CALENDAR (abridged)
10:00am The City Council's Transportation and Public Utilities Committee will meet to conduct a public hearing to discuss snow removal on sidewalks and streets in Cambridge. (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
5:30pm The City Council's Ordinance Committee will meet to conduct a public hearing to continue discussion on the Alewife zoning petition. (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
6:30pm Planning Board meeting (Remote Meeting - web and Zoom only)
Register for Zoom Webinar to participate in real time (before or during the meeting). Check your e-mail (including spam/junk folder) for confirmation.
General Business
1. Update from the Community Development Department
Public Hearings
6:30pm PB# 371
269-301 Vassar Street – Special Permit application by Massachusetts Institute of Technology to construct two buildings totaling 327,000 square feet of graduate student housing pursuant to Section 17.63.2(b) Increase height to approximately 105 feet in SD-6, Section 17.203.2 Increase height to approximately 100 feet in SD-11, Section 19.20 Project Review Special Permit, and Section 6.35.1 Reduction of Required Parking. (Materials)
General Business
1. PB# 369
600 Massachusetts Avenue – Extension Request (Letter)
Board of Zoning Appeal Cases
1. BZA-106913
33 Gore Street – Variance for expansion of a pre-existing, non-conforming two-family dwelling, adding tworesidential units to the building. Art. 5.000, Sec. 5.31 (Table of Dimensional Requirements); Sec. 5.13 (Distance Between Buildings); & Sec. 5.26 (Conversion). Special Permits to extend ECHO and Res C-2B zoning to the entire lot, to allow expansion of building height up within setbacks, for a waiver of parking requirements, and to allow two tandem parking spaces in the existing driveway. Art. 6.000, Sec. 6.35.1 (Reduction of Required Parking); Sec. 6.43.2 (Access for Off Street Parking Spaces); Sec. 6.44.1.G (Setbacks for on Grade Open Parking Spaces); Art. 8.000, Sec. 8.22.2.C (Alteration of Non-Conforming Structure); & Art. 3.000, Sec. 3.32.1 (Extension of Less Restrictive Dimensional Provisions). (Materials)
2:00pm The City Council's Neighborhood and Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts and Celebrations Committee and the Housing Committee will conduct a joint hearing to discuss the elimination of single and two-family only zoning and restrictions on the type of housing that can be built city-wide. (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
5:30pm Cambridge Redevelopment Authority Annual Board Meeting (Police Station, First Floor Conference Room, 125 Sixth St.)
5:30pm City Council meeting (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
5:00pm The City Council's Ordinance Committee will conduct a public hearing on proposed ordinances re: campaign finance. (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
1) That the City Council adopt a municipal ordinance to reduce or limit campaign donations from donors seeking to enter into a contract, seeking approval for a special permit or up-zoning, seeking to acquire real estate from the city, or seeking financial assistance from the city. [Text of Order #4 of Oct 26, 2020]
2) The Cambridge City Council direct the City Manager to work with the City Solicitor’s Office to draft a Home Rule Petition that would cap campaign contributions to any City Council candidate to $200 per person, per year, per candidate and limit candidate loans to $3,000 per election cycle. [Text of Order #9 of Nov 2, 2020]
5:00pm School Committee Governance Sub-Committee Virtual Meeting (webcast)
There will be a Virtual Meeting of the Governance Sub-Committee on Wed, Feb 24 at 5:00pm for the purpose of continuing to discuss the code of ethics of the School Committee. It is anticipated that this meeting will last no longer than 6:30pm.
Individuals must sign up in advance to provide public comments. The sign up window is Fri, Feb 19 through Wed, Feb 24 by 11:00am (by phone) or 4:30pm (online).
• To sign up to call in using the ZOOM app on your computer or mobile device, visit http://www.cpsd.us/school_committee/virtual.
6:00pm School Committee Special Education and Student Supports Sub-Committee Virtual Meeting (webcast)
There will be a Virtual Meeting of the Special Education and Student Supports Sub-Committee on Thurs, Feb 25 at 6:00pm for the purpose of discussing the information regarding Grid B and Grid C services, and what it will look like for 4th, 5th, upper, and high school scholars. This meeting is expected to end no later than 7:30pm.
Individuals must sign up in advance to provide public comments. The sign up window is Mon, Feb 22 through Thurs, Feb 25 by 12:00pm (by phone) or 5:30pm (online).
• To sign up to call in using the ZOOM app on your computer or mobile device, visit http://www.cpsd.us/school_committee/virtual.
5:30pm City Council meeting (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
6:00pm School Committee Virtual Meeting (webcast from Attles Meeting Room, CRLS)
The next Regular Meeting of the School Committee will be held Virtually on Tues, Mar 2 at 6:00pm for the purpose of discussing any and all business that may properly come before the Committee.
Individuals must sign up in advance to provide public comments at regular meetings or public hearings. The sign-up window is Thurs, Feb 25 through Tues, Mar 2 at 12 Noon (by phone) and 5:30pm (online).
- To sign up to call in using the ZOOM app on your computer or mobile device: visit www.cpsd.us/school_committee/virtual.
5:00pm The City Council's Neighborhood and Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts and Celebrations Committee and the Housing Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss with neighborhood groups their successes and challenges and how the city can better support them, as well as ideas related to the Envision plan. (Zoom only)
5:30pm City Council meeting (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
5:00pm The City Council's Ordinance Committee will conduct a public hearing on proposed real estate transfer fee. (Sullivan Chamber - Televised)
That the Cambridge City Council pass the Real Estate Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition. [Text of Order #10 from July 27, 2020]
